Juncos Hollinger Racing Converts Strong Pace to Fourth Place Finish at Mid-Ohio
Juncos Hollinger Racing delivered one of its strongest performances in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as Rinus VeeKay finished fourth in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, matching the team’s second-best INDYCAR result and its best road course finish.
The result capped one of Juncos Hollinger Racing's most complete weekends to date. After finishing second fastest in the Mid-Ohio open test and qualifying the No. 76 Chevrolet sixth in the Firestone Fast Six, VeeKay ran with the leaders throughout the caution-free 90-lap race before crossing the line just 0.6s shy of the podium during the United States' Independence Day celebrations and the nation's semiquincentennial weekend.
The foundations for the result were laid long before the green flag. Following an encouraging private test at Mid-Ohio, VeeKay carried that momentum into qualifying with a lap of 1m05.4092 to give Juncos Hollinger Racing one of its strongest starting positions of the season. Teammate Sting Ray Robb also executed a great qualifying session, putting the No. 77 Goodheart Chevrolet in P14. However, due to an engine change, the Idahoan would start in P20.
Starting on the Firestone alternate tires, VeeKay immediately established himself among the front-runners, climbing to fourth with two decisive overtakes during the opening laps. From there, the Dutchman remained firmly in contention throughout the afternoon, consistently matching the pace of the race leaders. Robb found himself battling with Foster over the course of the opening stint. The pair would pit together, starting their second stint in traffic.
With the race running uninterrupted from start to finish, outright speed, tire management and flawless execution proved to be key. VeeKay continued to feature among the quickest drivers on circuit while the No. 76 crew delivered another polished performance in pit lane, ensuring the team remained firmly in the fight through each cycle of pit stops.
The decisive moment came during the final round of stops on lap 64, when Kyle Kirkwood emerged ahead of VeeKay. Despite continuing to apply pressure over the closing laps, the Dutchman crossed the line just six tenths of a second behind the Andretti Global driver as Pato O'Ward claimed victory ahead of Christian Lundgaard and then Kirkwood.
VeeKay's fourth-place finish matched the second-best overall result in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s INDYCAR history. It also underlined the progress the team has made throughout the 2026 season. Just as significantly, the No. 76 Chevrolet finished ahead of championship leader Alex Palou after spending the afternoon battling among the championship's leading contenders.
On the opposite side of the garage, Sting Ray Robb completed a clean race in the No. 77 Chevrolet. While bringing the race to a close, Robb would find himself in a duel with rookie Dennis Hauger. Sting Ray finished the race in 22nd.
Team Perspective
Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Chevrolet:
“What a weekend in Mid-Ohio, starting sixth, finishing fourth, racing for a podium. After our last few road course races, it was nice to turn things around and match our best finish from this year.
“On that last pitstop we got jumped by the 27, but it is what it is. We were racing at the front and showed everybody we belong there as a team.
“All in all, strategy was good, car was good, and we executed perfectly this weekend.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 JHR-Goodheart Chevrolet:
“We had a really good car under us yesterday during qualifying, but I don’t know what happened today. So, we’ll look at it and go to Nashville. A track that I like, an oval that I like, hopefully we’ll be towards the front.”
Dave O'Neill, Team Principal, Juncos Hollinger Racing:
"Fourth place doesn't tell the whole story of our weekend. We came here after a really encouraging test, qualified in the Fast Six and spent the race fighting with the best teams in the championship. That shows the progress we've been making.
"To come away just six tenths of a second from the podium is obviously frustrating because we all want more once you're in that position, but I'm incredibly proud of what everybody achieved this weekend. The people at the shop and at the track have worked incredibly hard to keep moving this team forward, and performances like this are the reward for that effort.
"Rinus deserves a huge amount of credit. He was quick from the first laps of the test, backed it up in qualifying and drove a superb race. The engineers put together a great plan for the day, the pit crew delivered every stop cleanly and, together, we raced at the front on merit all afternoon.”
“Sting Ray also deserved a better result than the finishing position suggests. After a strong qualifying, the penalty put him on the back foot before the race even got going and made it very difficult to recover at a track like this one.
"We'll take a lot of confidence from this. It's another important step for Juncos Hollinger Racing and it shows we can fight with the front-runners. Now the challenge is to keep building on it."