Tag: Jacob Abel

Coyne Signs Abel to Car 51

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Dale Coyne Racing announced today the signing of Indy NXT runner-up Jacob Abel to a full season deal to drive car 51. The move leaves just Coyne’s second car, number18, as the only seat left to fill for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series grid.

The announcement from Dale Coyne Racing:

Plainfield, IL. (Monday, January 13, 2025) Dale Coyne Racing today announces that multiple-time Indy NXT race winner and 2024 vice champion Jacob Abel will step up into the NTT IndyCar Series in the No. 51 My Entry for the full 2025 season. The 23-year-old American driver is making the leap from Indy NXT after a successful 2024 campaign that saw him finish in the top five 11 times in the series’ 14-race schedule, three of which were victories, ending the season as vice champion.

“We are excited about running another Indy NXT Vice Champion here at Dale Coyne Racing,” commented team owner Dale Coyne.

“We have watched Jacob over the years and did an evaluation with him at the end of the 2023 season, where he showed great promise in these cars. It will be good to get back to one solid driver for the whole season again. Our plans for our second driver are coming along quite nicely, and we will have more news on that in approximately 3 weeks.” In the fall of 2023, Jacob got the call up from Dale Coyne to do an evaluation day at Sebring. Jacob adapted quickly to the pinnacle open wheel Indy Car and impressed his suitors.

“I cannot tell you how excited I am to get a full time Indy Car ride for 2025. I have worked my whole life for this opportunity,” gleamed the likeable 23-year-old Abel.

“The test at Sebring with Dale and the test this fall with Chip Ganassi, only made my resolve greater. I know it is a competitive road ahead, but we look forward to hard work and showing what we can do together as a team.”

Abel will begin his time with Dale Coyne Racing with a test session at The Thermal Club, where he will start preparing for the NTT IndyCar Series’ first race of the season at St. Petersburg, FL, on Sunday, March 2nd, with coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET.

Jacob Abel Back with ABEL Motorsports for Shot at 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone Title

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From Abel Motorsports:

Speedway, Ind. – INDY NXT by Firestone veteran, Jacob Abel, will be back behind the wheel of an ABEL Motorsports Dallara IL-15 for another shot at the INDY NXT championship in 2024. Abel will once again be doing battle in the No. 51 ABEL Construction car for the duration of the 14-race schedule.

It was a breakout season in 2023 for the Louisville Kentucky native, highlighted by his first pole position at the Iowa Speedway along with 4 podium finishes and 8 top 5 finishes, on track to a 5th place finish in the season championship. To top the year off for Abel, the 22-year-old completed his first laps behind the wheel of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car on November 6th at Sebring International Raceway.

“I’m really looking forward to returning for a 3rd season of INDY NXT in 2024.” Said Abel. “2023 was a big year of growth for our team and me personally, and I’m excited to carry that momentum into the 2024 season.”

2-years of progression has led to the 2024 INDY NXT season for Abel, whose goal is clear: to win races and contend for the season championship. After spending most of the season in the championship battle in 2023, Abel knows the key to success in 2024 and is ready to build on the pace and consistency that was found last season.

“We had lots of highs in the 2023 season.” said Abel. “We fought for wins at multiple different races throughout the season but were never able to end up on the top step for one reason or another,” exclaimed Abel. “2024 will be all about putting everything we’ve learned from the past couple of years together to hopefully contend for the championship.”

Abel becomes the 2nd driver announced for ABEL Motorsports for the 2024 INDY NXT season alongside series rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy, as ABEL Motorsports looks to expand to a full season multi-car effort in INDY NXT.

Next up for Jacob Abel and the ABEL Motorsports outfit is the final INDY NXT test of 2023 on November 13th at the Barber Motorsports Park. “I’m excited to get to Barber and start working on 2024, that was one track we struggled a little bit on last year which will make maximizing this test very important,” said Abel. “We get more testing this offseason than we did last year, so it will be very important for everyone on our team to work diligently to maximize these days to fully prepare us for St. Pete and the rest of the season.”

Keep up with all things ABEL Motorsports, including off-season driver announcements, by following the team on social media @abelmotorsports or by visiting www.abelmotorsports.com for all of the latest news surrounding the team.

2024 INDY NXT SCHEDULE:
Round 1 – March 8 – Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg, FL – Street Course
Round 2 – April 28 – Barber Motorsports Park – Birmingham, AL – Road Course
Rounds 3/4 – May 10-11 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, IN – Road Course
Round 5 – June 2 – Detroit Grand Prix – Detroit, MI – Street Course
Rounds 6/7 – June 22-23 – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, CA – Road Course
Round 8 – July 7 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, OH – Road Course
Round 9 – July 13 – Iowa Speedway – Newton, IA – Oval
Round 10 – August 17 – World Wide Technology Raceway – St. Louis, MO – Oval
Round 11 – August 25 – Portland International Raceway – Portland, OR – Road Course
Round 12 – August 31 – Milwaukee Mile – Milwaukee, WI – Oval
Round13 – September 15 – Music City Grand Prix – Nashville, TN – Street Course

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Abel Motorsports including team Principal, Bill Abel, has been competing since 1972. ABEL Motorsports is now on to the third generation with Jacob Abel being the flagship driver for the team. The team was able to capture the inaugural F3 Americas Championship in 2018, and currently competes in the freshly rebranded INDY NXT by Firestone, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, as well as the team’s first entry into the Indianapolis 500 with driver RC Enerson in 2023. For more information visit the official team website at: www.abelmotorsports.com