INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin Thomas Jr. will make his first start with Abacus Racing at the famed Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway on Nov. 30, the team revealed Wednesday.
The Culman, Alabama native will drive the No. 57K with primary sponsorship from the Indy Fuel. He will be a teammate to Logan Seavey and Kaylee Bryson.
“Well, first of all, this started with a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) for me as I have loved driving the California races in the past, so I reached out to Brent (Cox, Team Principal for Abacus Racing) and said, ‘Let’s get that backup down and make it a three-car team,'” Thomas said. “After some back and forth and a few conversations, we worked out the details and got it done.”
“Kevin and I have become really good friends over the past few years and we have had discussions in the past about him driving some select races for us,” Cox said. “I am glad we finally get a chance to make that happen. That is one of the things that I have loved about this team. It seems we have had this situation come up a lot.
“We have had so many great drivers in our cars in the short period of time we have been a team and to add Kevin to that list is something that makes us very proud.”
Another element to the story is that Thomas has recently taken up the sport of hockey, which will ironically be his primary sponsor in the Indy Fuel, a minor league team in the ECHL. They are an affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.
“I had never played hockey before, but have just recently got on the ice to start learning the game,” Thomas said. “I tell you what, no matter how good of an athlete you are, if you have never skated or played hockey before, it is a humbling experience, but I am enjoying the efforts it will take to get better. Being a fan of the game, it will be fun to drive the Indy Fuel car.”
With Thomas joining the lineup, Abacus Racing has a strong three-car team for the event. Seavey won the 2021 Turkey Night Grand Prix, a race for which Bryson was the fast qualifier and polesitter. It is the kind of lineup Cox wanted to have if the team was going to run three entries in a race for the first time as a team.
“When I called John (Lunsford, partner in Abacus Racing) about the possibility of running Kevin, we worked through all the logistics,” Cox said. “What we loved is the experience all the drivers bring, and with it being in California, we knew we would have a lot of help. That is the benefit of having a crew that is almost entirely from California.
“John and I figured if we were going to run 3 cars for the first time, this is the track and this is the line up. We could not be more excited.”
I can assure you, all three of us drivers are here to win,” Cox said. “There is a lot of competition at this race, so I want to do my part to help the team win, and support the team, Logan and Kaylee any way I can in the process.”