JHR conclude Iowa double-header with mixed results

Juncos Hollinger Racing wrapped up its NTT INDYCAR double-header weekend at Iowa Speedway with mixed results in this afternoon’s second race. Callum Ilott bettered his result in yesterday’s opening race by finishing P14, while Agustín Canapino’s brush with the wall bumped him down the order into P26.

The team took valuable experience from Saturday’s race on the Iowa asphalt and used this to fine-tune its #77 and #78 Dallara-Chevrolets ahead of today’s high-speed finale.

Callum lined up P24 on the grid, with team-mate Agustín one place ahead. There was a clear indication of the team’s overnight improvement when the green flag flew, as Callum moved up six positions in the opening exchanges of the 223-mile race.

Agustín was also pushing hard. The Argentine recorded the most overtakes of any driver during the first 10 laps as he completed nine clean manoeuvres.

The intense physical demands of the 0.875-mile circuit showed no sign of slowing the JHR drivers’ progress, as both men forced their way into the top-10 before the opening stint came to a close.

While Callum made the first of five visits to the pit road on lap 54, Agustín stayed out on track for longer. The rookie ran as high as P2 before switching to fresh Firestone rubber.

Agustín continued to make steady progress on his new tires, but his unfortunate brush with the Turn 2 wall on lap 88 brought out the yellow flags. A momentary loss of grip on the ‘marbles’ when taking a high racing line caused the contact that required an extended pit stop to repair the damage. The incident cost Agustín 10 laps.

Callum meanwhile, continued to put pressure on the top-10 as he reached speeds of more than 161mph in his pursuit of a strong finish. After a caution period neutralized the field in the final stages, Callum maintained his position during a frantic two-lap dash to the finish to secure P14.

Agustín took the checkered flag in P26 – 10 places lower than his Saturday result – but reaching the finish of another gruelling race marked another important step on the 33-year-old’s journey as an INDYCAR rookie.

Callum Ilott said:

“It has been a pretty strong two days for us. I gained nine positions yesterday to finish P15, and today I gained ten positions to earn P14. Overall, the car felt great. I was a lot more comfortable with things today, compared to yesterday, so we made some big improvements.

“We got really unlucky with the yellow flags. I was the last person for Newgarden to pass on both of those last yellows, and I lost laps because of that. Otherwise, it was looking quite good. Luck wasn’t on our side, but the pace was good and we did the best job that we could. A big thank you to the team, to Chevy, and to Pay.com who have been onboard with us this weekend.”

Agustín Canapino said:

“I think that we had a car to battle for the top 10 today, without a doubt. Unfortunately, I touched the wall when I picked up the marbles during the race. It’s a big shame, but I would like to thank the team for all their hard work as the car was awesome.

“It was a learning experience for me today, but I’m looking forward to going again at Nashville in two weeks’ time.”

Ricardo Juncos said:

“We finished in Iowa with a very hard race today. We made some changes on both cars after yesterday, and we showed some really good pace in the warmup and during the race. It was a very good weekend for us overall. We made some big improvements on the technical aspects this weekend, and we are improving on the strategy and pit stops too.

“It was a great job from Callum to finish P14 today, and Agustín did a fantastic job despite making contact with the wall. Now we are looking forward to the next race at Nashville, where we are going to keep improving in this competitive INDYCAR series.”