RACE: Mishael Abbott June Sprints summary

Crash at June Sprints Resigns Mishael Abbott to Eighteenth

ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 27, 2006) -- 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 Seriesa, competing in three events this season.

-www.mishaelabbott.com