Ricardo Juncos’ story of coming from Argentina to the U.S. and building a team from scratch, from karting initially through the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, is one of the best in North America. It’s been a 20-year-odd process.
This weekend, Juncos Racing moved from its old shop in Brownsburg to a new one in Speedway, Ind., with the grand opening held Friday night. This took three years of planning and 10 months of construction to move into the brand-new, 40,000 square foot facility at 4401 Gilman St.
The team first announced their plans to relocate and build this new facility in May of 2015 in conjunction with the Speedway Redevelopment Commission. The extensive project broke ground in January of 2016 on the corner of Gilman Street and Allison Way and finished on time in early November.
“This is a dream come true for us at Juncos Racing,” said Juncos. “This facility shows where we came from, where we are, and where we hope to go in the future. I left Argentina in 2002 due to the huge financial crisis the country was in and came to the United States. I had $400 in my pocket and no clear direction of where my career in racing would go. To think that we would one day be moving into our own first class facility was not even a vision.
“However, two years ago the idea of this building became a reality and now here we are. We’re very excited to welcome everyone to our open house this Friday to showcase the future of Juncos Racing. I would like to thank the Town of Speedway, Speedway Redevelopment Commission, Tim McGovern (McGovern Construction), Scott Perkins (Blackline Studios), Dale Kruse (Kruse Consulting), Don Spencer (Spencer Engineering), the team and drivers, and my family for their incredible support this past year in making this opportunity possible.”
The 40,000 square foot building hosts multiple office spaces, eight car bays, a paint booth, simulator room, and machine shop along with parking for multiple transporters.
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Additionally, this wasn’t the only bit of Juncos news confirmed over the weekend. Kyle Kaiser will be back with the team for a third season in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. He’s the team’s second confirmed driver along with rookie Nico Dapero, and should be a championship contender.
“Ricardo (Juncos) is an extremely passionate and dedicated team owner, and it has been a privilege to drive for him the past three years,” Kaiser said. “The work ethic from everyone in the team has made Juncos competitive every race weekend, and I’m thrilled to be returning for another year. It’s great to be working with a group of guys that I know so well and can trust to do everything it takes to win a championship.”
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Photos and videos from the shop grand opening as posted on social media are below:
📸 Check out the Open House Photo Gallery here 👉🏻 https://t.co/81v7QvW07j
— Juncos Hollinger Racing (@juncoshollinger) December 10, 2016
📸 Credit: Patagonia Visual Solutions#GoGreen 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/6MxR7NBi8F
So happy for everyone @juncosracing for opening their new shop in Speedway. Looks amazing! Glad to have played a small part in their success pic.twitter.com/nuCRH8YLvt
— Spencer Pigot (@SpencerPigot) December 10, 2016
Open House en Indy! Los argentinos @juncosracing nos invitaron a la inauguración de las instalaciones preparadas para @IndyCar @IndyLights pic.twitter.com/CjUgXCsxjH
— Collino Motors (@collinomotors) December 10, 2016
Felicitaciones @ricardojuncos e integrantes del @juncosracing por las nuevas instalaciones.
— Claudio D. Legnani (@claulegnani) December 10, 2016
Un 🇦🇷 a seguir como ejemplo que triunfa en 🇺🇸🏁 pic.twitter.com/oxAnhk2DWJ
.@ricardojuncos looking sharp and ready to GO LIVE on our Facebook Page! 👌🏻 #GoGreen 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/844oeHp2TP
— Juncos Hollinger Racing (@juncoshollinger) December 9, 2016
Great day for client @juncosracing presenting their new HQ today. All the best in this new era! Amazing job! #WeWorkYouWin 🏁 pic.twitter.com/WoEiFjGPZy
— Speed Group (@SpeedGroup1) December 10, 2016