The tenth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course took place on 30/31 October, seeing potential prospects driving Road to Indy cars across the three feeder series. Two drivers in the fourteen-person Indy Lights test came with experience in a radically different form of racing: Stadium Super Trucks. Matt Brabham, a former Road to Indy rising star, ran an official Indy Lights session for the first time since 2015 while Jacob Abel continues his ascent up the ladder.
Brabham, the two-time defending SST champion on the verge of securing a third, drove the #83 for Andretti Autosport in a four-car effort. He has raced in SST since 2015, shortly after his meteoric rise up the Road to Indy ladder came to an abrupt halt: despite winning the U.S. F2000 and now-Indy Pro 2000 Championships in 2012 and 2013 to reach Indy Lights with Andretti by 2014, he lost the ride three races into 2015 due to sponsorship issues. He scored one win in Indy Lights on the Indianapolis RC during his first yea. In forty-seven career Road to Indy starts, Brabham won eighteen for a win percentage of 38.3%, the highest in the system’s history before newly crowned Indy Lights champion and Andretti driver Kyle Kirkwood topped him at the end of 2021 with 62.5%. He would also make two starts in the IndyCar Series in 2016, including the Indianapolis 500.
With few open-wheel opportunities available outside of piloting the two-seater IndyCar and being a driving coach, Brabham has since made SST his playground. He has twenty-five career race wins and finished on the podium in every race in 2021 with a pair of victories. Until series founder Robby Gordon broke the trend at Long Beach, Brabham was riding a six-round streak of being the fastest in qualifying that dated back to the 2020 season opener in Adelaide.
Across the Open Test’s six sessions, Brabham was typically in the middle of the group, with his best effort coming in the fourth where he set the fifth-fastest time. Session 3 saw his best lap time in ninety-nine total laps of 1:25.78. At twenty-seven years of age, he was the oldest driver of the fourteen by a wide margin, which is to be expected as the feeder series generally has drivers in their teens or early twenties. Ernie Francis Jr., a seven-time Trans-Am Series champion and open-wheel newcomer, is the closest to Brabham’s age at four years younger.
“It’s just so good to be back at the IMS,” said Brabham in a video from Indy Lights. “It feels a little weird, especially for me, coming back. There’s a few memes online making fun of my age and stuff, but… I mean, I’m just having a blast. It’s been so long and I just got to blow the rust off, blow the cobwebs out, and it’s been so much fun.”
Credit: Abel Motorsports
While Brabham was cutting his teeth in stadium trucks, Abel worked on his own climb through the Road to Indy ranks. After racing in lower formulae including USF2000, Abel began a part-time slate in Indy Pro 2000 in 2019 before elevating to the full championship in 2021. Driving for family-run Abel Motorsports, he finished sixth in points with two podiums. He also dabbles in sports cars by competing part-time in the GT World Challenge America.
The twenty-year-old made his SST début at Nashville in August. Learning the truck and finishing second-to-last in Race #1 placed him on the front row for the second race, which saw him battle with Robert Stout to the finish before finishing runner-up. Abel was the first driver since 2019 to score a podium finish in his maiden SST weekend. Incidentally, Brabham placed third to join Abel on the Race #2 podium. Abel also ran the Long Beach weekend but was plagued by mechanical issues.
In the #3 Abel Motorsports car, Abel got off to a quick start at the Open Test by leading Session 1 as one of four drivers to run more than ten laps. His times over the next five practices varied, with his best overall run coming in Session 3 with a time of 1:25.73 (fourth best in said test). He turned ninety-five laps over the two days of testing.
“[W]hat an amazing car, so fun to drive,” Abel posted on social media after the first day. “The team got the car just a week ago and to end up the first day 4th overall our first time on track is exceptional. The work has just begun, but I’m loving the challenge”.
