Abel Motorsports has abandoned its effort to field a car for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. The issue, as it is with most entries, was funding. Driver R C Enerson hoped to find a budget for the car, but a deal could not be put together in time.
In 2023, R C Enerson qualified the Abel entry 28th to land safely in the field. The car dropped out of the race after 75 laps with mechanical issues.
Abel will focus on the Indy NXT championship, where Jacob Abel, son of team owner Bill Abel, is tied for the points lead. The series has two races coming up at the IMS road course next weekend.
Abel did not rule out the possibility of running an Indycar race later in 2024.
The field of entrants for the Indianapolis 500 is now set at 34 entries, which means just one car will not make the field, as happened last year.
Speedway, Ind. – INDY NXT by Firestone veteran, Jacob Abel, will be back behind the wheel of an ABEL Motorsports Dallara IL-15 for another shot at the INDY NXT championship in 2024. Abel will once again be doing battle in the No. 51 ABEL Construction car for the duration of the 14-race schedule.
It was a breakout season in 2023 for the Louisville Kentucky native, highlighted by his first pole position at the Iowa Speedway along with 4 podium finishes and 8 top 5 finishes, on track to a 5th place finish in the season championship. To top the year off for Abel, the 22-year-old completed his first laps behind the wheel of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car on November 6th at Sebring International Raceway.
“I’m really looking forward to returning for a 3rd season of INDY NXT in 2024.” Said Abel. “2023 was a big year of growth for our team and me personally, and I’m excited to carry that momentum into the 2024 season.”
2-years of progression has led to the 2024 INDY NXT season for Abel, whose goal is clear: to win races and contend for the season championship. After spending most of the season in the championship battle in 2023, Abel knows the key to success in 2024 and is ready to build on the pace and consistency that was found last season.
“We had lots of highs in the 2023 season.” said Abel. “We fought for wins at multiple different races throughout the season but were never able to end up on the top step for one reason or another,” exclaimed Abel. “2024 will be all about putting everything we’ve learned from the past couple of years together to hopefully contend for the championship.”
Abel becomes the 2nd driver announced for ABEL Motorsports for the 2024 INDY NXT season alongside series rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy, as ABEL Motorsports looks to expand to a full season multi-car effort in INDY NXT.
Next up for Jacob Abel and the ABEL Motorsports outfit is the final INDY NXT test of 2023 on November 13th at the Barber Motorsports Park. “I’m excited to get to Barber and start working on 2024, that was one track we struggled a little bit on last year which will make maximizing this test very important,” said Abel. “We get more testing this offseason than we did last year, so it will be very important for everyone on our team to work diligently to maximize these days to fully prepare us for St. Pete and the rest of the season.”
Keep up with all things ABEL Motorsports, including off-season driver announcements, by following the team on social media @abelmotorsports or by visiting www.abelmotorsports.com for all of the latest news surrounding the team.
2024 INDY NXT SCHEDULE: Round 1 – March 8 – Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg, FL – Street Course Round 2 – April 28 – Barber Motorsports Park – Birmingham, AL – Road Course Rounds 3/4 – May 10-11 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, IN – Road Course Round 5 – June 2 – Detroit Grand Prix – Detroit, MI – Street Course Rounds 6/7 – June 22-23 – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, CA – Road Course Round 8 – July 7 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, OH – Road Course Round 9 – July 13 – Iowa Speedway – Newton, IA – Oval Round 10 – August 17 – World Wide Technology Raceway – St. Louis, MO – Oval Round 11 – August 25 – Portland International Raceway – Portland, OR – Road Course Round 12 – August 31 – Milwaukee Mile – Milwaukee, WI – Oval Round13 – September 15 – Music City Grand Prix – Nashville, TN – Street Course
XXX
Abel Motorsports including team Principal, Bill Abel, has been competing since 1972. ABEL Motorsports is now on to the third generation with Jacob Abel being the flagship driver for the team. The team was able to capture the inaugural F3 Americas Championship in 2018, and currently competes in the freshly rebranded INDY NXT by Firestone, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, as well as the team’s first entry into the Indianapolis 500 with driver RC Enerson in 2023. For more information visit the official team website at: www.abelmotorsports.com
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Top 12 Qualifying Practice Peacock
12:30-1:30 p.m.: Last Chance Qualifying Practice
2-3 p.m.: Top 12 Qualifying
4-5 p.m.: Last Chance Qualifying Peacock
5:15-5:45 p.m.: Firestone Fast Six Qualifying NBC, Peacock
5:45 p.m.: NTT P1 Award Presentation NBC, Peacock
TICKETS: General Admission tickets are $20. Children 15 and under are admitted free with paying adult. Free entry for all military personnel with a valid military ID.
PUBLIC GATES OPEN (10 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, and Gate 10A.
