Jacob Abel leads at Barber Motorsports Park (Photo Courtesy Of Penske Entertainment – Karl Zemlin)

By Steve Wittich

Here are the quick race notes for the INDY NXT by Firestone race from Barber Motorsports Park. We’ll be back with more tomorrow. 

The front row of Abel and Seigel brought the field to the green flag, but with a big gap and a few drivers pulling out of line, race control waived off the start. 

The first of 35 laps was under caution before they tried again. Again, the start was scruffy and immediately immedietely put under review. 

Pierson, one of the cars who got out of line on the start, along with Mason, got wide in Turns 2 and 3, running through the grass and falling to the tail of the field. 

The running order after the first lap was Abel, Siegel, James Roe (Andretti Global), Caio Collet (HMD Motorsports), Bryce Aron (Andretti Global), Jamie Chadwick (Andretti Global), Michael d’Orlando (Andretti Cape), Myles Rowe (HMD Motorsports w/Force Indy), Reece Gold (HMD Motorsports), Callum Hedge (HMD Motorsports), Josh Mason (Abel Motorsports), Salvador de Alba (Andretti Cape), Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Louis Foster (Andretti Global), Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Abel Motorsports), Jonathan Browne (HMD Motorsports), Christian Bogle (HMD Motorsports), Nolan Allaer (HMD Motorsports), Niels Koolen (HMD Motorsports), Lindsay Brewer (Juncos Hollinger Racing) and Josh Pierson (HMD Motorsports). 

Foster had gained nine spots after two laps under green. 

On Lap 4, the yellow flag came out for Sundaramoorthy’s No. 22, which stopped on track in the penultimate corner just before pit-in. On the Peacock broadcast, Charlie Kimball reported that he was having a shifting issue. He could get going again and rejoined at the back of the grid. 

The top five under yellow were Abel, Siegel, Roe, Collet and Aron. 

The green flag returned to start Lap 7, with Abel getting a decent jump. Behind them, Foster was looking to make up more spots going around the outside of de Alba, Jr. and Hedge in the Alabama Roller Coaster. He got by the Mexican driver, but the Kiwi wasn’t so friendly, pushing him off at the exit of Turn 4. 

On Lap 8, Foster got around Hedge and Gold before moving up to eighth and putting pressure on Rowe for seventh. That 

On Lap 10, Abel had a half-second lead over Siegel. The driver of the No. 39 made a pass attempt into Turn 7/8, but thought better of it, dropping in behind the leader. 

On Lap 11, Foster made the move over Rowe to seventh. 

The field settled in over the next few laps, with Sundaramoorthy coming to pit road for repairs; after repairs from the 

At the halfway mark of the race, Abel’s lead over Seigel was right at a second, with Roe, Collet, Aron, Chadwick, Foster, Rowe, d’Orlando and Gold rounding out the top ten and within 13 seconds of the leader. 

The closest battle on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course was between Andretti Global teammates Chadwick and Foster for sixth place. 

With ten laps remaining, Siegel was again putting pressure on Abel and was within a half second in the Turn 5 braking zone. 

Further back, Foster was under Chadwick’s gearbox but struggled to pass the three-time W-Series champion. 

At the front of the field, Siegel was starting to lock up in the braking zone for Turn 7, risking a flat spot on his INDY NXT Firestone Racing Tire. 

With five laps remaining Abel’s lead was over a second. The best battle was between Gold and Hedge for tenth. 

On Lap 31, Foster forced his way by Chadwick in the final corner, which opened things up for Rowe to get around the No. 28 in Turn 1. 

With two laps remaining, the yellow flag came out with Chadwick in the gravel on the outside of Turn 2. Her teammate Aron was on the outside of her, and she took a little too much curb, spinning and ruining what could have been a good race. 

Despite their best efforts the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team could not get her out of the way, giving Abel his first win. 

Unofficial INDY NXT by Firestone race results from Barber Motorsports Park

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFF.
1	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	35 LAPS
2	39	Nolan Siegel	HMD Motorsports	-1.3326
3	29	James Roe	Andretti Global	-1.9583
4	18	Caio Collet	HMD Motorsports	-2.5617
5	26	Louis Foster	Andretti Global	-5.3211
6	99	Myles Rowe	HMD Motorsports with Force Indy	-6.4573
7	3	Michael d’Orlando	Andretti Cape	-7.459
8	27	Bryce Aron	Andretti Global	-10.2803
9	17	Callum Hedge	HMD Motorsports	-10.4908
10	2	Salvador de Alba Jr	Andretti Cape	-12.3402
11	10	Reece Gold	HMD Motorsports	-17.6059
12	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	-18.9238
13	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports	-19.8703
14	23	Jonathan Browne	HMD Motorsports	-21.95
15	33	Niels Koolen	HMD Motorsports	-22.4828
16	21	Josh Mason	Abel Motorsports	-23.2715
17	14	Josh Pierson	HMD Motorsports	-23.7981
18	11	Nolan Allaer	HMD Motorsports	-23.9723
20	28	Jamie Chadwick	Andretti Global	– 2 LAPS
21	22	Yuven Sundaramoorthy	Abel Motorsports	-3 LAPS