Things are finally starting to fall into place for Dale Coyne Racing as they welcome Jacob Abel to the team. The former Indy NXT driver is set to race full-time for Dale Coyne and will pilot the No. 51 Honda.
Rookie season for @jacobabelracing loading…🔜 pic.twitter.com/EuuemfU9Kw
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) January 30, 2025
Introducing Jacob Abel: IndyCar’s Newest Addition to the Grid
Abel’s senior racing career began in 2017 when he competed in the F4 United States Championship as a member of Abel Motorsports. The following season, he raced on a part-time basis for both the F4 United States Championship and the F3 Americas Championship.
During this time, Abel managed to secure four podium finishes in F3. His first win of the series came early on in the season and he scored back-to-back wins at Road Atlanta
Abel’s Road to Indy
Abel made his Road to Indy debut in July 2017 as a driver for Newman Wachs Racing. He raced part-time in 2018 before moving up to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship in 2019. Abel ended up finishing his first season in the championship, ninth overall in the standings. He had no podium finishes and only two top-five finishes.
He competed in seven races during the 2020 season to secure his full-season drive in the Formula Regional Americas Championship. He scored his first Indy Pro 2000 podium later that year in September at Mid-Ohio.
Starting in 2021, Abel began racing full-time in Indy Pro 2000. During his first full-time season, he saw success with two podium finishes at Road America and once again at Mid-Ohio. By the end of 2022, he finished sixth in the standings.
Indy NXT
2022 marked the beginning of Abel’s career in Indy NXT, once again racing with Abel Motorsports. During his rookie season he finished eighth overall in the standings. Abel’s best race result was P4 in both Portland and Laguna Seca.
His 2023 racing season in Indy NXT started off on a high when he scored his first podium of the series during the season’s opening race at St. Petersburg. He led 27 laps before dropping to third during a late restart and went on to finish the race P3. Later on in the season heed finish at Road America finishing in P2. Abel saw a season high in Portland when he won the race after starting behind Louis Foster on the grid. Following the end of the 2024 season, Abel did an IndyCar test with Dale Coyne.
READ MORE: Introducing Louis Foster: RLL’s Rookie Driver for 2025
Abel’s Experience in Other Racing Series
Abel also has some experience racing in series outside of lower formula series and Indy NXT. In 2021 he competed part-time with Racers Edge Motorsports in the GT World Challenge. Later on in the season he joined Compass Racing for the IMSA SportsCar Championship which took place at Laguna Seca. He was a substitute for Jeff Kingsley during this event. The weekend afterwards, he celebrated his first class victory in GT3 machinery during race number one of the GT World Challenge America event.
In August 2021, Abel dabbled in racing in Stadium Super Trucks. He made his debut at the Music City Grand Prix which was SST’s final race of the season. The truck he drove was sponsored by Crosley Brands and he finished P2 in the second and final race of the race weekend.
Going International
During 2023, Abel raced in the 2023 Formula Regional Oceania Championship with Kiwi Motorsport. This marked the first time he would try racing in a series outside of North America. He scored four podium finishes and finished third place in the driver’s championship.
He returned to the series briefly in 2024 racing during round four at Euromarque Motorsport Park and round five at Highlands Motorsport Park. By the end of the season, Abel had 118 points and finished 13th in the championship standings.
Featured Image: IMAGO/Zuma Presswire. 9/9/2024
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