Michele Abbate
NationalityAmerican
BornMichele Yvette Abbate
(1988-03-09) March 9, 1988
Las Vegas, Nevada
West Coast Championship TA2 career
Debut season2019
Current teamGRR Racing
EngineChevrolet
Best finish2nd in 2020
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2021 position81st
Best finish81st (2021)
First race2021 Toyota Tundra 225 (Austin)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Previous series
2014–2015U.S. Touring Car Championship
Championship titles
2015
2012		SCCA Western Conference Majors
MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Championship
Last updated on: December 30, 2021.

Michele Yvette Abbate (born March 9, 1988) is an American professional racing driver. She competes in the Trans-Am Series' West Coast Championship TA2 class for GRR Racing.

Much of Abbate's career has come in road racing, where she has four championships. She has also raced in the Sports Car Club of America and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Racing career

Abbate's started in hobby kart racing. After getting her first car at the age of 16 in 2004, Abbate competed in local autocross events sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. Her first national event came iat Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego in 2007, where she finished on the podium.[1][2]

In 2008, she moved to time attack competitions and occasionally competed in INEX legends car racing where she developed her road racing experience. In 2011, Abbate became a factory driver for Scion and finished runner-up in the 2011 National Auto Sport Association Time Trial standings, followed by winning the MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Championship the next year.[3][2]

Abbate started competing in the United States Touring Car Championship in 2014 for GRR Racing, a team formed by Abbate and her fiancé Anthony Philleo after she lost her original sponsor. She entered the 2015 SCCA Western Conference Majors Tour after receiving $13,000 in crowdfunding, where she won the championship and became the first female driver to be given the Lindley Bothwell Memorial Cal Club Driver of the Year Award.[2][4]

In 2017, Abbate raced in the Bathurst 6 Hour, where she finished 49th.[5] The following year, she finished on the GT-1 podium in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Sonoma Raceway, the youngest woman to accomplish the feat.[6][7]

GRR Racing switched to the Trans-Am Series' TA2 class for the 2019 season.[6] In 2020, she finished second in the Trans-Am West Coast Championship with four top-five finishes in five races.[8] At Sonoma, she became the first woman to finish on the podium in a TA2 race after taking third.[9]

In May 2021, Abbate joined On Point Motorsports for her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas; she finished second at the track in the Trans-Am West Coast Championship in 2020.[7]

Personal life

Abbate's older brother Michael competed in karting.[1]

She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in communications and marketing.[2]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NCWTC Pts Ref
2021 On Point Motorsports 30 Toyota DAY DAY LVS ATL BRI RCH KAN DAR COA
29		 CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO 81st 8 [10]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. 1 2 Abbate, Michele. "Driver Profile: Michele Abbate". MotoIQ (Interview). Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Michele Abbate | GRR Racing Supercharged Scion FR-S". DSPORT Magazine. July 12, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Michele Abbate". Antigravity Batteries (Press release). April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  4. ↑ "My SCCA Life: Michele Abbate". Racer. August 24, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ Whitelaw, Anya (April 17, 2017). "Michele Abbate enjoys her Bathurst honeymoon | Video". Western Advocate. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Grr Racing Team Makes Trans Am Dreams a Reality". Trans-Am Series. March 11, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Glover, Luken (May 17, 2021). "Michele Abbate Attempting Truck Debut at COTA". Frontstretch. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  8. ↑ Srigley, Joseph (May 17, 2021). "Michele Abbate Making NCWTS Debut for On Point Motorsports at COTA". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ "HISTORY MADE: Grr Racing's Michele Abbate Becomes First Female to Ever Finish on the Podium in Trans Am TA2". Trans-Am Series. October 13, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Michele Abbate – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
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