The 107th edition of the Indianapolis 500 is edging closer to making full use of its qualifying procedures.
With 33 entries in place for last year’s race, the NTT IndyCar Series had no reason to run through the extra qualifying sessions to determine which entries would be bumped from taking part in the event, but with 33 more already locked in place for the May event, RACER has learned the announcement of a 34th entry is being readied.
Although both parties were unavailable for comment, the Abel Motorsports Indy NXT team and the father and son pairing of Neil and RC Enerson are understood to be working together to give Enerson another shot at making the field in a Chevy-powered car.
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A five-time IndyCar starter with Dale Coyne Racing, Carlin Racing and Top Gun Racing, the talented 26-year-old Floridian attempted to qualify for the Indy 500 in 2021 using a new Dallara DW12 chassis they purchased that was built and run by Top Gun.
Despite failing to qualify, Enerson and the team returned later in the year to take part in the second Indianapolis road course race and afterwards, the Enersons would eventually reclaim their primary chassis and the spare from Top Gun and begin planning for the junior open-wheel standout’s next IndyCar move.
Based in Speedway, the hometown of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Abel Motorsports has been a staple in the USF Championships presented by Cooper Tires and the Indy NXT by Firestone series. Led by open-wheel veteran John Brunner, Abel Motorsports had a breakout weekend to begin the season at St. Petersburg in March where Jacob Abel challenged for pole position and the win before finishing a career-best third.
With a long-held ambition of reaching IndyCar, an Abel-led effort for Enerson would follow in the recent tradition of Juncos Hollinger Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, and Paretta Autosport, who made their IndyCar debuts at the Indy 500 before expanding their respective programs to part- or full-time efforts.