RC Enerson and his father Neil are doing their best to make another run at racing in the Indianapolis 500 with Bill Abel and the Abel Motorsports team.
Using the No. 50 Dallara DW12 owned by the Enersons, Abel and team manager John Brunner assembled a stellar crew to prepare the chassis for last May’s race where the Mazda Road to Indy and Indy Lights race winner surprised the field by making it into the field of 33 and placing 32nd in the race after mechanical issues struck the Chevy-powered car.
Returning to the Speedway for a second attempt at racing in the Indy 500 is something all of the parties want to do, but it’s contingent upon the Enersons finding a primary sponsor to fund the endeavor.
“Last year, we defied a lot odds as a new team to IndyCar and we accomplished a lot,” the 27-year-old Enerson told RACER. “We made it into the 500 on day one, and that was that was probably the best part of it with not having to go through bump day. But trying to do it again, it comes down to finding a primary. I think we’re the only car that doesn’t have a primary slot filled. We have some associates on board, but the primary slot’s completely open. So it’s really coming down to getting that final piece of our puzzle solved to get running.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
From the team side, Abel is fully committed to participating at Indy. To bolster their efforts, Abel ordered a new Dallara DW12 chassis during the offseason and it should arrive before the end of the month. Brunner’s squad will begin prepping the new car — while updating the Enerson’s car to the latest specifications — and if Enerson is able to raise the funds, Abel would run him in the Enersons’ chassis.
And if Enerson is unsuccessful in his fund-raising bid, Abel tells RACER the team would field its new car with one of the other drivers who are looking for a good program to join at the Speedway.
“We really hope RC finds a sponsor and if he does, he’ll be driving for us,” Abel said. “We’d love it to RC. “While he’s searching, we’re supporting him in that process and we’re also talking to other funded drivers.”
At present, 35 entries will try and qualify for the 108th running of the great race, and Enerson says he’s working tirelessly to find partners that will make it possible for him to contest his second Indy 500.
“We’ve been able to connect with a few sponsors that could be primaries and we’ve got some feelers out there, but it comes down to the timeframe we’re in,” he added. “We’ve got the Indy open test in a couple of weeks, and I don’t see us being there. It’s coming down to crunch time, really. There’s always one or two entries that are that are on a crunch time on getting primaries.
“I have confidence in the Abel guys that, especially with how our car performed last year, and how much rubbing they’ve been doing on the car from then till now, that we’d have a fast car. We’re trying everything we can to make sure we’re able to get in.”
With the likes of Charlie Kimball, Stefan Wilson and Devlin DeFrancesco among the names mentioned in recent months as those who are hoping to land a seat for the Indy 500, Enerson knows the clock is winding down on keeping his grip on the No. 50 Chevy.
“I don’t think there’s exactly a set deadline date; it’s just for us to keep plugging away at it and see what we can make of it,” he said. “Obviously, at some point, there’s going to be a date where I can’t make it, but I don’t think we’ve really set that date and it’s just coming down to trying every single day, all my waking hours trying to figure out ways to get back there.”