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| Juncos Racing - Instant Contenders |
 | Juncos Racing has quickly evolved into a race-winning and title contender in the Star Mazda Championshop
(Photo: Juncos Racing) |
When the race season begins every year, astute race fans can normally predict the teams that will likely be in contention for championship honors, based on their previous performances and who’s actually behind the wheel of said race cars. That being stated, a few pleasant surprises appear from time to time, and that was certainly the case in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear. The Florida-based squad of Juncos Racing quickly went from being a virtually unknown series newcomer to a team that would challenge for wins on a weekly basis, eventually asserting themselves as potential champions. It was the emergence of a powerhouse squad, for certain.
The story of Juncos Racing took its first steps in Argentina via Ricardo Juncos. Growing up at the race track as the son of a former driver, it came as no surprise that by the time he was 14, Juncos was behind the wheel of a kart dreaming of making his own mark in racing. Finding some success, it was not long before he was trying his hand in cars via the Formula Renault class. Like most young up-and-coming drivers, funding proved to be the real stumbling block. The Argentinean was unwilling to give up on his dream of a career in motorsports, so he began working for assorted teams as way to pay for his racing. Thanks to knowledge and skills both in and out of the car, combined with his on-going schooling in mechanical and electrical engineering, Juncos became an asset in the national racing scene. By the 2002, however, the economy in Argentina had taken a dramatic turn for the worse, severely limiting any opportunities within motorsports. Aware that that a move abroad was required if he wished to remain involved in motorsports, Juncos decided to look at a few options.
“I was originally thinking that I would go to Australia, as I had family there and the country had a pretty good racing community,” stated Juncos. “Before I went there though, I decided I would go to USA and see if any of the people I knew from racing in South America might have any opportunities. Who would have guessed I would go and never come back.”
 | Ricardo Juncos has developed a reputation as both an engineer and a driver coach since arriving from Argentina
(Photo: Juncos Racing) |
Arriving in Miami, Fla., Juncos soon found himself a job in racing via Christian Fittipaldi’s karting squad. Working primarily with future Champ Car race winner Nelson Philippe, whom Juncos had previously met and worked with in Argentina, Juncos not only helped the team win multiple races, but quickly became the Team Manager. Juncos took the experiences that he learned over the year and elected to form his own karting squad the following year. Juncos Racing was established with the goal of continually learning and improving, quietly building a reputation as championship-winning squad over the next several years, capturing 19 local, regional and national titles. Perhaps more importantly for the Argentine, he and the team became know as a developer of talent.
By the mid 2000s, Juncos was increasingly being asked by his drivers about making the move to formula cars. Initially focused solely on helping his karters make a successful move to car racing ranks, Juncos Racing began doing driver training/schools in Formula Renault 1600 and 2000 cars. Working with seven to eight drivers a year, this soon progressed into running selected outings in amateur races in Florida. By 2008, Juncos had decided that he would take the next step forward as team, entering the junior formula car pro ranks.
“When we decided to make the move to formula cars full-time, the series we initially looked at were Formula BMW and Star Mazda, as that was were the majority of the drivers wanted to go,” commented Juncos. “In the end, we felt the Star Mazda series offered the best budget versus seat time, which we felt was important for developing young drivers.”
After a year of just testing – primarily due to the age of its drivers - Juncos Racing entered the Star Mazda Championship in 2009 with a three-car effort at the season-opener at Sebring International Raceway. Given that multiple teams had years of series experience and several of the drivers in the program were proven race winners, the goal from day one for Juncos Racing and its race pilots was to steadily improve each time out, capturing some top-10s by the end of the year. Showcasing the level of talent both under the awning and behind the wheels, it was not long before the top-10 goal was reached, with Michael Furfari – the youngest driver in the series – finishing ninth in Round Three at Miller Motorsports Park. Enjoying what was already a highly successful inaugural season, the Juncos Racing squad took another leap forward following Round Five, with the addition of second-year driver sensation Peter Dempsey to the line-up.
 | The arrival of Peter Dempsey helped propel Juncos Racing into championship-contenting squad in its inaugural season
(Photo: Star Mazda Championship) |
“The addition of Peter Dempsey made a big difference,” stated Juncos. “Right from the start, he really helped the other drivers. He gave everyone in the team a lot of confidence that we were dong the right things and raised the morale, making sure everyone kept working hard to get better every time we raced.”
With Dempsey leading the charge, Juncos Racing became one of the teams to watch in the second half of the 13-race campaign. Scoring four wins and five pole positions in the final seven races, Juncos Racing ended its season second the driver’s championship chase and third in the team fight.
“I’d be lying if I said we expected to be challenging for the title like we did in our first season,” concluded Juncos. “While it was great start to what I hope will be a lengthy and successful run in the Star Mazda Championship, I know you have to keep working hard if you want achieve success in motorsports. For that reason, both I and the team will continue to learn and hopefully get better each time we go racing.”
While Juncos continues to coach and help develop young drivers during the off-season with his Formula Renault cars, the goal for the foreseeable future is building Juncos Racing into a team that challenges for the Star Mazda Championship year after year. |
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