Hedge ninth as Abel wins Indy NXT race in Alabama

| Photographer Credit: Karl Zemlin

Kiwi driver Callum Hedge has finished ninth while Jacob Abel led all 35 laps from pole to claim his first INDY NXT by Firestone victory Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.

The win came in Abel’s 30th career start in the INDYCAR development series and was the first win for the family-owned Abel Motorsports team. His previous best result was second, three times, including in the 2024 season opener March 10 at St. Petersburg, Florida.

Abel won under caution in the No. 51 Abel Construction entry when Jamie Chadwick spun into the gravel in Turn 1 on Lap 34 and got stuck, triggering a race-ending yellow flag. Abel led Siegel’s No. 39 HMD Motorsports car by about a second when the yellow flew.

James Roe placed third in the No. 29 TopCon car of Andretti Global to earn his second career podium finish. Caio Collet was the highest-placing rookie, finishing fourth in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car.

Race Highlights

Louis Foster completed a stirring drive from 21st and last on the starting grid to round out the top five in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies entry fielded by Andretti Global.

Siegel, who started second, ran in that position for the entire race. But he did pull side by side with Abel in Turn 5 on Lap 10 after gaining ground after a Lap 6 restart. Abel parried that move by Siegel, who fell back to .5510 of a second behind at the end of that lap.

Abel then controlled the race from that point, but it wasn’t without some anxiety.

Siegel conserved his Firestone Firehawk tires and Push to Pass and started to close in on Abel with 10 laps remaining on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile circuit. Siegel pulled his machine within .479 of a second on Lap 27, but Abel was able to expand that gap to .840 of a second by Lap 30 and held on for the win.

The duel between Abel and Siegel not only was compelling for the fans watching from Barber’s manicured grounds, but it also set the stage for a potential championship battle all season. Abel and Siegel are tied atop the standings with 95 points after two races.

Foster may have salvaged his championship hopes with a terrific drive from the back of the field. He barely completed any practice laps this weekend and didn’t participate in qualifying due to nagging electrical problems.

But the Andretti Global crew diagnosed and fixed the gremlins, and Foster diced through the field for a strong recovery. He is third in the standings, 30 points behind Abel and Siegel.

The next events for INDY NXT by Firestone are the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader May 10-11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Results (order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out)
1/ (1) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
2/ (2) Nolan Siegel, 35, Running
3/ (3) James Roe, 35, Running
4/ (4) Caio Collet, 35, Running
5/ (21) Louis Foster, 35, Running
6/ (9) Myles Rowe, 35, Running
7/ (6) Michael d’Orlando, 35, Running
8/ (7) Bryce Aron, 35, Running
9/ (10) Callum Hedge, 35, Running
10/ (12) Salvador de Alba Jr., 35, Running
11/ (8) Reece Gold, 35, Running
12/ (15) Jack William Miller, 35, Running
13/ (17) Christian Bogle, 35, Running
14/ (14) Jonathan Browne, 35, Running
15/ (20) Niels Koolen, 35, Running
16/ (13) Josh Mason, 35, Running
17/ (11) Josh Pierson, 35, Running
18/ (18) Nolan Allaer, 35, Running
19/ (19) Lindsay Brewer, 34, Running
20/ (5) Jamie Chadwick, 33, Running
21/ (16) Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 32, Running

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