Abel Motorsports and driver Jacob Abel will climb to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship for 2022 after two full seasons in the Indy Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires.
The team is climbing to the final rung of the ladder system to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES after restructuring in 2021, including the construction of new headquarters in Speedway, Indiana.
“With Roger Penske and his team taking over control of the Indy Lights series and with the positive changes within our team we feel like right now is a perfect opportunity to progress,” team owner Bill Abel said. “Jacob has really grown as a driver over the past couple of years, and with the new additions to the team we feel that Jacob has everything he needs to move up the ladder.”
Veteran Indy Lights team manager John Brunner will run the Abel team. Brunner helped guide Gabby Chaves to the 2014 Indy Lights drivers’ championship and directed Belardi Auto Racing to two victories in the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I’m excited to be going back to Indy Lights, and especially with Abel Motorsports,” Brunner said. “This team really came together during the 2021 season and showed pace, which was exactly what we wanted to happen. Indy Lights is a totally different ball game and will definitely be a huge challenge, but we’re building on a very solid base already which will help shorten the learning curve for us as a team.”
Abel, a 20-year-old sophomore at Butler University and native of Lexington, Kentucky, will continue his climb up the Road to Indy ladder system. He has graduated from USF2000 into Indy Pro 2000 while driving the Acura NSX GT3 fielded by Racers Edge Motorsports in the SRO GT World Challenge America.
“I can’t thank everyone involved in our team enough for what they have done to make this a reality,” Jacob Abel said. “I truly feel like I am progressing as a driver, and this is the logical next step for the team and I. This will be one of the bigger challenges I have faced in my racing career, but with the team I have around me and their Indy Lights experience, I know I have the tools to succeed.
“Also having Partners like Crosley Brands continuing their support of me and the team means a lot. I love representing them and having them around, and I hope I can deliver them some more trips to Victory Lane.”
Crosley Brands is continuing its support of Abel Motorsports after joining the team in 2021. Crosley has been a leader in the nostalgic electronics category for more than 30 years.
“We are very proud to be with Jacob Abel and Abel Motorsports for a second year,” said Bo LeMastus, CEO of Crosley Brands. “Not only is Jacob Abel a great young driver, but he is also a great young man and someone that fits our company culture very well. We are all behind him in 2022 and can’t wait to see what he and the team are able to accomplish.”
Abel Construction also will continue as a sponsor of the team in 2022. Abel Construction has grown from a modest residential repair shop in 1938 into a large-scale design, construction and consulting company.