INDYCAR: Enerson returns for final two races

RC Enerson will return to the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda for the final two rounds of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series championship.

The Indy Lights graduate impressed on his debut with DCR at Mid-Ohio on July 31, and hopes to build from the experience this weekend at Watkins Glen and during the season finale at Sonoma Raceway on September 18.

“It felt good to be right there on pace at Mid-Ohio, and we had a way better result – a top 10, we think – but we got caught out on the fuel,” Enerson told RACER of finishing 19th on his debut. “We ran out with a corner to go, had to clutch and coast in, the engine shut off, then it took forever to fire it up and we lost some laps, but we showed we had the pace.”

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Eager to land a full-time seat in 2017, Enerson says he’ll use the The Glen and Sonoma to show prospective teams owners what he can do while adding to his knowledge base with the Dallara DW12-Honda package.

“Of course I want to impress, but I’m also trying learn all I can in this car; it requires a different driving style, but we got a good base at Mid-Ohio and picked up a lot at the Watkins Test that we can put together this weekend,” he added.

“It was my first time at Watkins Glen with the new surface, and it’s insane. There’s so much grip, and the hardest thing will be qualifying for my second time in [Firestone] Reds and it will be crazy. We were actually getting chattering from the tires after the Bus Stop chicane because it feels like we’ve reached the grip threshold. So there’s a lot more for me to pick up and that’s a big aspect of what I want to accomplish in these next two races.”

Enerson has defined two goals that could accelerate his return to the grid next year.

“We of course want to find as much sponsorship as we can; that would be the first goal, and then it’s putting together the best two races we can,” he said. “It’s getting to the checkered flag, showing our pace, and I’d say before we can look at 2017, we need to put together two impressive races.”

Coyne has used four drivers this season in the 19 car: Luca Filippi, Pippa Mann and Gabby Chaves, who returned to finish the Texas race and brought home a 14th-place finish.