Dual top 10 qualifying effort for ABEL Motorsports at WWTR - Speedway Digest

With just one practice session to set up the cars, ABEL Motorsports put two of its four entries into the top 10 for Saturday’s 75-lap INDY NXT by Firestone OUTFRONT Showdown at World Wide Technology Raceway.

At the end of qualifying, Jacob Abel (No. 51 ABEL Construction) had set the team’s quickest time, qualifying sixth with a two-lap average of 163.261 mph, with Yuven Sundaramoorthy (No. 22 S Team Motorsports/ABEL Motorsports) close behind in eighth, Jordan Missig (ABEL Motorsports) in 15th and Taylor Ferns (No. 55 Bradford Allen/ABEL Motorsports) in 16th.

The quartet had just one 45-minute practice session early Friday afternoon to dial in setup ahead of qualifying early in the evening, focusing on both in-traffic running and qualifying runs. Sundaramoorthy led the team, setting the eighth quickest time, with Abel 10th, Missig 16th and Ferns 18th in very hot and humid conditions.

As the only one of the four drivers to have raced at WWTR last year, Abel had a basis of comparison – but with a new Firestone tire compound for the weekend and much warmer temperatures, team engineers looked at times and data to come up with the best balance for qualifying.

“We raced at night last year, so it was cooler, and this year we’re on a little bit of a different tire compound, so with the short practice session, we had to basically put our best guess going into qualifying,” said Abel. “It’s impossible to get a truly perfect race car, so you’re always making compromises. Tire management is huge as well, because the more you save for the end of the race, the better – these tires do wear and I think it’s a good thing, to train us for the next level.”

Ambient temperatures hovered in the mid-90s for qualifying early that evening. At the checkered flag, all four drivers agreed that time had been left on the table – boding well for Saturday’s race.

“I messed up the first laps, to be honest,” said Abel. “I over drove it a little bit. There was a lot more grip and we were going a lot faster than we did in practice. and I wanted to make sure I didn’t leave anything on the table, and I didn’t. But I actually overstepped a little bit on that first lap. The second lap was great, a super strong lap, just needed that first one.”

“With the change in temperature and rubber on the track, it was difficult to know where the pace would be,” said Sundaramoorthy. “We kind of had to guess what the speed was and I didn’t get it all out of my first lap. The second lap was halfway there, but I still had more room to improve. But I’m happy because we know the car is there and I know I had the speed to qualify better – and on an oval, you can work from eighth.”

“The team put together a really good car for us,” said Missig. “We’re trying to figure out where the balance is going to be, especially with the high-speed corners around here, and we knew that would be key going into qualifying. Having four cars here means we have more information, and I think we found that balance in the end. But for me, it’s just about getting more laps, since the Nashville test was the only oval running I’ve done in this car – and there, you’re flat all around. Here, you have to manage it a little bit and kind of trim the car out with a little bit more speed into some of these corners. It takes a little bit more aggression, a little bit more confidence, and that’s what we’re building up to.”

“The team has given me a really good car and just working with me as far as my adaptability and my seat time, and giving me what I need to improve,” said Ferns. “I’m actually still mad at myself, I feel like I left some time on the table. But I still picked up a lot time compared to where we were in practice. I wouldn’t be a great competitor if I wasn’t super hard on myself and expecting more, but I know we’ll get there.”

ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports, Quest Global and OMP for their continued support.

The 75-lap INDY NXT by Firestone OUTFRONT Showdown takes the green flag Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.

Abel Motorsports PR