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RC Enerson: Who Is IndyCar’s Newest Driver?

By Brittany Frederick

RC Enerson before an Indy Lights race. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar
RC Enerson before an Indy Lights race. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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RC Enerson joins the Verizon IndyCar Series this weekend at Mid-Ohio. But who is IndyCar’s newest driver – and how much does his addition matter?

IndyCar is gaining another rookie, as RC Enerson will drive the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in this weekend’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Enerson replaces Luca Filippi, who drove the No. 19 at Toronto; prior to that, the car was piloted by 2015 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Gabby Chaves.

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So who is Enerson, and what makes him an upgrade over Filippi and Chaves? And will his arrival in IndyCar have any significant impact in a 2016 season already packed with rookies?

19-year-old Richard Clay (RC) Enerson is another second-generation member of the racing community; his father is Neil Enerson, the owner of Team E Racing.

RC Enerson is a product of the Mazda Road to Indy program, albeit on a limited basis. He competed in the introductory USF2000 Championship from 2012-2014 then skipped Pro Mazda to take an Indy Lights seat with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for a season and a half.

With his 2016 Lights season a disappointment, RC opted to pull out of his SPM ride earlier this year and put what would’ve been the rest of his Lights budget into the search for a Verizon IndyCar Series seat.

That move is now a matter of some debate; Racer reported Tuesday that SPM is suing Neil Enerson for nearly $500,000 owed related to RC Enerson’s Lights tenure.

Regardless, RC Enerson got what he wanted: he’ll make his IndyCar debut on Sunday driving for Dale Coyne.

Related Story: 2016 Honda Indy 200 Fast Facts

But how much will RC Enerson be relevant this weekend?

Enerson’s Indy Lights career includes one win, which was two years ago at Mid-Ohio, the same course he’ll race on Sunday.

Over 24 races he achieved six Top 5 finishes and 20 within the Top 10. That’s a Top 5 every four events, which is very impressive. But given that those only translated into one victory, it’s clear there’s something keeping him from really taking that next step.

And that’s to be expected – he’s not even a legal adult yet, so obviously he has some growing to do in his career. Enerson clearly has some raw racing talent but needs to refine it with the benefit of experience.

Yet the Verizon IndyCar Series, particularly in 2016, is one heck of a place to do that.

IndyCar is an incredibly competitive racing series and this year the rookie class may be one of the best in a long time. Conor Daly has shone in his first full-time drive, handling Coyne’s No. 18 car.

Alexander Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 on a strategy call but has posted consistent speed in several other races, and Max Chilton seems poised to turn the corner any race now.

Enerson will also be battling Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot, who won the Lights title the year that Enerson came fourth. Pigot did something RC Enerson never achieved and he’s still struggling in IndyCar – that tells you how hard it can be to make the jump into the major league.

No one is expecting RC Enerson to go out and win the Honda Indy 200 on Sunday. And if Enerson thinks jumping to IndyCar is going to immediately elevate his career, then he’s in for a big surprise.

It’ll be a good day if he finishes within the Top 10, and given the fierceness of his competition, that would seem to be the best case scenario.

But the end of every IndyCar season is the time when we see some of these drivers from Indy Lights or other series get their shots, like the minor-league call-ups in every baseball season. Enerson is one of those drivers.

He had one strong year and one rough year in Indy Lights – now he needs to prove which RC Enerson is the one fans are really going to get. And that starts with his big audition at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.