Top Gun Racing is an American auto racing team that competed in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

entering the #75

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

UAK18-

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

Indy V6 on a part-time basis.

History

2020

Top Gun announced that they would start to compete in IndyCar in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, with Enerson driving the #99

Hagerty Hagerty is a surname People with this surname include: * Barbara Bradley Hagerty, author and reporter for NPR * James Hagerty (1909–1981), American White House press secretary under Dwight D. Eisenhower * John K. Hagerty (1867–1945), America ...

Dallara UAK18-Chevrolet Indy V6 at the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. Following the announcement that the race would be held with a limited spectator crowd, due to the ongoing

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, Top Gun announced that they would not compete at the 500, as their partners wanted a full capacity event to be involved with. However, the team did say that they and Enerson would compete at the IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix at

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

and the

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...

on the

Streets of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...

. Ultimately, they did not enter these races.

2021

For

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Top Gun participated in a test at

World Wide Technology Raceway World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a o ...

in May, with Enerson driving the #75 Dallara-Chevrolet, which had a throwback livery to the

Johnny Lightning Johnny Lightning is a brand of diecast model cars launched in 1969 by Topper Corporation (owner of the "Topper Toys" brand), similar to the hugely successful Mattel's Hot Wheels cars. Their claim to fame at that time was that they were extremely ...

-sponsored cars that

Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...

and Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing used to win the Indianapolis 500 in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. Following this, they officially entered the

. The team used two chassis' owned by the driver (

R. C. Enerson Richard Clayton "RC" Enerson (born March 6, 1997) is an American professional racing driver. He is the son of former Indy Lights team owner Neil Enerson, who owned Team E Racing and has previously competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Rac ...

) and his father Neil Enerson. The deal struck between the Enerson's and the team included the loan of the two chassis' as well as the use of an Enerson-owned race transporter and other race equipment, with the agreement that all would be returned to the Enerson's at the end of the season. Entering qualifying, Enerson had completed only 83 laps (the second lowest was

Santino Ferrucci Santino Michael Ferrucci (born May 31, 1998) is an American professional racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No 14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Career ...

with 144 laps). On the first qualifying day, Enerson posted a four lap average speed of 227.283 miles per hour, which was not fast enough to make the top 30 and guarantee a starting position. He later went out for another attempt, but waived off after the first lap speed was 227.410 miles per hour. Enerson then participated in the Last Row Shootout the following day, as one of five drivers who was not qualified in the top 30. He would post an average speed of 227.298 miles per hour, which was the 34th fastest speed, meaning he was too slow to qualify. The team made adjustments to the car, which was not approved under the penalty of having the speed (which was already not in the field) removed. Afterwards, Enerson made another attempt and had an average speed of 226.813 miles per hour, which was ultimately the 35th fastest speed, meaning that Top Gun failed to qualify. The team and Enerson would return at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Additionally, they sought out applications for small sponsors on the car, which would go on brick decals (like the ones on the start/finish line at Indianapolis). Enerson would qualify in 25th place (out of 28 cars) for Top Gun's debut race. In the race itself, Enerson retired due to a throttle sensor issue after 12 laps, causing him to finish in last place. The team reneged on its agreement with the Enerson's to return the two chassis' and other equipment at the end of the season and legal proceedings were required to establish the ownership of the cars. The two chassis' and the rest of the equipment was returned to the Enersons in early May 2022.

Results summary

Complete IndyCar Series results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

References

External links

Official website
{{IndyCar Series teams American auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2020 Companies based in Indiana IndyCar Series teams Sports clubs established in 2020