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The next chapter in Jacob Abel’s driving career will take place in IMSA, where the former Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar Series driver will contest the five endurance races with Era Motorsport in the LMP2 class.

The 24-year-old from Kentucky spent nine years in open-wheel racing as he rose up the USF Championships ladder and reached Indy NXT, where he placed second in the 2024 championship behind Louis Foster.

Following an unrewarding rookie IndyCar season, Abel embarked upon an Asian Le Mans Series campaign in LMP2 with Vector Sport RLR, and was in contention for a GTD PRO seat within the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship before ultimately deciding to join Era for Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America, and Road Atlanta.

Abel will share the No. 18 Era LMP2 with full-timers Ferdinand Habsburg and Naveen Rao, as well as Logan Sargeant as the fourth driver for this month’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“This is something I’m really excited about,” Abel told RACER. “We worked hard to continue in IndyCar, but that didn’t work out for this season. We already have the Asian Le Mans program going and that made making my first real move into IMSA in LMP2 an easy decision with Era.”

The Bulter University graduate will make his debut with the team next week at the Roar Before The 24 test at Daytona held the weekend prior to the Rolex 24.

KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar is getting a three-year extension with Zeigler Motorsports for sponsorship of his number 77 race car.

The 22-year-old Portage native met with fans yesterday at Zeigler Auto Group.

Hocevar was the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and will have the Zeigler name on his car for 11 races in 2026, including the June 7th race at Michigan International Speedway.

He finished 23rd in 2025, with nine top ten finishes, two top five finishes, and one pole position.

Though still one of the leading factory GT drivers for McLaren in various championships around the world, Marvin Kirchhöfer took his first IMSA victory last year at the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Kirchhöfer was the ’secret weapon’ for AWA (now 13 Autosport) when the Canadian team won last year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona in GTD, giving the Z06 GT3.R its first Daytona and GTD class win.

The German driver will be back in a Corvette this year in IMSA, running the three biggest endurance races of the season for the flagship Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team. He recently completed his first test for the team, where he’ll team up with reigning IMSA GTD PRO champions Antonio García and Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette.

“It was really nice being back behind the wheel of the Corvette, so I really enjoyed the test,” said Kirchhöfer. “I was generally quite impressed by the whole setup of the team. I got a nice welcome from my teammates as well. I already knew Nicky (Catsburg) from previous racing before, too. That was very nice and I really, really enjoyed working with them. Everyone has been very supportive and very helpful getting me up to speed within the team and getting reacquainted with the Corvette.”

His first real-world test was preceded by some driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulator work with the team.

“I also had the DIL test a couple of weeks ago in Charlotte, which also was quite interesting,” Kirchhöfer said. “I haven’t been in a sim for quite some time. It’s not something that I’m used to. When I was younger, I used to do quite some development back in the day for DTM, but that was more than 10 years ago so it’s been a bit of a break for me being in a sim. But I really enjoyed it. 

“It was quite impressive, with how dedicated everyone was working during those three days. The first day was about getting me into a groove, and the second day Tommy (Milner) joined. There were quite a few nice bits of information that took from him. 

“The feedback from the DIL model was very impressive. It’s always a bit more difficult to get a feeling for adjustments in a simulator than in the actual real car because you are limited to only a few feedbacks that you can take. Most of them will be like visual feedbacks – you don’t really have the tire sound or the feeling of the tire scrubbing and all that. It’s not easy to really get it right every time, but I must say overall that it has been very good and very positive. Good preparation for the Rolex coming up in a couple of weeks.”

Outside of IMSA, where he’ll run at Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta), Kirchhöfer will continue with McLaren, heading up one of Garage 59’s new entries in the WEC LMGT3 class, and running in the Bathurst 12 Hour for Optimum Motorsport.

But with RLL Team McLaren surfacing as a late addition to the 2026 IMSA GTD PRO grid – one day after Kirchhöfer was revealed at Corvette Racing/Pratt Miller for 2026 – he’ll have to go through the unique circumstance of fighting against McLaren in America’s three biggest endurance races of the season.

“Hopefully we’ve done our parts and our work well and can make it a good 2026 Daytona 24 race,” he said of what’s to come with Corvette.

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Makita U.S.A., Inc. and Pipes Motorsports Group (PMG) Suzuki are proud to announce a new technical partnership ahead of the 2026 SuperMotocross Championship. This collaboration reunites two iconic names in American motocross and supercross, bringing together Makita’s engineering excellence and Suzuki’s racing heritage through the PMG Suzuki program.

Under the agreement, Makita U.S.A. will serve as a technical partner to PMG Suzuki, supporting the team throughout the 2026 SuperMotocross season. The partnership underscores a shared commitment to performance, reliability, and innovation at the highest level of professional motorcycle racing.

Makita’s return to Suzuki racing represents a renewed alignment rooted in decades of motorsports success. The partnership reflects the continued growth and credibility of the Pipes Motorsports Group program, as well as Suzuki’s strong and competitive racing platform heading into the 2026 championship

“Makita has been a cornerstone partner in Suzuki racing for many years, and their return is meaningful. Having a trusted brand with such deep roots in our motorsport’s history rejoin the Suzuki family through the PMG program speaks to the credibility of the team and the strength of our racing platform,” said Chris Wheeler, Suzuki Motor USA Motorsports Manager.

For Pipes Motorsports Group, the partnership carries both professional and personal significance.

“Growing up as an aspiring racer, I always marveled at the accomplishments of the Makita Suzuki teams’ of the past. Our technical partnership for the 2026 season is a welcomed addition and the young kid in me is excited to see the red Makita logo back on a Suzuki motorcycle,” said Dustin Pipes, Team Principal of Pipes Motorsports Group.

“Makita’s return to Suzuki racing is more than a reunion—it’s a statement about innovation and a continuation of a winning legacy. We first teamed up 21 years ago to capture championships, and today it feels like we never left. Partnering again was an easy choice with a team that shares our relentless drive. Together with PMG Suzuki, we’re blending decades of engineering excellence with cutting-edge technology to push the limits of performance.” -Brent Withey, Vice President, Marketing.

As the 2026 SuperMotocross Championship approaches, Makita U.S.A. and PMG Suzuki look forward to building on a legacy of success while pushing the limits of performance and technology on the track.

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Chris Knight

Chris Knight has served as a senior staff writer and news editor for CATCHFENCE.com since 2001.

In his 20-plus years with CATCHFENCE.com, he has covered NASCAR’s top three national series, often breaking news and providing exclusive at-track content, including in-depth race weekend coverage.

He also offers insider coverage of the entire Motorsports platform, including the ARCA Menards Series.

In 2022, Knight became co-owner of CATCHFENCE.com.

In addition to his active duties at CATCHFENCE.com and other Motorsports-related endeavors, he is also a frequent contributor to SiriusXM Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 90.

You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Knighter01 or on Instagram, Snapchat, or Threads at @TheKnighter01.

He can be reached by email at [email protected].