PARKING: Free parking is located in Turn 3 and Lot 7 (North 40), in the South Carousel Lot for motorcycle parking and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Lot and Lot 7 (North 40) for ADA parking. Paid parking is $20 in Gate 1 and $10 in Main Gate, Lot 2, Lot 3G and Lot 3P. Paid ADA parking is $20 in Gate 1 and $10 in Lot 2, Lot 3P and Lot 3G. Bicycle parking is located outside Gate 1, Gate 6 and Gate 9.
If you didn’t get enough drama yesterday, there is more on the way this afternoon. The race for the pole iws going to be very close, but the real tension inolves the runs for the last row.
Three drivers from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and one driver rfrom Dale Coyne Racing, will battle for the final three spot. Graham Rahal, Christian Lungarard, and Jack Harvey will go against rookie Sting Ray Robb for a spot on row 11.
Rahal was the slowest car yesterday by a significant amount. Robb, a rookie, has the disadvanbtage of inexperience. My pick for missing the race is Graham Rahal. based on the entire week of practice, Rahal has ben consistently behind. I don’t see speed magically appearing today.
Robb’s teammate, david Malukas, found enough speed to get the 23rd starting spot late in the day. I think what the team learned from the 18 car will transfer to the 51 and put him in the field.
The pole is a different story. I enjoyed the battle between Chevy and Honda for the front row yesterday. I think we will see iot again. I am going with Alexander rossi for the pole, with teammate Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon nipping closely at his heels.
Abel Motorsports
A story that was drowned out by the rama at Rahal was Abel Motorsports and driver R C Enerson making the field in the 28th spot. The team came together ;ate, and Saturday was their fourth day on track. Enersonhasn’t driven since 2021. It was easy to dismissw them as the team that would go home.
I had a sense Thursday that this team would make the field. It is great to see a small operation like this come rogether and get in the race. We used to see similar stories in the 60s.
Abel’s Indy NXT experience was helpful in making this possible. I hope they have a good race.
Notes
Some milestones from yesterday:
84 quaklification attempts set a single day record for a qualifying day.
Katherine Legge is now the fastest female driver in Speedway history.
Felix Rosenqvist had the third fastestqualifying time ever.
Agustin Canapino is the fastest rookie qualifier in history.
Abel Motorsports today officially confirmed the 34th entry for the 107h running of the Indianapolis 500 with R C Enerson as the driver. Car number 50 will have Chevrolet power, giving each manufacturer 17 entries.
Abel Motorsports also runs an IndycNXT team driven by Jacob Abel. They have have expressed interest in a full time Indycar effort for 2024.
R C Enerson
Enerson,a five time Indycar starter, attempted to qualify for the 500 in 2019 with Top Gun Racing.
“I can’t thank Bill and John enough for this opportunity to be back at the ‘500,’ Enerson said. “In the works for many months, the Abel Motorsports crew is top notch and loaded with experience well beyond my years. I’m honored to carry the banner for the organization during the Month of May, and while it’s going to be a few more weeks until we go on track, I expect we’ll be up to speed quickly at the Speedway. I’m just so looking forward to climbing behind the wheel of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES machine at IMS once again – so cool!”
Enerson led the Indy Lights championship in 2015 in a field that included four current Indianapolis 500 starters.
The announcement comes a day after the Indycar Open Test at Indiuanapolis Motor Speedway. The team did not participate. Enerson will need to complete a refresher test when practice for the 500 begins May 16.
As first reported by mny friends at trackside Online yesterday and confirmed by notgher sources, Abel motorsports, currently running an Indy NXT team with driver Jacob Abel, will enter the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 with driver R C Enerson.
The car will likely have Chevrolet power, giving each manufacturer 17 entries.
Enerson is a veteran of five Indycar races with a best finish of ninth at Watkins Glen driving for Dale Coyne.
Enerson failed to qualify for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 with Top Gun Racing.
Abel Motorsports is rumored to be looking to field a full time Indycar effort, possibly as early as next year.
The 34th entry sets up the possibility of bumping to set the grid for the 2023 race. I will have some thoughts on that next week.
Indy Lights announced that the son of 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier will drive for Abel Motorsports in the final three races of the year at Portland and Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The news release from Indy Lights:
Third-generation race driver Flinn Lazier will make his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires debut with Abel Motorsports on Sept. 4 at Portland International Raceway.
Lazier also will drive the No. 15 Abel entry in the season-ending doubleheader Sept. 10-11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Lazier, 23, is the son of 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2000 INDYCAR SERIES champion Buddy Lazier and the grandson of 1981 CART Rookie of the Year and Indianapolis 500 veteran Bob Lazier.
“I’m really excited to get this opportunity to make my Indy Lights debut with Abel Motorsports,” Lazier said. “I’ve been working for this for a long time, and I am incredibly grateful to Abel Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to get my feet wet in the series. I can’t wait to get to Portland and begin working with the team and seeing what we can accomplish together.”
Colorado native Lazier is no stranger to open-wheel racing. He has won two races this season in the Formula Atlantic series and was the 2019 Formula Atlantic champion.
Lazier also made four starts in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2021 and also has extensive experience in Sports Car Club of America racing.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 