IndyCar: Juncos Racing 2018 Season Review - MotorSportsTalk

Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, MotorSportsTalk will review how each organization in the IndyCar Series performed in 2018 and also taking a look ahead to 2019. We kick off the series today with Juncos Racing.

Juncos Racing dipped its toe in the IndyCar waters in 2017 with a two-car effort in the Indianapolis 500. They went even farther into the IndyCar waters in 2018, running 12 of 17 races.

Juncos’ history in the junior categories is a storied one. Ricardo Juncos’ organization has numerous karting titles, three Pro Mazda championships (2010, with Conor Daly, 2014, with Spencer Pigot, and 2017, with Victor Franzoni), and a pair of Indy Lights titles (2015, with Spencer Pigot, and 2017, with Kyle Kaiser).

Despite their history, their foray into IndyCar was always going to be tough – new teams rarely run up front out of the box. Juncos’ task was made even harder with three different drivers, all rookies, sharing driving duties in the No. 32 Chevrolet in 2018.

Still, the 2018 season will serve as a solid foundation as they continue to develop their IndyCar program.

Kyle Kaiser

Team: Juncos Racing
Years in IndyCar: 1
Career wins and podiums: 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s
2018 final standing: 30^th2018 final stats: 4 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s
2018 best race finish: 16^th (Long Beach)

SEASON WRAPUP: Kyle Kaiser, the 2017 Indy Lights champion, could only run four races in his 2018 IndyCar season due to budget reasons, so it’s difficult to gauge his performance. Contact ended his night early at ISM Raceway, and a mechanical failure dropped him out of the Indy 500 just passed the halfway point.

However, he finished his other two starts (Long Beach and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course) and didn’t make any major mistakes along the way, an underrated and vital component of any driver first breaking into IndyCar.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019: Kaiser’s future is uncertain as he does not yet have any races lined up for 2019. However, he is reportedly working on at least an Indy 500 entry, and more races could materialize. A full-season effort would obviously be the ideal scenario, but it remains to be seen if that comes to fruition.

QUOTE (following his Indy 500 effort, in which he finished 29th): “We had a really good race car. We were hanging with guys that were running up front and we were fighting through the field. We are not 100% sure what put us out of the race, but we know that it was out of our control. I am just very happy with everything this month. It was a great experience. I was improving and I learned so much.”

Rene Binder

Team: Juncos Racing
Years in IndyCar: 1
Career wins and podiums: 0 wins, 0 podiums
2018 final standing: 28^th2018 final stats: 6 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 tops fives, 0 top 10s
2018 best race finish: 16^th (Barber Motorsports Park)

SEASON WRAPUP: Rene Binder, who won four races in the 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5 championship, brought sponsorship to the Juncos outfit, which helped them add races to their program. However, despite the success in Europe, his IndyCar campaign was a struggle – he finished 21^st or worse in four of his six starts.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019: It is not known if Binder will return to IndyCar. He obviously brought sponsorship with him in 2018, and if that continues in 2019, it’s always possible that he returns, either with Juncos or with a different team.

QUOTE (following Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, his final start of 2018, where he finished 21st): “It was a tough race and it was a really long one. We had a decent race and a good start at the beginning. Our strategy was working well with the Firestone red tires and we were able to make up some positions. Even though we did not finish where we hoped to, I am pleased overall and this has been a great experience running in the Verizon IndyCar Series.”

Alfonso Celis Jr.

Team: Juncos Racing
Years in IndyCar: 1
Careers and podiums: 0 wins, 0 podiums
2018 final standing: 36^th2018 final stats: 2 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 tops fives, 0 top 10s
2018 best race finish: 17^th (Portland International Raceway)

SEASON WRAPUP: Celis Jr. ran a pair of Indy Lights races, at Barber, before Juncos moved him up to the IndyCar team for two starts, at Road America and Portland International Raceway. He finished 20^th and 17^th, hardly noteworthy on paper, though he did finish both races without incident and brought the car home in one piece each time. Given his lack of experience, that was about all you could expect.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019: A full season of Indy Lights competition would do him a world of good, but he may also be in the running for an IndyCar seat if he brings the needed funding.

QUOTE (following Portland International Raceway, where he finished 17th): “The main goal was to finish and we completed that today. We had a good strategy going into the race. In the beginning, I battled some issues with my radio, but I was able to fix it. I think I was also pushed out wide a couple of times, so we lost some positions there. Overall, I am happy with finishing on the lead lap. I want to thank the Juncos Racing crew for all of their hard work and my family and friends for being here to support me.”

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Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.

Heartbreak for Aaron Plessinger as he was charging forward 💔#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/vQtKIsuhVg

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2023

Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

Deegan grabs his first 250 Mx moto win!1️⃣#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/1FH5s1ZHfn

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 3, 2023