Although the test allows for drivers to showcase their skills in their desired series, it does not necessarily mean they will commit to said division for the upcoming season, and Brabham and Abel have not confirmed their plans for 2022. In fact, only Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb have formally announced their intent to race in Indy Lights as of this article’s publishing. Simpson won the 2021 Formula Regional Americas Championship in addition to racing against Abel in Indy Pro 2000, while Robb won the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 title and finished seventh in the 2021 Indy Lights. Driving for TJ Speed Motorsports, Simpson led the sixth session while Robb set the third-best time in the same session for Andretti.
Abel and Brabham might be the only names at the forty-four-person Open Test who have raced in SST, but the trucks have a degree of separation with Jagger Jones who set the fastest overall time in the USF2000 test. Jones, who boasts a stock car-heavy résumé that includes being the 2019 runner-up in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West, is the son of four-time SST race winner P.J. Jones.
Test results
Session 1
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | Best Time | Margin | Best Speed | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | 3 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 1:35.4380 | Leader | 97.320 | 14 | 14 |
| 2 | 15 | Matteo Nannini | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 1:35.5351 | + .0971 | 97.221 | 14 | 12 |
| 3 | 21 | Kyffin Simpson | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:35.8225 | + .3845 | 96.929 | 15 | 11 |
| 4 | 51 | Rasmus Lindh | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 1:36.7351 | + 1.2971 | 96.015 | 10 | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Sting Ray Robb | Andretti Autosport | 1:50.6489 | + 15.2109 | 83.941 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 28 | Christian Rasmussen | Andretti Autosport | 1:56.5664 | + 21.1284 | 79.680 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 83 | Matt Brabham | Andretti Autosport | 1:57.1693 | + 21.7313 | 79.270 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | 11 | Antonio Serravalle | Pserra Racing | 2:02.0964 | + 26.6584 | 76.071 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | 7 | Christian Bogle | HMD Motorsports | 2:02.3402 | + 26.9022 | 75.919 | 5 | 5 |
| 10 | 27 | Hunter McElrea | Andretti Autosport | 2:05.1441 | + 29.7062 | 74.218 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | 24 | Benjamin Pedersen | Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports | No Time | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A |
| 12 | 59 | Manual Sulaiman | HMD Motorsports | No Time | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A |
| 13 | 79 | Danial Frost | HMD Motorsports | No Time | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A |
| 14 | 99 | Ernie Francis Jr. | HMD Motorsports | No Time | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A |
