- Finished 3rd in both races of the weekend

- Currently 3rd in the championship points standings

- Earned the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award in both races 

Elkhart Lake, Wis. – Going into the weekend with enthusiasm, Will Owen knew racing around one of his favorite circuits, Road America, would be a highlight of his 2016 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season. Things for the 21-year-old did not start off strong after qualifying 6th, but after a great amount of effort from Juncos Racing, the #23 AMR Envision machine had a new engine before the start of race one the following day. 

Race one proved eventful with Owen making a pass on the start and immediately challenging his teammate Jake Parsons for 4th place. A few passes back and forth between Owen and Parsons ended in Owen’s favor as he shifted his focus on championship leader, Pato Oward for 3rd. With less than ten minutes left in the race, Owen earned himself the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award by making a daring pass around Oward to secure himself a trip to the podium. 

Although the momentum was still strong from the morning’s excitement, Owen still had the challenge of starting race two from 6th place. Within the first five minutes after the green flag waved, Owen made light of that challenge by moving up to 4th. Almost as if it was scripted, the final laps mimicked those of the race before with Owen in the mirrors of team Pelfrey’s top pilot, Pato O’Ward. Knowing the pass was possible, Owen showed no hesitation as he used every bit of the track and the ability of his Juncos Racing machine to make another bold pass around Oward and make yet another trip up to the podium. Just like the first race of the day, his pass earned himself the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award again in race two. Owens double podium weekend earned him 44 points, moving him up to 3rd in the Pro Mazda Championship standings. The next chance he will have at fighting for another podium will be July 10th as the championship heads to Iowa for the second oval race of the year. 

Will Owen, Driver #23 AMR Juncos Racing

“I had a fantastic weekend and so much fun in these races. We started off with a big struggle because the engine wasn’t performing well with straight-line speed. It was pretty frustrating, but we decided to change the engine last minute and it fixed all of our problems. The car was good in both races and definitely better than the guys around us. I put up a really good fight in the first race and made it up to third from sixth. I made a nice pass at the end of the race to get to third and feel like overall I did a good job. The second race was a step up, and the whole thing was a battle. I was battling Pato Oward a lot and even my teammates. It was honestly exhilarating and so much fun and that’s what racing is all about. That’s why this is my favorite track, because you can actually pass people and it didn’t hurt that the AMR Envision car was awesome too.”