Abel Motorsports appears ready to re-enter the IndyCar fold after a one-year absence due to a lack of funding in 2024.
The organisation managed to claim their first-ever victories in Indy Lights/NXT this year, courtesy of Jacob Abel.
He went on to finish second in the drivers’ championship, topping off what was an excellent year for him behind the dominant Louis Foster out front.
Now they look set to attempt to return to the Indy 500 after making their debut in 2023, where they finished 36th.
Abel Motorsports ‘headed’ for Indy 500 entry in 2025
The excellent season that Abel Motorsports had in 2024 is helping to generate interest in their seats for the future.
They have two Indy NXT cockpits left which are now in demand following the success of Jacob Abel in their car.
Speaking to RACER, Bill Abel mentioned the team’s expansion towards entering the Indy 500 again after not being able to participate in 2024 due to their driver – R.C. Enerson failing to secure satisfactory funding.
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“We’ve got two other seats that we’re going to fill, and we’ve got tons of interest because of the season we’ve had with Jacob.,” he said.
“We’ll be a four-car Indy NXT team, and hopefully an Indy 500 team also. That’s where we’re headed to.”
Can they qualify for the Indy 500 race proper?
It’s a notoriously difficult task to qualify for the Indy 500 – just ask McLaren who failed to do so with Fernando Alonso in 2019.
Their first attempt in 2023 saw them in 36th, failing to qualify inside the top 33 for the race, but they will have learned a lot from that experience.
Despite IndyCar implementing a new charter system for 2025, where there are 25 entries on the grid under the new rules, the Indy 500 has been left alone.
That means anyone wanting to qualify for a normal IndyCar race outside of the usual 25 cars, will have to do so on pure pace, instead of being allowed to turn up and compete.
The Indy 500 remains a 33-car, qualifying-based event, with no guaranteed entry for charters – protecting the uniqueness of the event.