INDYCAR: Abel crashes out of Saturday Iowa race, Siegel doesn’t make the grid on Sunday
by William Soquet / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
PHOTO: IndyCar.com
Jacob Abel finished last for the 2nd time in his NTT IndyCar Series career in Saturday’s Sukup 275 at Iowa Speedway when his #51 Abel Construction Honda crashed out of the race after completing 72 of the race’s 275 laps.
The finish came in Abel’s 10th career start and was his first since Barber, seven races ago. Across IndyCar Series history, it was the 10th for the #51, the 125th for Honda and the 241st for damage-related reasons.
Abel’s rookie season has continued to be one filled with its share of bumps and bruises. Last year’s runner-up in Indy NXT fell out of the Indianapolis Grand Prix, finishing 24th, before struggling all weekend in Indianapolis 500 qualifying alongside teammate Rinus VeeKay. Abel’s was the slowest car in the Last Row Shootout and was bumped from the 500. Even when some called for Abel to be added to field as a replacement for a disqualified Penske entry or as an additional 34th car, he stood his ground, noting that he wouldn’t want to be in the race as some kind of extra qualifier.
He thi rebounded at Detroit, scoring his first top-20 finish of the year with an 18th-place effort. From there, it was again back to keeping the car clean and avoiding incidents, placing 21st at Gateway, 23rd at Road America, and 22nd at Mid-Ohio. It was the little things that kept Abel from better results, such as a strategy miscommunication at Gateway and being down on power midway through the race at Road America. Entering the Iowa doubleheader, Abel was last of all full-time drivers in points, although the spark and potential were certainly showing.
Iowa had all the hallmarks of another long weekend in a rookie season of learning for Abel. In the only timed practice session of the weekend, the #51 was four-tenths off the next-slowest car, VeeKay. His was a full nine-tenths of a second off session leader Scott McLaughlin. In qualifying, Abel’s first lap was slowest of all cars that took a time, placing him 26th on the grid for the first race of the doubleheader. However, he wouldn’t start last. That would go to McLaughlin, who crashed on his first timed lap. Since he didn’t complete a first timed lap (good for a starting position on Saturday) or a second timed lap (good for a starting position on Sunday), the #3 car was to start from the rear both days.
Before the green flag even fell on Saturday, there was last-place action. Christian Lundgaard, who qualified 21st, did not move from the pits when engines fired. However, his team quickly got the car started, and he was able to rejoin the field during pace laps and retain his original starting position.
As the green flag flew, there was action as well. Colton Herta, who qualified an uncharacteristic 23rd, dropped very low on track while trying to get on the gas and make a run on the cars in front of him. However, the back end of the car stepped out, and he spun through the grass. Though there was no damage to anyone, the caution flag flew, and the ensuing caution period took several laps.
The race restarted on Lap 9, and Herta was still in last at the end of that lap, 6.22 seconds back of leader Josef Newgarden. He passed Abel on Lap 10, relegating the #51 to last. Abel was 10 seconds in arrears after Lap 11, 13.5 seconds back after Lap 15, and 16 seconds back after 20 laps. He was lapped on Lap 28 as Newgarden sought to extended his lead over second-place driver Conor Daly.
However, that’s where the lapping stopped. Herta had been unable to pass VeeKay and was still running 26th well into the run. Newgarden - whether content to do so or just couldn’t pass - ran on the back wing of Herta for several laps. Daly could never get close enough to make a serious run.
On Lap 74, Abel was still the only car a lap down. He entered the corner a half car width above normal, and got into the marbles and shot up the track. By the time he reached midcorner, he was already in the wall, and he slid down towards the middle of the track at corner exit. The contact with the wall damaged the right-front suspension, and Abel retired the car for the day.
The rest of the Bottom Five was filled with similar incidents. Kyle Kirkwood suffered a tire failure and shot into the outside wall just after Lap 150. Alexander Rossi quietly fell out with a mechanical issue with under 40 laps to go. Nolan Siegel and Calum Ilott also fell victim to high-line crashes, rounding out the Bottom Five.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #51 also finished last at Iowa in 2023, when Sting Ray Robb was disqualified after having a wheel come off his racecar.
*The #51 has finished last at least twice each season since 2023: Abel twice this year, Robb three times in 2023, and Katherine Legge and Luca Ghiotto each once in 2024.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
27) #51-Jacob Abel / 72 laps / crash
26) #27-Kyle Kirkwood / 151 laps / crash
25) #20-Alexander Rossi / 236 laps / mechanical
24) #6-Nolan Siegel / 246 laps / crash
23) #90-Callum Ilott / 260 laps / crash
Siegel held back by concussion on Sunday
Nolan Siegel finished last for the first time in his NTT IndyCar Series career in Sunday’s Farm to Finish 275 at Iowa Speedway when his #6 NTT Data Chevrolet did not start the race.
The finish came in Siegel’s 23rd career start. Across NTT IndyCar series history, it was the seventh for the #6, the 124th for Chevrolet, and the 36th for a did not start.
Sunday morning brought a flurry of news. About three hours before race time, Arrow McLaren announced that Siegel would not be able to race because he did not clear IndyCar’s concussion protocol. His crash on Saturday necessitated a red flag for SAFER barrier repair, so while the news did come as a surprise to many, it was certainly not unreasonable.
McLaren’s first plan of action was to replace Siegel with team principal Tony Kanaan, who would “start-and-park” the car to get championship points since there’s a non-zero chance the car is involved in a Leaders Circle battle at the end of the season. However, IndyCar itself put the kibosh on that, as the series would not allow Kanaan any on-track time for a refresher session Sunday morning.
The #6 car never took the grid, but despite that, it was listed on Fox’s timing and scoring all race and was listed in the results as a “did not start” entry. Siegel was credited three championship points, instead of the five Kanaan would’ve gotten for a “start-and-park.”
Kanaan’s potential short stint would not be guaranteed to be a last-place finish, however. McLaughlin, the 26th-place starter, powered past VeeKay on the frontstretch and was putting pressure on Devlin DeFrancesco in Turn 3. In the middle of the corner, DeFrancesco lost the rear of his car while running the low line, spinning in the path of McLaughlin, running in the outside lane. McLaughlin then spun and backed into the wall, ending his race. DeFrancesco suffered terminal damage in the incident as well.
Will Power’s was the next car to retire from the race, as he suffered an engine issue in similar fashion to the one that knocked him out at Mid-Ohio. Sting Ray Robb rounded out the Bottom Five, as he was the first crash of the day on Sunday.
It was a turnaround race for both Dale Coyne Racing cars after a long Saturday. Abel started 24th and finished 11th, by far the best finish of his season. VeeKay went from 25th to 12th, a formula that is beginning to be the norm for the #18 car this season.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*While “Did Not Start” reasons out were common in the early years of the Indy Racing League, Siegel’s was the first since Takuma Sato at Texas in 2020, also on the back half of a doubleheader.
*This is the first last-place finish for the #6 at an oval since August 11, 2007, when Sam Hornish Jr. crashed out at Kentucky after 35 laps.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
27) #6-Nolan Siegel / did not start
26) #3-Scott McLaughlin / 0 laps / crash
25) #30-Devlin DeFrancesco / 0 laps / crash
24) #12-Will Power / 21 laps / engine
23) #77-Sting Ray Robb / 48 laps / crash
2025 LASTCAR INDYCAR SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (7)
2nd) Honda (5)
2025 LASTCAR INDYCAR SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Team Penske (4)
2nd) Dale Coyne Racing (3)
3rd) Prema Racing (2)
4th) Arrow McLaren, Chip Ganassi Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1)
2025 LASTCAR INDYCAR SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
