By: Spencer Neff
April 20, 2026

Abel Motorsports has confirmed their return to the Indianapolis 500 for 2026. This morning, Jacob Abel was announced as the driver of the No. 51 Dallara-Chevrolet for his family-owned team’s entry into the 110th running on May 24.

He is the 32nd confirmed entry for the race.

“I am excited and grateful to be able to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to have a shot at the Indianapolis 500. It’s been a lifelong dream to compete in that race and to have the opportunity to do it with Abel Motorsports and Chevrolet makes it even more special,” said Jacob Abe in Monday’s announcement.

Abel did not qualify for the race in 2025 during his rookie NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with Dale Coyne Racing. His best finish in 16 races last year was 11th at Iowa Speedway (Race 2) in July. Currently, he competes in the LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype) category of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series.

“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world and the teams that compete reflect that. Having won races and competed for championships with Abel Motorsports over my whole career, I am very confident in the program that they put together.”“It is going to be amazing to share this experience with not only my actual family, but the team that has become my family over the years. The preparations have been ongoing for some time, and I’m eager to finally get on track,” he added.

Abel Motorsports previously entered the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 with RC Enerson driving. Enerson started 28th but fell to 32nd after mechanical issues forced him out 75 laps into the race.

“We’re all beyond excited to have Jacob back with us at Abel Motorsports and ecstatic to be returning to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing! It takes a lot of special people to make this happen, and I can’t thank Chevrolet and INDYCAR enough for their help and belief in bringing this to life,” stated Team Owner and Jacob’s father Bill Abel. 

“We have a tremendous group at Abel Motorsports, with a lot of NTT INDYCAR SERIES experience and we really feel like we are in a great spot to give Jacob everything he needs. To have the opportunity to compete in the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 with RC Enerson was so cool and I’ll never forget the moment immediately after we qualified and put RC in the show… it was really emotional and special to me. Now, to have the opportunity to come back here with Jacob as our driver, it doesn’t get any better than that!” 

Abel Motorsports currently fields INDY NXT by Firestone entries for Jordan Missig, Myles Rowe, Colin Kaminsky and Max Garcia.

“The opportunity to enter a car in the Indy 500 is always an exciting adventure but this is quite special to do it with Jacob as the driver. The Abel’s hired me in 2021 to help build on the team that they had already assembled and to help Jacob with the next levels of his open-wheel journey. The Indy 500 was our goal and we are here thanks to the support of our crew and families, INDYCAR, Firestone, and Chevrolet,” said Team Manager John Brunner. 

Abel Motorsports’ status for the April 28-29 Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was not addressed in today’s release.

Header Image By Abel Motorsports