Birmingham, Ala. – Juncos Racing showcased a strong performance to kick off the 2014 season claiming the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship. Driver Spencer Pigot took four podiums and claimed a new track record while teammates Jose Gutierrez, Kyle Kaiser and Julia Ballario added multiple top-10 finishes in the four rounds of the championship at NOLA Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park.
Dominating the 2014 Cooper Tires Winterfest Driver Championship, American Spencer Pigot, 20, driving the #7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/OMP Racing/VitaminPro App/California Scents/Juncos Racing car finished 26 points ahead with two wins and two second-place finishes along with setting a new track record at Barber Motorsports Park. Pigot looks to take this momentum to the Streets of St. Petersburg next month where he will begin his quest for the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship.
“Today went really well for us,” said Pigot. “We were fastest in practice again. Scott (Hargrove) was able to get around me at the start of the race and this is such a difficult place to pass. There are a lot of fast corners and losing the down force. I almost had him (Scott) on the last lap, but decided it would be better not to risk crashing and take us both out of the race. I knew at that point we had the championship wrapped up. Overall we had a great week. The team has been working really hard giving me a great car. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going into St. Pete where the main focus is on the championship.”
Young American Kyle Kaiser, 17, driving the #18 InterVision/NetApp/Juniper Networks/Riverbed/Juncos Racing car took sixth in the driver’s championship with three
Top-five finishes and displayed a strong performance in all four rounds of qualifying starting in the top-five for each race.
“The start of the race I didn’t have the best of starts, fell back a couple of positions,” said Kaiser. “After the first couple of corners I was able to make up a couple of positions by going on the outside. Most of the race it was a matter of making minimal mistakes and staying on the top of my game. Luckily later on in the race Shelby (Blackstock) and I capitalized on the opportunity and got by him. The driver in front of Shelby was penalized for blocking so I gained another two positions putting me in fourth where I spent most of the race. It was a really positive race. The team did a great job giving me a good car this whole week and I want to thank Juncos Racing and congratulate them on wining the Winterfest along with my teammates and competitors for driving really well.”
Mexican rookie Jose Gutierrez, 17, driving the #5 Prisma/Racing for Mexico/Juncos Racing car showed a strong performance as well finishing seventh in the Cooper Tires Winterfest Driver Championship with four top-10 finishes.
“At the start of the race I went to ninth on the first turn,” said Gutierrez. “The first two laps did not go well, but during the middle of the race I was in eighth. During the last few laps I was behind the Team Pelfrey car and he made a mistake which gave me an opportunity to pass him allowing me to finish the race in seventh.”
Argentinean rookie Julia Ballario, 22, driving the #6 Pistas Argentinas/Juncos Racing car finished just outside the Top-10 in the driver’s championship placing 11th and gained the positive experience she looks to build on going into the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship.
“The 2014 Cooper Tires Winterfest gave me the opportunity to get plenty of practice before the upcoming season’s championship,” said Ballario. “The series opener in NOLA went well for our team. Our goal was to continue to improve when we are on track, which allowed me to become more comfortable behind the wheel. I’m pleased with my progress and predict a successful season with Juncos Racing. I’d like to thank Juncos Racing for providing me with a great car and for helping me to get to the next level in my career. Thank you to Argentinas Court and Roberto Alonso who promote their work through my family and myself.”
Ricardo Juncos, Team Owner, was extremely proud of what his team was able to accomplish in the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship and looks forward to a strong 2014 season.
"I'm very happy for the whole team” said Juncos. "Obviously the drivers and mechanics did an amazing job starting the season with multiple podiums and winning the way we did. The Pro Mazda Winterfest Championship kicked off the year on a very high note. Now we will move onto the beginning of a new season, which start in St. Pete next month, so now we will put our focus on the main championship. We still have improvements we need to make, but we have started off on the right foot and I couldn't be any happier. The mechanics, drivers, and sponsors have done an amazing job working together and we will continue with this momentum the rest of the season. I want to congratulate Spencer for his amazing job driving. Rookie teammates Jose and Julia it’s been tough for them but they are learning a lot. We are going to have a strong team this year with a good group of people. I'm really looking forward to St. Pete and the rest of 2014!"
The 2014 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires kicks off next month March 29-30th on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. For more information please visit juncosracing.com and promazdachampionship.com.
About Juncos Racing: Juncos Racing is based in Brownsburg, Indiana, U.S.A. just outside the “racing capital of the world,” Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1997 Ricardo Juncos, Team Owner, established Juncos Racing, a full-service Formula Racing Team, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For five years Juncos Racing competed in various National Championships throughout South America and eventually made their way to the United States, opening the doors in 2003 to their first karting shop based in Miami, Florida. During the next few years Juncos Racing captured 19 Local, Regional, and National karting Titles. Juncos Racing entered into the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear in 2009 and claimed their first championship in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship with driver Connor Daly. During the 2012 season Juncos Racing entered into the Firestone Indy Lights series for and finished their fourth season in the Star Mazda Championship. For more information, please visit www.juncosracing.com.
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