Formal schooling done, Wisconsin native Yuven Sundaramoorthy accelerates his racing education in Indy NXT
Yuven Sundaramoorthy graduated from the University of Wisconsin in December, but the learning continues, faster than ever.
The Oconomowoc native was a winner in USF 2000, raced the past two seasons in US Pro 2000 and jumped to the Indy NXT series, the top step on the IndyCar development ladder, fulltime for 2024.
The results don’t lie, and neither will he: It’s been a challenge.
“It’s a large step, a much larger car, much more power, much more downforce,” Sundaramoorthy said. “So it took a while. I think the biggest issue is I’d gotten used to the other cars, the USF cars, for so many years that it’s taken some time to adjust. But the car is great. ABEL Motorsports has a great car.
“I really feel like I’m kind of figuring it out. I’ve got a lot more work, and I’m really excited for the rest of the year here.”
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As the series heads to Road America in his home state, the 21-year-old Sundaramoorthy is looking to improve on a top finish of 12th, achieved in the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a best qualifying result of ninth, set last weekend on the Detroit street course.
He also ran four races last season, but with minimal offseason testing – Sebring was wet and Laguna Seca rained out entirely – Sundaramoorthy has had limited time on race weekends to learn on the fly. That has ratcheted up the degree of difficulty.
“It’s a learning year for me,” said Sundaramoorthy, who in 2021 became the first Indian American to win an IndyCar-sanctioned event when he took the checkered flag at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in USF 2000.
“I’m on a two-year contract with the team, so it’s a big learning year. But I think we have the speed to get good results this year. My personal goal vs. long-term goals are slightly different. It’s definitely the main goal to learn, right? Obviously I want the results, obviously I want to have the ability to get results. Kind of play it how it goes.
“But especially at Road America it would be nice to get some good podium runs.”
Indy NXT is one of four series running this weekend in support of IndyCar at the 4-mile road course outside Elkhart Lake. The series is on track for a 45-minute practice session at 8:50 a.m. Saturday and then qualifying at 1:20. The race is set for 12:15 p.m. Sunday, just before the XPEL Grand Prix.
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While Sundaramoorthy is fighting to work his way up the results sheets for each session, his teammate, Jacob Abel, sits on the top of the standings with two victories in five races. That’s been a mixed blessing for Sundaramoorthy, who can see what his car is capable of doing.
“We get to the track and I feel like I push my hardest but I’m way off compared to his time,” he said. “It’s been a big struggle for me.
“But the team’s been good in just kind of getting me to focus on what I need to focus on and kind of ignore that. Eventually it’s going to come. Go back to fundamentals really.”
Sundaramoorthy estimated he has about 20 starts at Road America from the amateur June Sprints to USF Pro. His best finish has been sixth in USF 2000 in 2021.
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Sundaramoorthy will have a handful of friends from UW – teammates, actually – cheering him on at Road America.
He was one of about 60 students working on Wisconsin’s entries in Formula SAE, in which teams from more than 100 universities from around the United States and Europe build and develop cars from scratch and race them at Michigan International Speedway.
Sundaramoorthy, who finished his computer science degree in 3 ½ years, worked on both the electric and internal combustion engine cars. He found his driving experience helpful to the project and the project helpful to his growth as a driver.
Although he missed the ICE competition in May while racing in Indy NXT, he will participate with the electric car on Father’s Day weekend.
“It’s really fun,” Sundaramoorthy said. “Being student-built, sometimes the handling’s not great. But the car this year has been pretty good, and we got it running way before the competition, which is usually an issue. Usually we get it running at competition so we usually don’t get any chance to mess with any of the settings or anything like that.
“Really it’s helped me as a racer. I can now understand more of the things that the engineers talk about, and that helps get some correlation through to make the car handle better. And then the other way too, just bringing some more ideas to the table.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin graduate Yuven Sundaramoorthy adjusting to Indy NXT racing
