INDY NXT star Yuven Sundaramoorthy sends defiant message after being forced to withdraw from ABEL Motorsports citing budget challenges

ABEL Motorsports driver Yuven Sundaramoorthy has withdrawn from the 2025 Indy NXT season. The 21-year-old made the announcement via X on Wednesday (Dec.11), citing 'unforeseen' budget concerns.

Sundaramoorthy joined ABEL Motorsports in a part-time capacity in 2023, competing in four out of 14 Indy NXT races, securing two top 10s. This landed him a full-time seat for 2024 alongside the experienced Jacob Abel, whose father, Bill Abel, owns the team. Sundaramoorthy scored four top five finishes this year, including two podium finishes. He finished a respectable eighth in the standings with 309 points.

Sundaramoorthy explained his 2025 predicament on X, writing:

"After much consideration, I want to announce that I won’t be competing with ABEL Motorsports in the INDY NXT by Firestone series in 2025 due to unforeseen budget challenges. While it’s a tough decision, I’m incredibly grateful for the support and opportunities that have come my way. I’d like to express gratitude to the ABEL Motorsports team for their trust and partnership, and to all my supporters for believing in me. This isn’t the end – just the beginning of new possibilities. Stay tuned, and I look forward to what’s next."

In the post's caption, the Wisconsin native announced that he hadn't given up. Instead, he was already working towards a solution to race with the team in the 2026 season. He wrote:

"Tough news, but we are already hard at work to be back for 2026 with @AbelMotorsports in Indy NXT."

This abrupt withdrawal comes as a big disappointment for the 21-year-old who expected to go into 2025 as the team's "number one driver". Abel Motorsports might now be on the lookout for a replacement for Sundaramoorthy to be teammates with the newly signed Callum Hedge and Myles Rowe for 2025.

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How an F1 race in China ignited the fire to race within Yuven Sundaramoorthy

Yuven Sundaramoorthy was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in Feb 2003, before his family later moved to China for six years. It was there that he experienced his first brush with the motorsport world.

In an interview with Suger Mint, the Indian-American driver narrated this fateful story. He said:

"So, it all kicked off when I was about 9, living in China. My dad took me to watch a Formula 1 race, kinda on a whim. I got totally hooked on the whole speed and adrenaline vibe."

"When we moved back to the US, I got into karting, realizing it’s not just about going fast. It’s this mix of patience, fitness, racecraft, and the mental game that makes you a real racer. So, yeah, that F1 race in China was the accidental spark that ignited the whole racing journey for me."

Sundaramoorthy, aged nine, watched the 2012 Chinese GP, where Nico Rosberg scripted history by taking Mercedes' first F1 win since 1955. Once his racing journey began, the ABEL Motorsports driver's father was his rock.

P3 in the US F2000 championship in 2021 in his third year driving for Pabst Racing remains Sundaramoorthy's best career standings finish. He continued racing for the team in the 2022 USF Pro 2000 championship before switching to Exclusive Autosport, a team he raced for in 2018, for the 2023 season.