Lexington, Ohio – Juncos Racing’s Sting Ray Robb added his fifth win of the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season during Round 12 of the doubleheader Surgere Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio this weekend. Teammate Artem Petrov earned two Top-5 finishes taking home fifth in Round 11 and fourth in Round 12.
Robb now leads the Indy Pro 2000 Championship by 49 points with five races remaining.
The Indy Pro 2000 field returned for the fourth straight week in a row with Rounds 11 and 12 on the 2.258-mile, 13-Turn road course located at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. One practice followed by two qualifying sessions kicked off the three-day event Friday.
Sting Ray Robb, who took over the points lead after three wins in the triple header at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, qualified fourth for Round 11 and second for Round 12. Teammate Artem Petrov, driving the No. 42 Road To Success/Juncos Racing entry qualified sixth for Round 11, however an engine failure in qualifying for Round 12 put him in the 11th starting position. The crew worked overnight to repair the car in order to be ready for the first race of the weekend the following day.
The Indy Pro 2000 field returned to the track Saturday for Round 11. The 25 lap race saw two cautions for drivers going off track and one lead change. Robb, driving the No. 2 Firehouse and Goodheart Animal Health Centers/Big Idaho Potato/Juncos Racing car finished where he started just off the podium in fourth. Petrov moved his way one position to finish just behind in fifth.
The weekend concluded Sunday with weather as big factor for the initial start of Round 12. After a short delay for the start of the race, drivers were released onto the track to kick off the final 25-lap event. The pace car lead the field for the first few laps under yellow. Once the green flag waved multiple drivers went off track heading into Turn-1. Robb took over the lead, while Petrov worked his way up eight positions to the third spot. The red flag came out shortly after and the race would be postponed until later that afternoon. The field returned to the track under much favorable sunny dry conditions for the remaining laps. Robb started from the pole while Petrov started from the third position. Robb went on to lead the entire race to claim his fifth win of the season. Petrov finished just off the podium in fourth.
Juncos Racing Team Owner Ricardo Juncos said, “We were faced with some tough obstacles this at Mid-Ohio, but the team prevailed, and we are coming home with another win. On Friday we had major issue with Artem’s engine during the second qualifying session. The crew did an incredible job Friday night getting the car back together so we would ready in time for the first race. Even though Artem did not get the podium finish we hoped for, he did a great job in both races. During the second race Artem managed to pass eight cars before the red flag came out, which is incredible given that Mid-Ohio is not an easy place to make so many passes. Sting Ray did an excellent job again this weekend, after coming off such a dominating performance at Indy. Every point matters in this championship, so this win was very important in expanding his lead. I am very proud of how hard everyone on the team continues to work and the dedication they have to this team. We like many others have had to limit how many crew members we have due to the effects of COVID-19, so to continue to earn such great results shows the effort everyone has put into this year. I again want to thank everyone on the team for all of the work they put into each week at the shop and when we are on track. I want to thank both drivers for continued confidence in our team, and to congratulate Sting Ray on his win. Finally thank you to all the families, partners, and fans for their support.”
Artem Petrov: “The weekend didn’t start as well for us in the first qualifying, but the guys made some good changes for the second qualifying session and the car felt good. After that however we had an issue with the engine and the car caught on fire. The team worked hard that night to get the car ready for the first race. The first race did not go as we hoped for. We just did not have the pace from the day before and I lost time on track, but we finished fifth which wasn’t so bad considering what had happened the day before. The second race started off with multiple drivers going off track, but I was able to make my way through the mess up to third before the red flag came out. We went back on track later in the day for a single file restart, which did not go as well as we hoped for and eventually lost the position for the podium. Even though we did not get a podium finish, we still managed to get valuable points for the championship.”
Sting Ray Robb: “What a great way to finish off the weekend here at Mid-Ohio. We were so happy to get back here after the original date was postponed. I was happy with how the first race finished, finishing fourth. Going into the second race with the rain this morning we just knew we had to survive in the first lap, which we did. We then were able to start on pole for the restart this afternoon under much better conditions, after the race was red flagged this morning. The team did an amazing job giving me a fast car which was much improved from yesterdays setup. Thankfully, we were able to stay out front the whole race and set some great lap times and stayed consistent. We are looking forward to moving onto New Jersey and St. Pete for the final rounds of the season after extending our points lead. A huge thank you again to Juncos Racing, all of my investors and partners who have helped keep me in the car this year. All of the glory goes to God on this one and I am so thankful to add another victory to this season!”