Milwaukee, Wis. – Juncos Racing’s Spencer Pigot captured his sixth win of the season in the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in Round 12 of the Allied Building Products Pro Mazda Oval Challenge at The Milwaukee Mile. Teammate José Gutiérrez took home his first career pole in the Pro Mazda series. Juncos Racing leads the championship while driver Spencer Pigot leads the driver’s championship with only two races remaining this season.
American Spencer Pigot, 20, driving the #7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/
VitaminPro App/California Scents/Juncos Racing car claimed his sixth victory of the season in a thrilling 90-lap race at The Milwaukee Mile. Pigot who qualified fourth made his move up the field taking the lead with 45 laps to go. The American led every practice session on the oval. This win gives Pigot an 18-point lead in the driver’s championship.
“It was a great race,” said Pigot. “We made some really good changes from qualifying and as always the Juncos guys gave me a car capable of winning a race. I was really just working to get passed Scott (Hargrove) for the first of the race and on a restart I had an opportunity and took advantage of it to get passed him. On the last restart there was a little bit of drama, but it was a nice clean race with Scott (Hargrove) to the end. I’m really happy to take home another win, and I am really looking forward to Sonoma next week.”
Making his second career appearance on an oval, rookie José Gutiérrez, 17, driving the #5 Racing for Mexico/Juncos Racing car captured his first career pole in the Pro Mazda Championship. Gutiérrez had a tough battle in the front row of Round 12 falling back to fourth for most of the race. During a restart late in the race dirt from the track flew into his left eye and he was unable to see well out of that eye which caused him to fall back car to finish ninth. Gutiérrez gave an impressive run in both practice sessions finishing in the top five.
“It was a great weekend at Milwaukee,” said Gutiérrez. “We were in the top six in practice and made a lot of changes to the car to be able to put it on pole for the race. We had the best qualifying session of the season taking the pole position. I couldn’t believe I grabbed the pole in my second start on an oval in my racing career. I had a great start for the race but lost some positons and fell back to fourth. A yellow flag came out and on the restart dirt got in my eye and I couldn’t see out of my left eye. I went wide in Turn Two and almost collided with the wall which caused me to fall back to 12th. I ended up finishing ninth. I cannot thank my team enough for giving me an awesome car. We will stay positive and move forward to Sonoma to finish the season strong.”
In her only second career start on an oval, Argentinean rookie Julia Ballario, 22, driving the #6 Pistas Argentinas/Argetina Art/Juncos Racing car gave another strong performance this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile. Ballario who qualified 12th, was able to make her way up the field to finish in sixth position. The rookie had a strong run in both practice sessions finishing in the top six.
“It was a weekend full of ups and downs,” said Ballario. “The test on Friday and practice on Saturday went very well for us always running in the top six. The car was balanced and I was confident which is very important on an oval for me. In the last practice session I almost hit the wall after a strong gust of wind pulled the tail of my car around leaving me a little insecure before qualifying. After qualifying I cleared my head and regained my confidence for the race. During the race I was able to overtake six cars and ending up finishing sixth. I am very happy with the result and the amount of passes I was able to make. Thank you so much to my team Juncos Racing and my sponsors Pistas Argetninas, Argentina Art, and my family for their support.”
Kyle Kaiser, 18, driving the #18 InterVision/NetApp/JuniperNetworks/Riverbed/Juncos Racing car was fast all weekend finishing second in both practice sessions. Although qualifying didn’t go as planned, Kaiser who started seventh was able to make his way up the field to run third in Round 12. The young American was set for a podium finish when an on track incident with only two laps to go caused Kaiser to fall back and finish 10th.
“The team did a great job this weekend,” said Kaiser. “Spencer (Pigot) and I were running first and second in every practice session leading up to qualifying. Qualifying didn’t go exactly how we thought, but the team still managed to get the pole with José (Gutiérrez). They gave me a great car for the race and I worked my way up to third before being involved in an incident with two laps to go. I’m looking forward to Sonoma because that is my home track, and I know the team will give me a great car.”
Keeping his team focused on one race at a time as they battle for the championship, Juncos Racing Team Owner Ricardo Juncos is extremely thrilled with his team’s results after an action packed weekend at The Milwaukee Mile.
“This weekend has been a great weekend for the team,” said Juncos. “Spencer’s victory and José grabbing his first pole. We were very strong with all four cars this weekend finishing in the Top-6 in every session with all four cars which is extremely hard to do. I cannot thank the whole team enough. They have been working so hard this weekend to achieve this victory. Spencer’s victory was a close battle to the last lap with Scott (Hargrove) and he did an amazing job on each restart to take the win. José claiming his first pole in his rookie season is a huge accomplishment especially since this is only the second him in his career he has run on an oval. Kylewas very fast all weekend but unfortunately in the race with two laps to go contact was made when he was running third pushing him back in the field. Kyle did an amazing job this weekend running very consistent with the front of the field. Julia did a great job even from starting in the back of the field to move up to finish sixth in only her second time running on an oval. Overall I could not be happier for the drivers and the team for all of their effort this weekend. This victory goes to each driver, crew member, sponsor, supporter and family member of Juncos Racing. This win also is special because I dedicated it to my father because it was his birthday and to my wife who is expecting our second child any day now.”
The 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season comes to an end this weekend August 21-24
th with a double header at Sonoma Raceway. 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, Florida 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 the Firestone Indy Lights series and even fastest lap of the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Juncos Racing currently operates out of Brownsburg, Indiana.