2026 Preview: ABEL Motorsports
1 day ago
Note: This continues a series of 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone team previews on INDYNXT.com. The season starts Sunday, March 1 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida (10 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Starting Lineup: Max Garcia (No. 12 ABEL Motorsports), Jordan Missig (No. 48 ABEL Motorsports), Colin Kaminsky (No. 57 ABEL Motorsports), Myles Rowe (No. 99 ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy)
2025 in Review: Myles Rowe shone in his first season with the team. He finished a career-best fourth in points after earning two wins, 10 top-five finishes and 13 top-10 results in 14 races. Callum Hedge finished seventh in points with one podium, five top-five finishes and 11 top-10 results. Jordan Missig was ninth in points with six top-10 finishes while Jack William Miller helped ABEL put all four cars in the top 10 as he had six top-10 finishes, too.
New for ’26: Missig and Rowe return, while 26-year-old Colin Kaminsky returns for the first-time since 2023, when he recorded three top-10 finishes in eight starts. Garcia joins ABEL after winning consecutive titles in the USF2000 Championship in 2024 and USF Pro 2000 Championship in 2025.
Keep an Eye on This: ABEL Motorsports brings one of the widest age ranges in the paddock in its lineup this season. The team is anchored by 25-year-old Rowe, 26-year-old Kaminsky and 27-year-old Missig (photo, bottom), while also featuring the youngest driver on the grid in 16-year-old Garcia. How will that dynamic play out? Experience is plentiful, but so is proven success. Garcia enters INDY NXT after back-to-back junior titles and is chasing a third straight championship. Rowe won the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship, becoming the first Black driver to do so. After becoming the first Black driver to win an INDY NXT race in 2025, can he add another milestone by becoming the series’ first Black champion? Adding to the intrigue, all four drivers came through the junior categories with Pabst Racing, a shared background they believe could be an advantage.
Little-Known Fact: Garcia is a junior at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, a perennial athletic powerhouse. The baseball team has won two state championships, while the football program has claimed three titles since 2019, including back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023 led by the Mendoza brothers, who this past season at Indiana University won the College Football Playoff national championship. The basketball team has won four consecutive state titles, most recently led by Duke freshmen twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer. The school’s alumni list reads like a who’s who, featuring baseball legend Alex Rodriguez, entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis -- and perhaps soon, Garcia himself.
