Abel Motorsports team owner Bill Abel says that his NTT INDYCAR SERIES team came together after Neil Enerson’s long-time friend John Brunner and Enerson came together to run a car for RC Enerson for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbeidge on Sunday, May 28.
The car that the team has is the one that Top Gun Racing used, and speaking to Paddock Eye on day two of practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Wednesday, Abel said that although the deal was only announced a couple of weeks again, everything came together in December 2022 with Abel Motorsports taking delivery of the DW12 chassis in January. ‘We began taking it apart and rebuilding it since then and figuring out all of the components to make that happen and how it all came together is based on the relation between John and Neil.
When it comes to what the team wants to do for the future, Bill Abel said that the ultimate goal would be to have a full-time team in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but he is unsure. However, the Indianapolis 500 is the perfect opportunity to dip their toes in INDYCAR to see how things are and go.
‘John has put together a tremendously talented team that we are working around, so ideally for us, we would like to hold onto those folk if we can and to continue to put the infrastructure in place to be able to do that eventually. We don’t have a timeframe right now. It just seems like the next logical step for our team.’
Bill has been highly impressed with RC Enerson’s feedback and says this became evident this morning during Enerson’s Rookie Orientation Programme based on the times he could do it. The only feedback that he was giving was that this was easy.
Abel was very impressed with the consistency shown by Enerson during his time on track this morning. Abel says he has been aware of RC for a long time, but it’s the first time he has experienced his debriefs and how he drives, and he has done very well.
The washout on Tuesday allowed the team to run through the things they needed to do. Abel confirmed to Paddock Eye that the team is still looking at what they have to work with regarding the car and that they are not quite there yet, and we had to get through this process this morning, which we did. Abel said the team would change the car before sending Enerson again in the afternoon.
Speaking about the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Abel said they wouldn’t have been able to do what they are doing without the support of INDYCAR SERIES President Jay Frye and his team, as they helped make it happen for the team. Abel said that Jay Frye walked the group through the entire process of getting them onto the entry list for the Indianapolis 500.
Abel also said that the other teams in the paddock had helped them as they had loaned them equipment. Abel said he has also been highly impressed with Chevrolet and what they have brought to the team mainly as they are at the limit regarding the number of engine leases available.
Regarding the plans for after the Indianapolis 500, Abel said they would complete several INDYCAR SERIES tests over the year.