Monterey, California – Juncos Racing’s Garett Grist swept the final weekend of the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires capturing both wins in Rounds 15 and 16 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Teammate Will Owen added another podium finish for Juncos Racing, taking third in Round 15. Juncos Racing ends the season taking home their second consecutive team championship by recording four wins, six poles and 16 podium finishes among the four driver team. 

Rookie Owen kicked off the final weekend of the 2015 Pro Mazda season leading the 19-car field fastest overall in practice on the 2.238 mile, 11-Turn road course. Canadian Grist continued the strong momentum in qualifying picking up his fifth consecutive pole.  Owen took the third starting position, while Timothé Buret qualified fifth and Jose Gutiérrez seventh. 

As the green flag went to drop for Round 15, multiple cars made contact causing a caution that would last for 19 minutes of the 30-minute timed race.  Grist, driving the #5 BlackList/Lander Property Management car, led the field the entire race to claim his second win of the season, along with recording the fastest lap of the race. Rookie Owen, pilot of the #23 AMR car, took home his third podium of the season finishing third. Gutiérrez ended his day just outside the top three in the #7 Prisma car, finishing fourth. Rookie Buret, driver of the #6 BroadSign car, was penalized for jumping the start of the race, and went on to finish 11th. 

Grist continued his strong pace the following day for final round of the 2015 season, recording the fastest lap overall and leading the entire race to capture back-to-back wins for Juncos Racing. These wins moved up Grist to finish third overall in the Pro Mazda Championship. Owen, who started fourth, finished off a strong rookie season taking fourth in Round 16. Buret took seventh, ending his rookie season fifth overall in the championship. Gutiérrez finished just behind teammate Buret, ending his day in eighth.  

“I really couldn’t have asked to finish the season any differently,” said Team Principle Ricardo Juncos. “Garett (Grist) drove flawlessly with his pole and double victory, Will (Owen) backed the performance up with yet another podium finish. It’s refreshing to see the team capture our second consecutive team championship. Last year we proved that we could be the most dominant and successful team in the series, and this year we proved that we could continue the dominant performances while expanding our operations.” 

Driver Quotes: 

Garett Grist (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada): “It was a great weekend for us in California! Thursday and Friday were a bit rough though. We didn’t have the pace and were struggling to be in the top 10. Peter (Dempsey) and Emma (Talquenca) worked hard Friday night and when Saturday morning came we put it on the pole for Round 15. This was great considering Thursday and Friday. Round 15 on Saturday I led every lap and set the fastest lap by over .04 seconds. Round 16 I knew was going to be more difficult. I was able to get a good run on the start and was in the lead by Turn 1. After that things got interesting. I was hit from behind a couple times under the safety car and a couple of more times in Turn 1 on one of the restarts. I was able to survive three restarts to lead every lap and set the fastest lap again. I want to thank everyone from Juncos Racing for a great year and my family for all of their support!” 

José Gutiérrez (Monterrey, Mexico): “This weekend was very good for the team, winning the championship in Indy Lights and GG (Garett Grist) winning both races. This shows how dominant we are as a team. I want to thank my mechanic Ale (Alejandro Juncos), Ricky (Ricardo Juncos) for giving me this opportunity, Peter (Dempsey) and David (Martinez) for helping me all season. It was a pleasure to work with Juncos Racing. This team is the best team, we always work together to solve problems. Let’s see what 2016 can bring us.” 

Will Owen (Castle Rock, Colorado, USA): “This weekend at Mazda Raceway was definitely one of my favorite races this year. It was great to be on the podium again. I made a lot of mistakes, but learning from my mistakes is how I have been able to improve so much this year. I have had a fantastic 2015 season. Juncos Racing gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and I have enjoyed every second of it. So happy to say I am coming back next year! I have to thank everyone on my team, my sponsor AMR, and of course my family. I would also like to say congrats to Spencer (Pigot) and the Indy Lights team as well. So cool to see them win!”

For more information please visit juncosracing.com and promazdachampionship.com.