FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Speedway, Ind. (August 28, 2022) – Abel Motorsports and team driver Jacob Abel, have completed their last oval event of the 2022 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season at World Wide Technology Raceway. Abel would wind up finishing 7th in the race maintaining his 8th place position in the driver championship standings.
The weekend started out strong for Abel who during practice put in his fastest lap only 3-tenths of a second out of first place. Abel would end the sole practice session in 8th place. Moving on to qualifying, Abel put in his fastest lap on the 2nd of the two qualifying laps matching his time from practice. Another tight Indy Lights field for qualifying meant Abel would start the 75-lap event from the 9th position.
As Abel and his engineer Tim Neff discussed the plan for the race, they decided to go with a more aggressive setup to make up ground on the leaders quick. The race got off to a wild start, as entering turn 1 Abel was in a 3-wide battle for 6th, with other side by side battles taking place up front. Abel would settle for 7th in the early battle, conserving his tires for the rest of the 75-lap race.
The more aggressive setup on the No. 51 Abel Construction car came into play early, as Abel managed to work his way past Hunter McElrea for 6th position on lap 3. Abel then settled into his rhythm and set his sights on catching up to 5th place.
Lap 44 brought the first real challenge for Abel as McElrea brought the fight back for the 6th position. Abel fought the charge off and maintained in 6th until lap 53 when the car in 5th lost control and touched the wall forcing him to pit. This incident gave Abel the 5th position, with only 22 laps remaining.
With 20 to go in the race, McElrea once again was back to try and overtake Abel for the 5th position. This time Abel could not fend off the attack, and slotted into 6th with Robb coming quick. After having to get out of the throttle to slot in behind McElrea, Robb had a strong draft on Abel and ultimately overtook the rookie. Abel would wind up coming home in 7th place.
“7th wasn’t what we were hoping for with how fast our car was, but ultimately with our choice of a more aggressive setup we just weren’t able to maintain that pace throughout the race. We will definitely come away with a lot of good notes, and confidence knowing that we had a fast car, and a car that could pass,” said Jacob Abel.
Jacob Abel and his No. 51 Abel Motorsports crew are now headed west for the final 3 races left on the 2022 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires calendar, at Portland International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Keep up with the final rounds of action 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