Abel Motorsports will continue to field two cars in Indy Lights this weekend, as HMD Motorsports-bound Antonio Serravalle is replaced by long-time series absentee Ryan Phinny.
The 32-year-old will be team-mate to Jacob Abel for the two races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, marking his first starts in the series since the 2014 finale where he claimed his career-best finish of sixth.
He had debuted in Indy Lights in 2011 in a one-off in Long Beach, then did the Toronto and Mid-Ohio rounds in 2014 with Bryan Herta Autosport before switching to Belardi Auto Racing for the final round at Sonoma Raceway.
“I’d really like to thank John Brunner, Bill Abel, and the entire Abel Motorsports team for the call to drive and for the all the partners that came on board to make this happen,” said Phinny.
“This car is sponsored entirely by Tennessee-based businesses, and I feel so fortunate to represent them and the state I now call home.
“Right now, my focus is going to be getting back up to speed and learning these new Indy Lights cars.
“It’s already been a great transition to Abel Motorsports, including working again with a few familiar faces from my previous time in Indy Lights. Ultimately the goal is to add more events to my calendar, and a good result this weekend would go a long way into building this programme up.”
Aside from his limited Indy Lights experience, Phinny’s racing career has also included Formula BMW USA and GT class starts in IMSA’s predecessor sportscar series Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series.