Juncos Racing has announced that it plans to enter the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 after purchasing equipment from the now-defunct KV Racing operation.
Juncos currently races in both Indy Lights and the Pro Mazda Championship, both of which feature on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder that helps young drivers move up to the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Having worked with drivers such as Conor Daly and Spencer Pigot on their way up to IndyCar, Juncos is now set to make the move itself after confirming its plans to enter the Indy 500 earlier this week.
"I am so happy to officially announce our participation in the Verizon IndyCar Series,” said team owner Ricardo Juncos. “This is a dream come true for me and my team.
"It’s been only two months since our grand opening of the new Juncos Technical Center, which was a huge moment for us. Now we are becoming a new team in the Verizon IndyCar Series and will run in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’ the Indianapolis 500. This is definitely one of the biggest moments in my life."
"INDYCAR has been fortunate to have many drivers graduate from the Mazda Road to Indy program to the Verizon IndyCar Series, and those drivers have done a phenomenal job over the years,” added INDYCAR president of competition and operations Jay Frye.
“Another goal of the Mazda Road to Indy program is to graduate teams and INDYCAR is working hard to help create opportunities for those teams to move up to the Verizon IndyCar Series. Ricardo and Juncos Racing have a great history of success, and we are proud to have them become a part of the Verizon IndyCar Series."
Juncos is yet to confirm how many cars it plans to run or which manufacturer it will work with, although a report from Trackside Online claims that Indy Lights racer Kyle Kaiser is in the frame to take a seat for the 500, with the team also hoping to offer a second seat to interested drivers.
The 101st Indianapolis 500 will take place on May 28.
