Juncos Hollinger Racing looks to build momentum at Phoenix Raceway
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads west this weekend for Round 2 of the 2026 season at Phoenix Raceway, where Juncos Hollinger Racing will look to build on the momentum from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
The one-mile oval presents a very different challenge from the tight street circuit in Florida, placing greater emphasis on sustained speeds, heavy traffic, and strategy shaping the Good Ranchers 250.
Strong start to the 2026 season
Juncos Hollinger Racing opened the season with encouraging performance at St. Petersburg, highlighted by Rinus VeeKay securing the team’s first top-10 finish of the year with a ninth-place result in the No. 76 entry.
VeeKay demonstrated consistent pace throughout the 100-lap race, while the team also recorded the fourth- and fifth-fastest laps of the race. The crew also delivered the fastest average pit stop time of the event.
On the other side of the garage, Sting Ray Robb showed competitive speed early in the race but saw his afternoon compromised by an opening-lap incident. Despite the setback, the team regrouped to complete the race while continuing to show encouraging speed while gathering valuable information for the upcoming rounds.
Strong momentum for the series
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg also delivered a strong start for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES overall, drawing approximately 1.4 million viewers on FOX – one of the highest audiences for the event in recent years.
The strong viewership reflects growing momentum for the series as teams move directly from St. Petersburg into a busy early-season stretch that includes Phoenix Raceway before continuing on to Arlington.
Phoenix Raceway: the first oval test of the season
Phoenix Raceway marks the first oval race of the 2026 INDYCAR season and presents a very different technical challenge for teams and drivers.
The one-mile track features progressive banking and a distinctive dogleg on the backstretch that often creates aggressive overtaking opportunities and intense restarts. With lap times around 20 seconds, drivers quickly encounter traffic, making consistency and tire management key over long runs.
Track position and pit strategy are also expected to play an important role across the race, especially if caution periods shake up the running order.
ARCO will serve as the primary sponsor of the No.76 Chvrolet this weekend at Phoenix Raceway as part of Juncos Hollinger Racing’s expanded 2026 partnership with ARCO and ampm, which includes multiple primary race sponsorships and full-season associate branding across both team entries.
Team Perspective
Rinus VeeKay: “Phoenix is such a fun and challenging oval. The racing is always intense there, and it’s a place where confidence really matters. I’m excited to get back on a short oval with the No. 76 team and see what we can do to put ourselves in the fight.”
Sting Ray Robb: “I'm really excited about Phoenix this weekend. It looks like it could be a great track for us. The field is always incredibly tight, and with the track likely to race as a single lane, qualifying is going to be extremely important because passing will be so difficult. Tire degradation will also be something to watch closely. With the field strung out like that, it’ll be tough to make up positions through overcuts or undercuts, so we’ll need to stay right on the front edge of the strategy. If we can qualify well and catch the yellows at the right time, that’ll give us a good opportunity to move forward in the race.”
Dave O’Neill, Juncos Hollinger Racing Team Principal:
“Phoenix is a track where everything happens quickly. With lap times around 20 seconds, you’re constantly dealing with traffic, restarts and strategy calls, so it puts a big emphasis on execution from the whole team. We had a solid start in St. Pete and the focus now is on building that momentum. It’s still early days in the season, but we’re encouraged by the direction the team is heading.”