Brownsburg, Ind. – Starting the year on top by capturing the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship, Juncos Racing looks to keep the momentum going in the opening round of the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires this week at the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Juncos Racing has claimed three previous wins on the streets of St. Pete and will enter into the 2014 season with four new drivers.

Eager to start his second season in the Pro Mazda Championship, American Spencer Pigot, 20, driving the #7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/Vitamin-DPro App/California Scents/Juncos Racing car is confident Juncos Racing will be a top contender battling for the championship this year. Pigot claimed the Cooper Tires Winterfest drivers' championship last month.

“St. Pete has always been a special race for me,” said Pigot. “I have lived in the Orlando area for a while now, so it’s like my home race. I’ve had a lot of success there and so has Juncos Racing so we are confident we can fight for the win. Everything has been going great this year with the team and I am really looking forward to getting on track and starting the 2014 season.”

American Kyle Kaiser, 18, driving the #18 InterVision/NetApp/Juniper Networks/Riverbed/Juncos Racing car is looking forward to a strong season in the Pro Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing. Kaiser has shown an impressive start to the year, claiming three top-five finishes in the preseason Cooper Tires Winterfest.

“I’m very excited for the start of my second season in the Pro Mazda Championship,” said Kaiser. “During the off season I spent considerable time training and getting acclimated with Juncos Racing. Building on our success from the Winterfest, I know we will be competitive at St. Pete. Last year this race was one of my favorite events, and with everyone's combined experience, I am confident it will put myself and the team in the best position to finish on the podium.”

Mexican rookie José Gutiérrez, 17, driving the #5 Racing for Mexico/Juncos Racing car is excited to begin his first full season in the Pro Mazda Championship and looks forward to gaining more experience and knowledge in the next level of his racing career. Gutiérrez will compete as one of the youngest drivers in the Pro Mazda Championship.

“St. Pete will be my first season in the Road to Indy ladder in the Pro Mazda series,” said Gutiérrez. “This year I prepared myself mentally and physically to be ready 100 percent for the start of the season. It will also be my first time at St. Pete so I will be practicing a lot in the simulator to prepare. Last year I did one race with Juncos Racing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and it was an amazing experience. I was able to learn a lot at that race and gain a lot of experience behind the wheel. I can’t wait to get on track at St. Pete!”

Argentina’s first female driver to compete in the United States, rookie Julia Ballario, 22, driving the #6 Pistas Argentinas/Juncos Racing car is ready to make her mark in the Pro Mazda Championship. Ballario’s past experience on street and road courses will give her a competitive edge in her first full season.

“I am very excited for my first season in the Pro Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing,” said Ballario. “I have always enjoyed street circuits so I am really looking forward to St. Pete this week. For this race I have been preparing by working in the simulator with the team learning the track since it will be my first time competing there. I have also been going to PitFit every week to continue to improve physically so I will have the strength and endurance for each race. I am looking forward to evolving into a better driver as we go into each race this season which is our goal as a team to take my skills to the next level.”

The 2014 Winterfest Championship winning team owner, Ricardo Juncos, is ready to begin a new journey with four new drivers this season and looks forward to another successful year with his team. Juncos’ mission as a team owner is to give each driver the skills they need to take their driving abilities to the next level.

“I’m really looking forward to the start of the new season and a new group of drivers,” said Juncos. “We pride our team on developing these young drivers on and off the track to be successful at the next level through our driver development program. This year we are back to running four full-time drivers and they will each be strong competitors in the Pro Mazda Championship. We have a lot of confidence already built in this team coming out of the Winterfest Championship last month and we are ready to carry that on to St. Pete next week. I’d like to thank all of my drivers for their commitment to this team, my crew who does an amazing job putting together fast cars, all of our wonderful sponsors and supporters, and of course my family.”

The 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires kicks off on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., a 1.8-mile 14-turn street course, March 28-30 at the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Pete. For more information please visit juncosracing.com and promazdachampionship.com.

About Juncos Racing: Ricardo Juncos, a former Formula Renault driver and son of a driver, grew up with a deep passion and desire for racing. At the age of 14, Juncos made his first steps in the racing community driving karts in Argentina. Through his success in karts Juncos was able to join the Formula Renault class competing throughout South America. After funding became difficult as many drivers experience over their career, Juncos began working for many race teams in order to continue his own racing career. During this time Juncos was able to learn all aspects of the car in and out, along with schooling in mechanical and electrical engineering.

Stationed in Buenos Aires, Argentina and headed by Ricardo Juncos, Juncos Racing became a full-service formula racing team in 1997. By 2003, the team relocated to Miami, Fla., as a full-service karting team. During the first few years in the U.S., the team picked up 19 local, regional, and national karting titles. Moving right along, Juncos Racing not only moved operations north to Indiana, but it developed into a formula open-wheel racing team in 2008. The team went into full swing, dedicating most of the time preparing drivers and crew members for the next level in racing. Following this transitional year, Juncos Racing participated in its first open-wheel series —- the 2009 Star Mazda Championship. 2010 proved to be a big year for the team in the Star Mazda Championship capturing the driver championship and finishing second in the team championship. By 2012, the team’s operations expanded to include cars in Firestone Indy Lights and even fastest lap of the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Juncos Racing currently operates out of Brownsburg, Ind.

For more information, please visit www.juncosracing.com.

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