Italics – Rookie
Session 2
| Position | Driver | Best Time | Margin | Best Speed | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | Benjamin Pedersen | 1:26.1408 | Leader | 107.823 | 22 | 21 |
| 2 | Rasmus Lindh | 1:36.2973 | + 1.565 | 107.628 | 22 | 18 |
| 3 | Sting Ray Robb | 1:26.5153 | + .3745 | 107.357 | 20 | 16 |
| 4 | Danial Frost | 1:26.5375 | + .3967 | 107.329 | 21 | 20 |
| 5 | Manuel Sulaiman | 1:26.6570 | + .5162 | 107.181 | 20 | 13 |
| 6 | Hunter McElrea | 1:26.6633 | + .5225 | 107.173 | 21 | 20 |
| 7 | Christian Rasmussen | 1:26.7134 | + .5726 | 107.111 | 24 | 16 |
| 8 | Jacob Abel | 1:26.9271 | + .7863 | 106.848 | 19 | 17 |
| 9 | Kyffin Simpson | 1:27.1241 | + .9833 | 106.607 | 22 | 22 |
| 10 | Ernie Francis Jr. | 1:27.1932 | + 1.0524 | 106.522 | 20 | 20 |
| 11 | Matteo Nannini | 1:27.3646 | + 1.2238 | 106.313 | 20 | 20 |
| 12 | Antonio Serravalle | 1:27.7190 | + 1.5782 | 105.884 | 18 | 10 |
| 13 | Christian Bogle | 1:27.8427 | + 1.7019 | 105.734 | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Matt Brabham | 1:28.3154 | + 2.1746 | 105.169 | 22 | 18 |
Session 3
| Position | Driver | Best Time | Margin | Best Speed | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | Benjamin Pedersen | 1:25.4619 | Leader | 108.680 | 21 | 19 |
| 2 | Hunter McElrea | 1:25.5218 | + .0599 | 108.604 | 20 | 17 |
| 3 | Danial Frost | 1:25.7186 | + .2567 | 108.355 | 20 | 18 |
| 4 | Jacob Abel | 1:25.7317 | + .2698 | 108.338 | 21 | 18 |
| 5 | Rasmus Lindh | 1:25.7684 | + .3065 | 108.292 | 21 | 16 |
| 6 | Matt Brabham | 1:25.7868 | + .3249 | 108.268 | 23 | 18 |
| 7 | Kyffin Simpson | 1:25.7884 | + .3265 | 108.266 | 22 | 18 |
| 8 | Matteo Nannini | 1:26.0674 | + .6055 | 107.915 | 17 | 16 |
| 9 | Manuel Sulaiman | 1:26.0830 | + .6211 | 107.896 | 24 | 14 |
| 10 | Ernie Francis Jr. | 1:26.3269 | + .8650 | 107.591 | 22 | 20 |
| 11 | Sting Ray Robb | 1:26.5440 | + 1.0821 | 107.321 | 10 | 5 |
| 12 | Antonio Serraville | 1:26.5942 | + 1.1323 | 107.259 | 20 | 16 |
| 13 | Christan Bogle | 1:26.7779 | + 1.3160 | 107.032 | 23 | 16 |
| 14 | Christian Rasmussen | 1:26.9745 | + 1.5126 | 106.790 | 7 | 5 |
Session 4
| Position | Driver | Best Time | Margin | Best Speed | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | Rasmus Lindh | 1:25.5988 | Leader | 108.506 | 17 | 14 |
| 2 | Kyffin Simpson | 1:25.6400 | + .0412 | 108.454 | 20 | 5 |
| 3 | Danial Frost | 1:25.6569 | + .0581 | 108.433 | 19 | 18 |
| 4 | Benjamin Pedersen | 1:25.7144 | + .1156 | 108.360 | 19 | 16 |
| 5 | Matt Brabham | 1:25.8205 | + .2217 | 108.226 | 19 | 16 |
| 6 | Christian Rasmussen | 1:25.8841 | + .2853 | 108.146 | 12 | 10 |
| 7 | Matteo Nannini | 1:26.0392 | + .4404 | 107.951 | 16 | 12 |
| 8 | Sting Ray Robb | 1:26.0396 | + .4408 | 107.950 | 14 | 6 |
| 9 | Hunter McElrea | 1:26.0682 | + .4694 | 107.914 | 18 | 16 |
| 10 | Ernie Francis Jr. | 1:26.2441 | + .6453 | 107.694 | 18 | 18 |
| 11 | Manuel Sulaiman | 1:26.3887 | + .7899 | 107.514 | 18 | 17 |
| 12 | Antonio Serravalle | 1:26.7562 | + 1.1574 | 107.059 | 19 | 19 |
