{"id":30033,"date":"2025-02-05T14:30:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T19:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=30033"},"modified":"2025-02-05T13:52:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T18:52:38","slug":"taking-a-look-at-dale-coynes-rookie-driver-jacob-abels-racing-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/05\/taking-a-look-at-dale-coynes-rookie-driver-jacob-abels-racing-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Jacob Abel: IndyCar&#8217;s Newest Addition to the Grid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Things are finally starting to fall into place for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/21\/last-seat-at-dale-coyne\/\" target=\"_self\">Dale Coyne Racing<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Rookie season for <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jacobabelracing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@jacobabelracing<\/a> loading&#8230;\ud83d\udd1c <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EuuemfU9Kw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/EuuemfU9Kw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IndyCar\/status\/1885081638650171477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>Introducing Jacob Abel: IndyCar\u2019s Newest Addition to the Grid\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abel\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Abel&#8217;s Road to Indy\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Indy NXT\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2022 marked the beginning of Abel\u2019s career in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/02\/off-season-updates-the-new-faces-in-indy-nxt\/\" target=\"_self\">Indy NXT,<\/a> once again racing with Abel Motorsports. During his rookie season he finished eighth overall in the standings. Abel\u2019s best race result was P4 in both Portland and Laguna Seca.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His 2023 racing <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.indynxt.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">season<\/a> in Indy NXT started off on a high when he scored his first podium of the series during the season\u2019s opening race at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/03\/10\/indycar-series-penske-newgarden-st-petersburg\/\" target=\"_self\">St. Petersburg.<\/a> 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/06\/09\/road-america-2024-how-will-power-ended-his-2-year-win-drought\/\" target=\"_self\">Road America<\/a> finishing in P2. Abel saw a season high in Portland when he won the race after starting behind <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/31\/louis-fosters-junior-career-lead-him-to-rll-racing\/\" target=\"_self\">Louis Foster<\/a> on the grid. Following the end of the 2024 season, Abel did an IndyCar test with Dale Coyne.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lbkFsJgt5zc?si=0rwT7yKV17HRdr6Q\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/31\/louis-fosters-junior-career-lead-him-to-rll-racing\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Introducing Louis Foster: RLL\u2019s Rookie Driver for 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b>Abel&#8217;s Experience in Other Racing Series\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/09\/17\/how-alex-palou-became-2024-indycar-champion\/\" target=\"_self\">Laguna Seca.<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In August 2021, Abel dabbled in racing in Stadium Super Trucks. He made his debut at the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/02\/15\/indycar-season-finale-moved-to-nashville-superspeedway\/\" target=\"_self\">Music City Grand Prix<\/a> which was SST\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30036\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30036\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30036 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"August 8, 2021, Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Jacob Abel - Music City Grand Prix - Stadium SUPER Trucks Race 2 Nashville USA\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/02\/imago1005229915-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IMAGO\/ Zuma Press Wire. 8\/8\/2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><b>Going International<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s championship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Featured Image:\u00a0<\/strong>IMAGO\/Zuma Presswire. 9\/9\/2024<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/06\/13\/indycar-massive-fox-deal-secured-for-2025-and-beyond\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">IndyCar: massive FOX deal secured for 2025 and beyond<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.\u00a0 Rookie season for @jacobabelracing loading&#8230;\ud83d\udd1c pic.twitter.com\/EuuemfU9Kw \u2014 NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) January 30, 2025 Introducing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5230,"featured_media":30059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2024,6,1663],"tags":[596,2473,1377,2474,1036],"class_list":["post-30033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indy-nxt","category-indycar","category-ntt-indycar-series","tag-dale-coyne-racing","tag-jacob-abel","tag-laguna-seca","tag-louis","tag-portland-international-raceway"],"modified_by":"Hayden Murdock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30033"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30060,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30033\/revisions\/30060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}