Jacob Abel doesn’t want his IndyCar career to be summarized as one-and-done.
Running with Dale Coyne Racing last year, the Kentucky native endured a rookie campaign to forget in North America’s premier open-wheel championship. A rough start gave way to an even more disastrous month of May after failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. The challenges didn’t relent for the rest of the season, either, with only two finishes inside the top 20.
It was anything but representative of expectations after a stellar campaign the year before in Indy NXT, where he captured three wins, 10 podiums and three poles in 14 rounds en route to second in the championship.
Abel's 2026 plans and future in IndyCar
For now, the 24-year-old Abel has shifted to IMSA for 2026 and is in the midst of an LMP2 effort with Era Motorsport.
“Yeah, I think for me, you can't look overly far into the future in this sport is what I've learned,” Abel told Motorsport.com. “I think you have to really focus on the present.
“And with that being said, I'm focusing on maximizing my performance on an LMP2 car for this season and getting the most out of it every single weekend. So that's the primary focus right now.”
If there was one shining point that showcased Abel’s potential amid last year’s struggles, it was a strong 11th-place run in the nightcap of the doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway. Uniquely, the result matched the season-best mark of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster, his rookie rival that bested him for the Indy NXT crown in 2024.
“Obviously, I'm very passionate about IndyCar racing,” he said. “That's my first true love. If the opportunity presents itself to go back there, I would love to, but it has to be the right opportunity.
“It has to be a situation that we can go out and perform in and show the world what I'm actually capable of, because I wasn't really able to do that in 2025. Not for any particular reason, but just a lot of bad luck. A lot of various things just made this season kind of one to forget, unfortunately, which is a bummer because it was my rookie season.
“It's what I've been working my whole career for.”
There is a possibility, however, that Abel could return for a one-off appearance to attempt this year’s Indianapolis 500 with Abel Motorsports, the team owned by his father that he drove with in Indy NXT.
Abel Motorsports haven’t contested a race in IndyCar since its debut in the 2023 edition of the Indy 500 with RC Enerson.
Several things would need to fall a certain way for that to happen for Abel, notably the current engine lease situation that could come into play depending on how the drama plays out surrounding PREMA - the only unchartered IndyCar team that are also the only non-participant in this week’s two-day test at Sebring International Raceway.
“Yeah, I think a lot of things have to happen for that to happen,” Abel said. “Obviously, if we're able to put the pieces together to run the Indy 500 as our own team we'd love to do that.
“And that's something that they ran the car back in 2023. They did a very good job. The team is way stronger now three years down the road.
“So I think there's a lot of things that have to happen to even get a chance at doing that. Until those happen, we're not really going to start that whole process. But yeah, let's see.”
