by
Craig Anderson
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 27, 2006)
| weekend of frustration... |
Mishael
Abbott of Coral Springs, FL returned to Road America, Elkhart
Lake, WI for the Kohler® / Sports Car Club of America
Chicago Region June Sprints® in her Formula Mazda last
weekend.
After
running as high as sixth, Mishael Abbott had a rear wing failure
on lap 7 and crashed hard in Turn 6. The
crash concluded what turned out to be a weekend of frustration
for Mishael, following a promising open practice session on
Thursday. The weekend included
a problem with her nose assembly coming off and flying high in
the sky, two broken brake rotors, right-front damage following
an on-track incident, bent left-front suspension in final qualifying,
and lastly the rear wing failure.
Mishael started eleventh
in a field of twenty-one Formula Mazdas. The first qualifying
session began in wet conditions with a drying track and ended early
with an incident in “Canada Corner”. The
second qualifying session was mired with a bent suspension
piece producing a terrible pushing condition. The race
started off well for Mishael. She
jumped into sixth during the first lap picking up most of those
spots heading into Turn 1. Mishael was settling
in for the 13-lap race when her rear wing collapsed going into
Turn 6. The culprit was the loss of a nylock
nut holding her rear wing struts that resulted from exhaust
heat build-up. Adjustments had been made
to the exhaust diffuser in an effort to reduce sound decibels
that were being closely monitored by track officials on all
the race cars. “My luck on-track wasn’t a
bright spot but it was still an enjoyable weekend,” said
Mishael Abbott. “I love the track and the
atmosphere at Road America. The fans were
wonderful all weekend long. I am sorry I
didn’t have a better showing for Boy Scout Troop 260,
who were cheering me on everyday.”
Mishael was hoping
to back on track in her Formula Mazda in a couple weeks but
she’ll need to postpone her
next race while repairs are being made to the car. Mishael
plans to return to Road America on July 22-23 to get the result
she was looking for at the June Sprints last weekend.
Mishael
has been driving for Michael Crawford Motorsports as the only
female in the Indy Racing League® Indy Pro
Seriesä, competing in three events this season. Coral
Springs Florida native Mishael Abbott is pursuing dual degrees
from Florida Atlantic University in elementary education and
currently resides in Indianapolis while studying sports marketing
at the University of Indianapolis. Mishael is also running
a limited season in the Indy Racing League® Indy Pro Series™ while
seeking sponsorship support for the remaining 2006 races. For
sponsorship opportunities contact Paul Abbott at paul@mishaelabbott.com.
Mishael's Thunder
Valley Racing Profile
Mishael's Website
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