| 13 | Jacob Abel | 1:26.7860 | + 1.1872 | 107.022 | 7 | 6 |
| 14 | Christian Bogle | 1:27.0634 | + 1.4646 | 106.681 | 21 | 16 |
Session 5
| Position | Driver | Best Time | Margin | Best Speed | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | Hunter McElrea | 1:26.2405 | Leader | 107.699 | 16 | 11 |
| 2 | Matteo Nannini | 1:26.3271 | + .1316 | 107.535 | 16 | 10 |
| 3 | Sting Ray Robb | 1:26.4834 | + .2429 | 107.396 | 17 | 11 |
| 4 | Christian Rasmussen | 1:26.5027 | + .2622 | 107.372 | 16 | 9 |
| 5 | Benjamin Pedersen | 1:26.6423 | + .4018 | 107.199 | 17 | 10 |
| 6 | Daniel Frost | 1:26.7372 | + .4967 | 107.082 | 18 | 18 |
| 7 | Ernie Francis Jr. | 1:26.8533 | + .6128 | 106.939 | 16 | 6 |
| 8 | Kyffin Simpson | 1:26.9360 | + .6955 | 106.837 | 16 | 11 |
| 9 | Manuel Sulaiman | 1:26.9846 | + .7441 | 106.778 | 13 | 4 |
| 10 | Matt Brabham | 1:27.0965 | + .8560 | 106.640 | 16 | 11 |
| 11 | Rasmus Lindh | 1:27.1988 | + .9583 | 106.515 | 13 | 9 |
| 12 | Jacob Abel | 1:27.2186 | + .9781 | 106.491 | 16 | 11 |
| 13 | Antonio Serravalle | 1:27.7262 | + 1.4857 | 105.875 | 17 | 10 |
| 14 | Chrstian Bogle | 1:28.1788 | + 1.9383 | 105.331 | 15 | 10 |
Session 6
| Position | Driver | Best Time | Margin | Best Speed | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | Kyffin Simpson | 1:25.4850 | Leader | 108.651 | 21 | 18 |
| 2 | Matteo Nannini | 1:25.5425 | + .0575 | 108.578 | 15 | 14 |
| 3 | Christian Rasmussen | 1:25.5509 | + .0659 | 108.567 | 20 | 17 |
| 4 | Sting Ray Robb | 1:25.6578 | + .1728 | 108.431 | 19 | 16 |
| 5 | Rasmus Lindh | 1:25.8412 | + .3562 | 108.200 | 17 | 18 |
| 6 | Hunter McElrea | 1:25.8601 | + .3751 | 108.176 | 17 | 15 |
| 7 | Danial Frost | 1:25.9193 | + .4343 | 108.101 | 19 | 16 |
| 8 | Matt Brabham | 1:25.9631 | + .4781 | 108.046 | 18 | 16 |
| 9 | Jacob Abel | 1:26.0144 | + .5294 | 107.982 | 18 | 16 |
| 10 | Manuel Sulaiman | 1:26.0205 | + .5355 | 107.974 | 22 | 17 |
| 11 | Ernie Francis Jr. | 1:26.0566 | + .5716 | 107.929 | 20 | 17 |
| 12 | Benjamin Pedersen | 1:26.2320 | + .7470 | 107.709 | 19 | 17 |
| 13 | Antonio Serraville | 1:26.7100 | + 1.2250 | 107.116 | 21 | 17 |
| 14 | Christian Bogle | 1:26.9105 | + 1.4255 | 106.869 | 21 | 17 |
Best combined
| Position | Driver | Best Session | Time | Speed | Total Laps |
| 1 | Benjamin Pedersen | 3 | 1:25.4619 | 108.680 | 98 |
| 2 | Kyffin Simpson | 6 | 1:25.4850 | 108.651 | 116 |
| 3 | Hunter McElrea | 3 | 1:25.5218 | 108.604 | 93 |
| 4 | Matteo Nannini | 6 | 1:25.5425 | 108.578 | 98 |
| 5 | Christian Rasmussen | 6 | 1:25.5509 | 108.567 | 80 |
| 6 | Rasmus Lindh | 4 | 1:25.5988 | 108.506 | 100 |
| 7 | Danial Frost | 4 | 1:25.6569 | 108.433 | 97 |
| 8 | Sting Ray Robb | 6 | 1:25.6578 | 108.431 | 81 |
| 9 | Jacob Abel | 3 | 1:25.7317 | 108.338 | 95 |
| 10 | Matt Brabham | 3 | 1:25.7868 | 108.268 | 99 |
| 11 | Manuel Sulaiman | 6 | 1:26.0205 | 107.974 | 97 |
| 12 | Ernie Francis Jr. | 6 | 1:26.0566 | 107.929 | 96 |
| 13 | Antonio Serravalle | 3 | 1:26.5942 | 107.259 | 96 |
| 14 | Christian Bogle | 3 | 1:26.7779 | 107.032 | 99 |