Lexington, Ohio – Juncos Hollinger Racing concluded the 2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires this past weekend with Enaam Ahmed claiming second in Round 18 of the VP Racing Lubricants Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. Teammate Reece Gold brought home fourth in the first race of the doubleheader.
The final weekend of the 18-race Indy Pro 2000 schedule returned to the 2.258 mile, 13-turn road course located at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the second time this season. The first and only practice session kicked off the weekend Friday afternoon. Rookie Reece Gold driving the No. 55 The Ticket Clinic entry showed great pace, laying down the second-fastest lap of the session. Enaam Ahmed, who joined Juncos Hollinger Racing just this past week, made his first run since May in the Indy Pro 2000 field, finishing the session eighth.
The first of two qualifying sessions began Saturday morning. Gold qualified fourth, while Ahmed took eighth.
The Indy Pro 2000 Championship returned to the track that afternoon for Round 17. Only one caution came out during the very end of the 25-lap race, giving little chances for passing. Gold finished just off the podium in fourth, and Ahmed took eighth.
The weather changed drastically Sunday, with wet conditions for the final qualifying session of the season. Despite the wet conditions, Ahmed took the second spot, putting him on the front row for the last session of the year. Gold qualified seventh.
Drivers would continue to face the wet conditions for Round 18 just a few short hours later. Once the green flag waved for the season finale, many drivers went to battle for positions before the first yellow came out during the first lap due to cars going off track. After just one caution lap the race returned to green.
Ahmed continued to work his way to the front, battling among the top three cars. Two laps later Gold, unfortunately, went off track but was able to return to the track in the back of the field. Before the third caution, Ahmed had moved up to the lead. Ahmed worked to keep the lead once the race returned back to green, however, he would fall back to second.
Then on lap-20, with just five laps to go, Gold would draw the final caution after going off track, putting him one lap down. The field went to battle for the final time with just four laps to go. Ahmed put on an exciting show during the final lap battling for the lead, however, he would settle for second, a season’s best finish for him, along with delivering the team their 14th podium of the year.
Juncos Hollinger Racing Team Owner Ricardo Juncos said,”2021 proved to be a very competitive year for the Indy Pro 2000 teams. Drivers like Reece Gold, being so young, came out and ran among the top of the field from the start of the year. Reece has an incredible amount of talent at his age. He scored many poles and podiums and even earned his first win this year in Indy Pro 2000. I know this weekend at Mid Ohio he did not get the results he deserved, but I know he will continue to find success.
"It was great to have Enaam join the team for Mid-Ohio as well. He did an excellent job, even after being out of the car for most of the summer. Enaam was so close to winning the final race, if he had one more lap I know he could have won. We had a very small team this weekend, so to see them continue to perform at such a high level showed their dedication and the hard work they put into each day. We will continue to work hard as we move into the off-season and continue to grow as a team."
Enaam Ahmed: A big thank you to Ricardo Juncos for giving me the chance to race this weekend and show what I can do. The whole crew was great to work with and I drove my heart out.”
Reece Gold: “Not the best way to end our season at Mid-Ohio. But, overall, we had a great season with a bunch of podiums, poles, and a race win. Thank you to everyone at Juncos Hollinger Racing and The Ticket Clinic for an amazing year! I can’t wait to see what we can do next year!”