Plymouth, Wis. – Juncos Racing took home three podiums this past weekend in Rounds 8 and 9 of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at Road America. American Will Owen earned two third place finishes, while rookie teammate Nicolas Dapero picked up his best finish since joining the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series taking second in Round 8.
The Pro Mazda Championship returned to the 4.048 mile, 14-turn road course located in Plymouth, Wisconsin, this past weekend for the first time since 2010. Juncos Racing proved to have strong pace throughout the two practice sessions with rookies Jake Parsons and Nicolas Dapero running inside the top three.
Juncos carried the strong momentum gained in practice to qualifying later that day. Australian rookie Jake Parsons, driving the #00 Smart Minds Institute car, earned his best qualifying effort of the season starting on the front row in the second position. Nicolas Dapero took fourth position and Will Owen started sixth.
Round 8 of the Pro Mazda Championship went green for the entire 19 lap, 40 minute timed race. Dapero, driver of the #31 Federal Seguros car who started fourth, made his way to the front of the field to capture his best finish in the Pro Mazda Championship taking second. Teammate Owen drove the #23 AMR car from sixth to finish on the podium in third, earning the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award. Parsons, who had a strong start from the first row, was hit early on the first lap causing damage to his rear wing. The young Australian battled his way through the race with a damaged wing to finish sixth.
The weekend at Road America came to a close for the Pro Mazda Championship with Round 9. Owen, who started sixth, took home his second podium of the weekend, taking third and once again earning the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award. Dapero earned a top-5 finish, taking fifth. Parsons would once again start second, but fell back to finish ninth.
Juncos Racing Team Principal Ricardo Juncos was thrilled to add three more podium finishes to the standing for the season.
“I am very pleased with the results of all of our drivers this past weekend at Road America,” said Juncos. “Jake (Parsons) who has been fast all season, gave his best qualifying effort, starting second for both races. Despite not getting the results he deserved, I was very pleased with his run in Round 8, finishing every lap with a damaged rear wing.
"Nico (Dapero) went back to back podiums, carrying the momentum from Lucas Oil Raceway to here at Road America, taking home his best finish since joining Juncos Racing. Will (Owen) made some of the most impressive passes throughout both races, giving him the positions needed to return the podium again this season.
"I am really looking forward to finishing the second half of the season on a high note after all of the progress all three drivers have made so far this season. Thank you to our amazing crew for all of their hard work, to all of the families of our drivers, and crew, and to all of the supporters who came out to this beautiful track this weekend.”
Driver Quotes:
Nicolas Dapero (Buenos Aires, Argentina): ”It was a great weekend for us coming off of our podium at Lucas Oil Raceway as I was able to pick up another podium here at Road America. I am really happy with my second place finish in the first race and have to give my team a big thank you for all of their hard work. It was my first time running here, and a lot of other drivers have been on this track before so I am happy with my results. I am looking forward to being back on an oval for the next race, where I hope to capture my first win.”
Will Owen (Castle Rock, Colorado, USA): “I had an absolute blast this weekend at Road America, this is for sure one of my most favorite weekends in my racing career. I came home with two third place finishes after starting sixth for both races. I have never fought so hard in my life as I did during both of these races. I was side by side for most of the races. This is one of my favorite tracks because the racing is great here and it’s a lot of fun to drive. The Juncos car was great, even though we started off the weekend struggling in practice. I am really proud of the Juncos guys because they worked so hard, after having to put in a new engine before the first race of the weekend. I’ve got to thank AMR, Envision Healthcare, and my family for their support. I can’t wait to get back on track at Iowa Speedway!”
Jake Parsons (Melbourne, Australia): “This has been one of the most successful weekends with our performance and speed. I earned my best qualifying position, which was second. I learned a lot starting on the front row, managing my start and having a clear track ahead going into the first corner. We made great progress in our race pace as the car felt really strong. I have to take the positives out of the weekend. My speed was good, so I should be proud of that and the qualifying was great. I thought I drove the best I could during Race 1 having the issues I had with the damaged rear wing, and was able to still fight for the top-thre positions during the opening laps. So I am going to take the positives, and leave the negatives as we look forward to the next event.”
The Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires continues July 9-10 at Iowa Speedway for the final oval of the season. For more information please visit juncosracing.com.