It was a weekend of changing conditions, fast adaptation, and grit for Jordan Missig and the Abel Motorsports team during the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
Practice 1 kicked off with early promise as the No. 48 Nexus Towing machine showed top-10 pace.
“Cars had decent pace early on… We were somewhere around the top five, top 10 early in the session,” Jordan shared. “But we were struggling a lot with the front end — getting rotation in the mid-speed and low-speed corners.” As other drivers began bolting on new tires late in the session, lap times shifted and exposed areas where adjustments were needed.
Practice 2 was all about weather management — starting wet and drying late.
“We struggled a lot on rain tires… pressures might’ve been too high. But as the track dried, the car felt much better. We were in a good window from a dry setup perspective.”
Qualifying, however, proved challenging.
“Our setup gave us two good laps,” Jordan explained. “After that, rear pressures started to spike, and we just couldn’t maintain grip. As the track dried, others picked up pace and we weren’t able to respond.”
Race Day, starting deep in the field, Jordan focused on damage limitation in the race.
“I just tried to avoid the chaos, keep my nose clean, and make up spots where I could,” he said. “We came away with a P12 finish. The car started going away from me a bit mid-race but came back toward the end. If we start further up, we can definitely fight deeper into the top 10.”
The Indianapolis Grand Prix at IMS takes place May 9 and 10, airing on FS1, FS2, and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Don’t miss a lap as Jordan hunts down his first podium of 2025.
