INDIANAPOLIS – Juncos Racing will contest a partial Verizon IndyCar Series schedule in 2018 with rookie American driver and reigning Indy Lights champion Kyle Kaiser at the wheel.
Kaiser will run four races during the upcoming Verizon IndyCar Series season, including the INDYCAR Grand Prix and the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil – both in May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two additional events will be announced at a later date.
“I’m very excited to be moving up to the Verizon IndyCar Series with Juncos Racing,” said Kaiser. “Juncos has been a huge part of my recent success in the Mazda Road to Indy. I have the utmost confidence in Ricardo’s (Juncos) program moving forward and I’m very thankful to everyone involved for making this possible, especially Mazda, Cooper Tires and Dan Andersen for their investment into the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system which will allow me to take the final step towards a career in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Now, I’m just anxious to get behind the wheel as soon as possible.”
By winning the Indy Lights championship, Kaiser was awarded a scholarship valued at $1 million from Mazda to advance to the Verizon IndyCar Series. Kaiser recorded three wins, three poles and five podium finishes throughout the Indy Lights season.
“Another year of great Indy Lights competition, another great Indy Lights champion,” said Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “I have enjoyed watching Kyle over the past few seasons take his natural talent and improve on his skills, then put it all together this year and win the crown. This is what the Mazda Road to Indy is all about and it’s terrific that both Kyle and Juncos Racing are making the jump together. I believe they will open some eyes in 2018 and we will, of course, be cheering them on.”
Juncos Racing expanded its program into the Verizon IndyCar Series earlier this year, debuting in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil with two entries. The team finished 15th with Sebastian Saavedra and 18th with Spencer Pigot.
“This is what our mission is at Juncos Racing, to take drivers to the next level in their career,” said Juncos Racing owner Ricardo Juncos. “We began with Kyle in the Pro Mazda series back in 2014 and then took him to the Indy Lights series, where he had three years to grow into the driver he is today. Each season, Kyle showed tremendous progress on and off track. That hard work and dedication paid off this past season with Kyle winning the Indy Lights championship. Now that Kyle has decided to return to the team for his first run in the Verizon IndyCar Series shows his confidence in our organization. Kyle and his family have been a part of the Juncos Racing family for a long time and I am thrilled to be a part of this time in his career and look forward to helping him be a successful driver next year in the Verizon IndyCar Series. I want to thank Kyle and his family for continuing to support Juncos Racing and for giving us the opportunity to work with Kyle for our fifth year in a row.”
Kaiser joined Juncos Racing in 2014 to run in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, where he helped deliver the team its first Pro Mazda team championship. Juncos Racing then moved Kaiser up to Indy Lights in 2015, when the team won its first Indy Lights championship. Kaiser finished third in the 2016 Indy Lights championship, claiming two wins and three poles.
Source :speedsport.com
Comments
