RC Enerson who made his Indianapolis 500 debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday with ABEL Motorsports saw his first race end prematurely due to mechanical issues.
The 26 year old started the race from 28th and speaking following the action he commented saying:
It’s still an amazing accomplishment for this team, considering we’ve been an IndyCar team for what, 7 days on track this month
“To just be here, qualify for the race on the first day and avoid Bump Day, everything we’ve done here has been nothing short of amazing. Bill (Abel) and (Team Manager) John Brunner have put together an amazing crew. We’ve been flawless all month. We had settled into a nice rhythm by our second stint and we were much better in our third stint before the problem hit. It’s just a shame for this team and all our partners. A big thanks to Team Chevy and Firestone and all the partners that came on board with us these last few days.”
Team owner Bill Abel declared the race mission accomplished and speaking following the action he said:
For us, mission accomplished (just to qualify) We’d have loved to have gone a lot further in the race but for our first time out in IndyCar and the 500, that’s ok. I hate it for RC and the team but sometimes that’s just what happens in this
sport.This is the pinnacle of our sport, so just to be here with the car, with the team, to qualify, we exceeded expectations.
“We hope to be back, maybe next year, maybe the year after, just the fact that we’ve been here and had as much success as we have, hopefully that paves the way for us to come back.”
Team manager John Brunner was disappointed with hiw the race ended saying:
“The guys have all worked so hard on this car. We just hadn’t had any problems until today. The car has been flawless. It’s heartbreaking for these guys, it’s very disappointing, but the car’s in one piece. We’ll take this and learn from it and see what we can do in the future.