Jacob Abel (racing driver)

William Jacob Abel is an American racing driver who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Era Motorsport. He last competed in the IndyCar Series driving the No. 50/51 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. He previously competed in Indy NXT for Abel Motorsports.

Junior racing career

Lower formulae

Abel began his senior racing career in 2017 at the age of sixteen, competing in the F4 United States Championship with Abel Motorsports. The following season, Abel stepped back to a partial-season schedule in both the F4 United States Championship and the new-for-2018 F3 Americas Championship. Abel would score four podiums in his opening season in F3, en route to a fourth place championship finish. He took his first win in the series early the following season, scoring back-to-back victories at Road Atlanta.
In 2023, Abel stepped outside of North America for the first time in his racing career, taking part in the 2023 Formula Regional Oceania Championship with Kiwi Motorsport. He claimed four podium finishes, completing the season with a third place championship finish. He returned to the series in 2024, making his first appearance during Round 4 at Euromarque Motorsport Park.

Road to Indy

Abel made his Road to Indy debut in July 2017 at Mid-Ohio, driving for Newman Wachs Racing. After a part-time schedule in the series for 2018, Abel stepped up to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship in 2019. His opening season in the championship was quiet, as he finished ninth overall with no podiums and two top-fives. He would compete in just seven races in 2020 to supplement a full-season drive in the Formula Regional Americas Championship, scoring his first Indy Pro 2000 podium at Mid-Ohio that September.
For 2021, Abel committed to a full-time schedule in Indy Pro 2000. Claiming two podiums, one each at Road America and Mid-Ohio, Abel finished his first full season sixth in the standings.
For 2022, Abel stepped up to Indy Lights, once again with Abel Motorsports. He finished eighth in the championship during his rookie season, finishing as high as fourth at Portland and Laguna Seca. For 2023, Abel returned to the series. He scored his first series podium in the opening race of the season at St. Petersburg, leading 27 of 40 laps before dropping to third on a late restart. He would finish a season-high second at Road America and Iowa, finishing fifth in the championship. In November 2023, Abel embarked on an IndyCar test with Dale Coyne Racing.
Abel and his family's team returned for his third year in the series in 2024. Following a second place at the season-opener in St. Petersburg, Abel took pole at Barber, from where he led every lap to take his first victory in the category. Abel followed that up with another lights-to-flag victory at Indianapolis, and claimed his third and final race win of the season later in the year at Portland. Abel finished the 2024 season second in the championship, with a career-high three wins, ten podiums, and three pole positions.

IndyCar Series

In November 2024, Abel took part in an IndyCar test at Texas Motor Speedway, driving with Chip Ganassi Racing. During the test, Abel made a strong impression on Ganassi's managing director Mike Hull, who advocated for Abel to land a seat in the series for 2025. On January 13, 2025, it was announced that Abel would make the step up to the NTT IndyCar Series to compete full time in the No. 51 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. Following a difficult season where he placed lowest of the full-time drivers — 48 points behind nearest driver Devlin DeFrancesco, Abel was dropped at the end of the season to make way for reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger.

Sportscar racing career

2021

In March 2021, Abel was announced as part of HPD's 2021 Junior Factory Lineup. As a result, Abel would compete part-time with Racers Edge Motorsports in the GT World Challenge America. Later that season, Abel joined Compass Racing for the IMSA SportsCar Championship event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, substituting for Jeff Kingsley. The following weekend, Abel scored his first class victory in GT3 machinery in race #1 of the GT World Challenge America event at Watkins Glen.

2026

After losing his IndyCar seat, Abel joined the IMSA Sportscar Championship to contest the endurance rounds, driving for Era Motorsport in the LMP2 category.

Other racing

Stadium Super Trucks (2021)

In August 2021, Abel made his Stadium Super Trucks debut at the Music City Grand Prix, where he drove a truck sponsored by Crosley Brands. He finished runner-up in the second and final race of the weekend.

Personal life

A graduate of Trinity High School in Louisville, Abel attended college part-time at Butler University while pursuing his racing career. A marketing major, Abel stated that his education helped him understand the financial and business aspects of motorsports.