Jacob Abel has floundered throughout the month of May and failed to qualify for the 109th Running if the Indy 500.
The rookie never looked at home at IMS throughout practice as he lacked raw speed in the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing entry.
Abel was unable to break into the top 30 during Indy 500 qualifying’s opening day, which pushed the rookie into Last Chance Qualifying.
Abel was eventually bumped out of the Indy 500 by his teammate Rinus VeeKay, and there was quite a significant margin between the pair. VeeKay set a four-lap average of 226.913mph, while Abel managed a 226.394mph effort.
Jacob Abel admits “it was literally just outright speed”
Abel lacked the pure pace to break into the 33-car field, which has compounded an already difficult season. He has yet to score a top-20 finish in the opening five rounds.
The Dale Coyne Racing driver explained in the post-qualifying press conference: “It was literally just outright speed. We would start our warmup lap, and you kind of have a map that you run on the warmup lap that makes the car go slower.
“As soon as yesterday, we switched into the fast map, and starting with our warmup lap it was already 5 miles an hour down. We had to start switching that map way earlier just to get our warmup lap going so we could build up to speed.“
Despite Dale Coyne Racing opting to change the gearbox in the No. 51 car, it made little difference as the team continued to reduce the cars downforce.
“It was just weird. It was an outright pace thing and felt like a drag thing. We changed the gearbox last night. That didn’t fix it. We looked everywhere, all the engine stuff. That looks fine.
“I think it was just an outright speed and pace thing. The car feels good. We kept trimming out, trimming out. It didn’t feel super easy, but we were still flat each lap.
“I was able to stay ahead of the balance enough to keep it that way, but in the end, we just didn’t have any speed, just any speed on the straightaway. We’re three miles an hour down in the corners, and we’re three miles an hour down at the end of the straight-away. It’s an outright speed for the entire time the tyres are rolling on the ground.“
It has been a difficult start to life in IndyCar for Jacob Abel
Abel is finding his feet at the top level of single-seater racing in North America after progressing through the entire Road to Indy ladder.
He gained valuable experience in the US Formula 4 Championship before ultimately losing out on last year’s Indy NXT title to fellow 2025 IndyCar rookie Louis Foster.
Abel has had to contend with the added complications of the hybrid system and the finer margins in wheel-to-wheel combat.
Getting bumped out of the Indianapolis 500 will be a difficult moment for Abel, but other youngsters, such as Nolan Siegel, proved it’s possible to bounce back from similar setbacks.
Jacob Abel said “it sucks” after getting eliminated at The Brickyard
To race in the Indy 500 and compete in IndyCars biggest racing is a key goal for all the drivers on the Road to Indy.
The rookie shed light on just how difficult it was to get bumped out of the show: “It sucks. It’s awful. Our whole season has kind of been pretty miserable so far, to be frank. We’ve had sort of issue after issue, week in, week out. It’s been tough.
“I’ve been working my whole life to get into IndyCar, and this is, what, the first six or seven races have been like.
“I remember about 12 months ago when I was sitting on this stage because I got two poles and won the Indy NXT here race.
“It’s a little bit of a different scenario now, just trying to stay mentally as positive as I can because there are certainly some self-doubts that are trying to creep in. Just trying to stay as positive as I can.”
Dale Coyne Racing still has VeeKay in the race starting from 31st, sharing the back row with Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Will Power.
Abel will also have to regroup quickly as the season continues the week after the Indy 500 with the Detroit Grand Prix.
