Podium Finish for Owen at The Day Before the 500
Indianapolis, Ind. – Juncos Racing continued their strong run in the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires this past weekend in an action packed Round 9 at The Day Before the 500. Rookie Will Owen picked up his second podium of the season taking second on the 0.686-mile oval at Lucas Oil Raceway while teammates Garett Grist and José Gutiérrez rounded out the top five taking fourth and fifth. Juncos Racing now leads the Teams championship as they begin the second part of the 2015 season.
The "Day Before the 500" proved to be a thrilling 90-lap race on the first oval of the season with multiple battles for positions taking place throughout the 15-car field. Rookie Will Owen, who qualified fourth, had a commanding start in the #23 AMR car moving up to second. Owen was knocking on the door of the leader by the final few laps but had to settle for a hard-fought second. Garett Grist, who qualified seventh, battled his way through the field throughout the race in the #5 BlackList/Lander Property Management car finishing just off the podium in fourth. Teammate José Gutiérrez, who started 11th in the #7 Prisma car, made multiple passes throughout the race to pick up the third top-five finish for the team for the day taking fifth. Rookie Timothé Buret, who qualified 13th in the #6 BroadSign car, had the most work cut out for him by making his first ever appearance on an oval circuit. Buret was able to pick up a few positons before an incident on lap 28 involving the #28 of Dalton Kellet and #80 of Raoul Owens collected Buret ending his day early.
Juncos Racing Team Owner Ricardo Juncos was pleased to see three of the four drivers finish inside the top five and to add another podium finish to the season with rookie Will Owen.
“I am very pleased overall with the team’s performance at our first oval of the 2015 season,” said Juncos. “All four drivers continue to show so much dedication behind the wheel and their efforts have now put the team in the lead for the championship. We still have the second half of the season to go, but I am confident the team will continue to stay focused and carry this momentum as we continue our battle for the championship. I want to thank the entire Juncos Racing team for all of their hard work that has lead us to leading the championship and to everyone who came out to support us this past weekend.”
Driver Quotes:
Timothé Buret (Montpellier, France): “This past weekend was the first time I have competed on an oval circuit. Unfortunately, I was involved in an incident with Dalton Kellet when he moved in front of me when I was overtaking him. I’m disappointed that our race ended early and we were not able to continue the run we had going especially after I had struggled all week to find the speed during practice and qualifying. When I pulled into the pit the first time the guys replaced my rear wing and after I left the pit I realized my front suspension was broken too. I pulled back into the pits and that’s when we had to end our day. I want to thank Juncos Racing for all of the support and help they gave me all weekend. I’m really looking for a fresh start in a few weeks when we compete on the streets of Toronto.”
Garett Grist (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada): “It was an OK weekend for us. When we rolled off the trailer on Thursday we really struggled all day. We changed the entire car before the final practice and when you change the entire car it’s not going to be perfect. We worked with the car throughout the day and even though it wasn’t the best car for the race, that’s what happens when the set-up is completely changed and you only have a 20-minute practice session to work with it. We did the best we could with what we had. This is my third time here, I have a second and first and now fourth so this is a pretty good record for me here. So overall we ended the weekend on a good note. I’m really looking forward to Toronto in a few weeks since it’s my home race and I will get to spend time with my family and friends.”
José Gutiérrez (Monterrey, Mexico): “Today we had a great race especially since I had to start from the back of the field. I was very focused to not make mistakes since this is a very long race. The car was amazing! We could run the lower line so well. I’m so happy for the team that we were able to pass a lot of cars with this oval being so difficult. I want to thank all of Juncos Racing, Mazda and Team Cooper Tires for this great weekend. We are going to Toronto on a high note and we are going to fight for the podium.”
Will Owen (Castle Rock, Colorado, USA): “I am very excited to be back on the podium. I’m disappointed however that we were not able to pull off a win since it was so close there at the end. I had a great run today in my car and I’ve got to thank Juncos Racing because the car was fantastic throughout the whole race. In the beginning when the tires were cold I was able to have a lot better pace than the guys around me. We almost caught the leader in the end and we will give him another run next time. I want to thank all of my sponsors AMR, Speed Group, Mazda and Cooper Tires.”
The 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires continues June 12-14 for Rounds 10 and 11 on the Streets of Toronto, Canada. For more information please visit juncosracing.com and promazdachampionship.com.