Elkhart Lake, Wis. – Juncos Racing entered the fifth weekend of the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with another purpose, honoring former driver Jeff Green throughout the weekend with the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series. The MRTI series remembered Jeff Green by with a special tribute, decals on all cars, and green ribbons. Pro Mazda rookie Rinus VeeKay earned the two best finishes of the weekend for Juncos Racing by bringing home two fifth place finishes.
The weekend kicked off with one practice session followed by two qualifying sessions around the 4.014 mile, 14-turn road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Juncos Racing qualified third with Dutchman Rinus VeeKay, sixth with Brazilian Carlos Cunha, and ninth with American Robert Megennis for Round 8. The field of 14 cars qualified for Round 9 the following day. Cunha, pilot of the No. 1 CarlosCunha.com.br / Juncos Racing car improved from Round 8’s qualifying session to take the second starting position. VeeKay driving the No. 2 Jumbo / Juncos Racing car qualified fourth and Megennis driving the No. 9 Palo Alto Networks / Juncos Racing car qualified ninth.
Juncos Racing fought for a podium finish but came up short with the highest finish of fifth with VeeKay in Round 8. Cunha finished just behind in sixth and Megennis took eighth.
The final race of the weekend began the race command given by Team Principle Ricardo Juncos and with a pace lap by former Juncos Racing engineer Peter Dempsey driving Jeff Green’s No. 60 Juncos Racing Pro Mazda car, followed by current Indy Lights driver and former teammate to Green, Victor Franzoni in his No. 23 Mazda Indy Lights car. Both drivers honored Green by running side by side to lead the field to the green flag for Round 9. Many battles pursued throughout the 15-lap race between drivers throughout the Top-10 cars. VeeKay picked up the best finish for the team taking fifth for the second straight day. Cunha followed just behind taking sixth and Megennis finished 10th.
Team Owner Ricardo Juncos said, “This weekend was not only about two races, but remembering and paying tribute to our friend Jeff Green. I want to thank the MRTI series for their support and to the rest of the paddock for showing their support by placing the #JeffGreenForever decals. It was surreal seeing his car back on track and having Victor (Franzoni) running side by side in his Indy Lights car. The field was very competitive this weekend and we were just not able to pull off a podium finish. The entire team did a great job and I know we will be back in the front in just a few weeks at Toronto.”
Juncos Racing continues to lead the team championship standings after nine races.
Driver Quotes:
Carlos Cunha No. 1 CarlosCunha.com.br/Juncos Racing: ““It was a disappointing weekend for us. Juncos Racing did everything they could and I did everything I could to make something happen but overall we did not have the pace we need in either race. It’s part of racing. But we need to keep our heads up, keep our mind clean, and keep working. I believe that we found a couple of things in the setup that we can use for the remainder of the season. I just need to keep thanking Juncos Racing for all of the hard work that they are doing. We’ve had some really great results this season but also a few disappointing ones, but that’s just racing. We still have seven races left in the season, so I know we can fight for some good results. We will just have to keep our heads up and go to Toronto with a clean mind to find a better set up.”
Rinus VeeKay No. 2 Jumbo/Juncos Racing: “It was a really tough weekend. We had a really good qualifying pace in both sessions. Luck was not on our side with yellows in the qualifying sessions, I think myself or either of my teammates could have been on pole. We were struggling with the race pace. I think we need to leave this weekend behind us and keep moving forward. I know that we will be come back strong in Toronto.”
Robert Megennis No. 9 Palo Alto/Juncos Racing: “Overall, it was a tough weekend for us. We never really found the setup on the car and after qualifying we had to make some big changes but we all did our best. I ended up with an 8th and 10th place finish. Honestly we aren’t that happy with it, we are obviously aiming for a higher finish. We are going to get back to it and come back stronger in Toronto. I want to thank Juncos Racing for their hard work and Palo Alto Networks for getting me here to begin with and allowing me to do my best and pursuing my passion.”