(August 5, 2023) Growing up, he loved watching racing sports on his TV. Recognising his love for the tracks, his father would take him to go karting parks and in 2017, Yuven Sundaramoorthy made a shift from karts to cars. While it has just been six years since then, 20-year-old Indian American racer has been making waves in the world of racing cars. And now, embarking on his journey towards the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the young racer has inked a deal with Abel Motorsports, providing him with a golden opportunity to experience the INDY NXT by Firestone action while steering the No. 57 Dallara IL-15.
The racer is all set to team up with Abel Motorsports for three INDY NXT events in the upcoming calendar. “I’m really excited to get the call from Abel Motorsports to drive the No. 57 Dallara in the INDY NXT by Firestone Championship. The team has really been coming on strong lately and showing that they have the pace to compete, so for me, this really gives me an opportunity to show what I can do in this series,” the Global Indian said during a recent press conference.
Inspired to dream
Born in 2003, to a young Indian-American couple in Wisconsin, Yuven was quite an enthusiastic child, who loved to be more outdoors than indoors. His family relocated to China and resided there for six years before returning to the United States, settling in upstate New York. When he was back in the US, the young racer would visit the go-karting parks, but shared that he didn’t venture full-time into the sport until his teens. “I actually started fairly late compared to most racers my age. I didn’t start racing cars until I was about 13 years old – which is still young, but many racers start before that age,” said the young racer.
However, the road wasn’t an easy one. His parents had to walk the extra mile to support this young racer pursue his passion. “My dad had to make several sacrifices to get me on the tracks. He was in a corporate job, and to support me he quit his job. He would take me to various races and keep up with my schedule – especially when I was too young to go anywhere by myself. He had been my pillar of strength throughout my journey. My mother is still working hard to keep the finances going, supporting not just me but my entire family. I am pretty sure that I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents supporting and nurturing my dreams,” the racer said during a recent interview.
But if you were thinking that racing is the only sport this champion excelled at, you couldn’t be more wrong. Growing up, Yuven was a part of several teams at his school, and wouldn’t shy away from taking part in various sports competitions during any event. Despite having a very busy schedule, the racer still finds time to indulge in other sports he loves. “When I am not on the racing track, I am always snowboarding. In fact, I am a snowboarding instructor, and love being up on the mountains,” Yuven shared.
Going beyond his dreams
After shifting karts to cars in 2017, the young racer was quickly picked up by Pabst Racing. His real breakthrough, however, came in 2021, when he was moved up to compete at the Indy Pro 2000 Championship with Pabst Racing. In that season, the racer had three podiums and end up finishing 10th in the standings. Speaking about this change from karting to racing cars, he said, “The car that I am driving now is about three times heavier than what I am used to. I am very thrilled though, and hoping to make some progress soon enough. Communicating with my pit crew and driving instructor hasn’t really been different from what I used to do. But I am having so much fun here. I am used to not being able to see more than two corners on the track, so it’s really great to be able to see the whole track from one spot.”
Currently competing at the ongoing 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with Exclusive Autosport and in the 2023 Indy NXT with Abel Motorsports, the racer is looking to broaden his horizon beyond his dreams. ” I know the learning curve is going to be there switching to a bigger car with more power, but I think having the teammates I do with me at Abel Motorsports will help shorten that curve. I can’t thank S Team Motorsports LLC, One Motorsports Management, and OMP enough for their help and partnership in making this happen,” he recently said after finishing the podium at Indianapolis.
While many in his place would have already set huge future goals for themselves, this humble champion believes in building his empire one stone at a time. Working on getting the techniques correct, the racer is focussed on setting short-term milestones to ensure his future victories. “My aim, right now, is to just work on my skills and improve. I want to explore my opportunities. I am very young in this career and have some room to move and various ways to guide my journey. So, I really want to see where I stack up,” the racer explained.
