FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nashville, TN (August 10, 2022) – After a strong showing all weekend for Jacob Abel and the No. 51 Abel Construction team, contact in the closing stages of the 35-lap event took the chance at a top 5 finish away from Abel who would end up finishing 9th.
The weekend got off to a fast start with practice 1, where the top 10 was separated by just over 1 second. Abel would finish his first session on the Streets of Nashville in 9th, just a few tenths of a second out of the top 5.
Practice 2 saw Abel really getting comfortable around the street-circuit, posting a time that was over a second quicker than his previous best lap in practice 1. Abel would finish practice 2 in 6th, ready to go for qualifying later in the afternoon.
As qualifying approached, the weather took a dramatic turn with high winds and rain sweeping through the Downtown Nashville area. After waiting out the weather, the decision was made to cancel qualifying and have the starting grid set by driver championship points. Jacob Abel would line up 8th in the Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix.
The 35-lap race got off to an exciting start as Abel began battling his way through the field and fighting with a group of drivers on track. Abel slowly worked his way forward, gaining two positions on the opening lap putting him 6th in the running order.
As the laps began to click off, Abel settled into the rhythm of the race and began to conserve his tires for a charge later in the race. That charge came as Abel was battling with Frost for 7th with 10 laps to go. Abel managed to work his way past Frost for 7th with his sights set further up the field.
With 8 laps to go, two cars in front of Abel got together and Abel managed to sneak past them without getting involved in the incident. Now running 5th, Abel now shifted his focus to 4th place and Matthew Brabham. Abel cut the over 2-second gap to Brabham down to a few tenths of a second and trying to find a way around the Indy Lights veteran. Unfortunately for Abel, with 2 laps to go contact from behind with Frost sent Abel spinning and ultimately ended Abel’s hopes for a top-5 finish. Abel would wind up finishing in the 9th position.
“It was an incredibly frustrating end to what was shaping up to be a great weekend for myself and the Abel Motorsports guys. We had a fast car all weekend, and it is a bummer we didn’t bring home the finish to match that. Overall we learned a lot, and definitely made great progress on our street course setup that we will be able to take in to 2023. We showed this weekend that once again we have the speed, so now I am shifting my focus forward to another oval, and I’m excited to see what we can do at World Wide Technology Raceway,” said Jacob Abel.
The 2022 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship keeps rolling on for round 11 of the season at World Wide Technology Raceway on August 20th. Keep up to date with all things Abel Motorsports 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 top rung of the Road to Indy ladder, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship. For more information visit the official team website at: www.abelmotorsports.com
Media Contact:
Jacob Donahue Email: Jacobdonahue47@yahoo.com