Photo Courtesy Amy Lentz Photography

Former Championship Formula Regional Americas Powered by Honda team Abel Motorsports of Louisville continued their quest for 2020 honors in the Honda-powered open-wheel development series at picturesque Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL to begin the month of August.   While the results may not reveal it, the team is showing speed and capability as the COVID 19-impacted season hits the halfway mark.

Both returning veteran driver Jacob Abel, 19, of Louisville, and his first-year teammate Blake Upton of Sammamish, WA battled through a challenging opening round Saturday, before rallying in Sunday’s doubleheader.  Abel qualified 7th and finished 7th in the first 35-minute chase, with Upton starting 11th and holding on to that spot throughout the event.

Sunday’s two rounds saw both Abel teammates gain positions from their respective starting spots.   Jacob Abel lined up 8th in the weekend’s second race and charged to 5th at the checkered flag.  “It wasn’t our best weekend, but we showed we have what it takes to be successful in this series”, commented the college sophomore.  “We were on our way to a good finish in the third race as well, qualifying 6th and racing in the top five before we had another mechanical issue.  Now, we’ve got several weeks to regroup, get some seat time in some different race cars, and get ready to win when we get to Florida in late September.”

For Upton, Sunday was another step forward in his first full FR Americas season.

The Washington state young gun improved his qualifying position for each event, starting 10th and 9th.  More importantly he gained spots during each race, to pick up 8th and 7th place finishes.   The result of 7th matched his season’s best finish thus far.  “I’m really happy we were able to pick up two more top tens for our team.   I need to improve during qualifying to give myself a better shot at a podium.  Our team gave me another great car at Barber, and they deserve more good finishes. We’ll regroup over these next several weeks and be ready for the Florida tour at the end of September”, said the first-year FR Americas competitor.

Team Principal Bill Abel was pleased too with the determination shown by his squad.  “Barber is one of our favorite tracks, and we were hoping to show our strength this past weekend.   We had some good runs and results there.  Now, we need to take what we’ve learned over the first three weekends of the season and use that to gain ground down the stretch.  Florida has historically been good to our team, and we’re expecting more of the same when we get to Sebring and Homestead!”

Abel Motorsports is in its third season of FR Americas competition.  The team plans to field Jacob Abel in a couple of Indy Pro 2000 events over the next several weeks, before resuming the FR Americas campaign at Sebring at the end of September.

ABOUT ABEL MOTORSPORTS:

Abel Motorsports of Louisville, KY, is a top-tier open wheel development team, with driving, marketing and sponsorship opportunities available in a variety of professional series.   For more information, visit www.abelmotorsports.com.

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