Abel takes maiden pole in Indy Nxt’s first oval qualifying of 2023

Photo: Chris Jones

Abel Motorsports’ Jacob Abel took his first Indy Nxt pole position in qualifying at Iowa Speedway. 

Abel will start from the front of the field after averaging 162.244mph over two laps of the oval, going 0.712mph quicker than the next fastest driver.

He was one of the last drivers to head out on track. Earlier, the quickest average speed had increased from just above 159mph to closer to 160mph mark, and James Roe Jr was the first to go quicker than 160mph over two laps. Roe managed a two-lap average of 161.168mph, more than 1mph faster than early pacesetter Christian Bogle.

Abel was next up and went even faster, and he was followed by Louis Foster who went third fastest. He was later bumped down from position by Hunter McElrea, Christian Rasmussen and Nolan Seigel. 

Rasmussen got closest to Abel, with an average speed of 161.175mph. Seigel was the last driver on track and improved significantly on his second lap, but his average was only good enough for third. 

Roe had dropped to fourth by the time everybody had headed out, ahead of McElrea, Foster, and Bogle. 

Kyffin Simpson qualified eighth, ahead of Danial Frost and Rasmus Lindh. Matthew Brabham marked his return to Indy Nxt by qualifying 11th.

Jagger Jones had an issue on his run after he stayed out for an extra lap. His penalty for the incident is pending and he provisionally has no recorded laptimes. Absent from Iowa was his Cape Motorsports team-mate Enaam Ahmed.

Qualifying results