FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Speedway, Ind. (March 7, 2023) – It was a successful weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg for Abel Motorsports and the teams lead driver, Jacob Abel, as he gave the team their first INDY NXT by Firestone podium and his first in the series with his 3rd place finish. Colin Kaminsky completed his debut weekend with a solid 11th place finish in the No. 57 machine.
Back in the INDY NXT by Firestone series for his sophomore season, 21-year-old Jacob Abel, got to work right away putting his No. 51 Abel Construction Dallara at the top of the charts in practice 1. Practice 2 was another strong showing for Abel, ending the session in fifth with a car ready to qualify.
Qualifying was another opportunity for Abel to show the speed he and the team had been working on during the off-season. The new rules for qualifying this year meant that Abel would only have 8 minutes to lay down a lap instead of the traditional longer format. The change in procedure had no effect on Abel, as he qualified 2ndonly 6-thousands of a second behind pole position.
The race got off to a difficult start for Abel as he got minor wheel spin on the on the opening lap dropping him to 4th, but still right there with the lead pack. Coming back to green after a full course yellow, Abel made a tremendous move from 3rd to pass 2 cars on the inside of turn 1 to take over command of the race. Cautions marred the 40-lap event, with 13 of the 40 laps being completed under caution. Abel continued to hold on to the lead restart after restart and continuing to build a gap to second.
On the second to last restart on lap 35, Abel and Rasmussen battled hard into turn 1 with Abel running wide and having to drift his car through turn 1 ultimately falling to 3rd. From there Abel did all he could to get past Siegel for second while keeping Rasmussen behind him to keep his spot on the podium. Ultimately Abel would finish 3rd, scoring his 1st Indy NXT by Firestone podium.
“It was an awesome start to the 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone season in St. Petersburg for me and the entire Abel Motorsports team. Right out of the gate we were quick, going P1 in the first practice and then just barely missing out on pole. I think we really showed our pace and all the effort we spent in the off season preparing both of our cars. I had so much fun battling with Christian (Rasmussen) and Nolan (Siegel) and getting to spend so much time in the lead. I can’t wait to carry this momentum into Barber, and see what we can do there,” said Jacob Abel.
For Colin Kaminsky, it was all about getting as much as experience as possible and run as many laps as possible. Starting with practice 1, Kaminsky got right to work logging 17 laps and ending the session in 13th in his No. 57 Slick Locks Dallara.
Practice 2 early Saturday morning gave Kaminsky the final chance to prepare for his first taste of INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying. A few minor adjustments and Kaminsky was able to shave off over 1 second from his previous best time putting him 15th on the charts. Qualifying continued the trend of quicker lap times, with Kaminsky putting in his fastest lap of the weekend during the 8-minute qualifying session putting him 14th for his debut start in the INDY NXT by Firestone Series.
The Homer Glen, IL. Native wasted no time in pushing his way through to the front of the field. Kaminsky managed to avoid some early contact, and move himself into the 9th position, up 5 positions from the start. Kaminsky hung on to the 9th position for 11 laps before being passed and settling into 10th. Kaminsky did a great job maintaining through the chaos of all the yellow flag laps and restarts until the final sequence of restarts where he had to use the runoff area, slotting him into 13th.
Kaminsky however did not give up and gained back 2 positions to complete his first INDY NXT by Firestone race in the 11th position.
“At the end of the day I’m happy with our 11th place finish. I showed up with limited experience in this car and to get up to speed on a tricky track like St. Pete is a big task. So, goal #1 was to finish and we accomplished that. That race got so hectic I knew it would be a dog fight out there. We ended up moving forward from 14th to 8th, until a late mistake cost me a couple positions. Overall, I’m super pumped to have passed cars and had good battles to learn how these INDY NXT by Firestone cars race.
Huge thanks to the team for their hard work the last week and mega congrats to them and my teammate Jacob on the podium,” said Colin Kaminsky.
Round 2 of the 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone Championship takes place on April 30th at the Barber Motorsports Park with the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama. Keep up with all things Abel Motorsports during the 2023 season by following @abelmotorsports on social media.
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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 series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. For more information visit the official team website at: www.abelmotorsports.com
Media Contact: Jacob Donahue– Email: Jacobdonahueracing@gmail.com