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Juncos Racing lands sponsor for Indy 500 – UPDATE
Juncos Racing-Chevrolet has earned a sponsor partner after its driver Kyle Kaiser bumped Fernando Alonso’s McLaren entry out of the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 while running sponsor-free.
David Malsher-Lopez
Edited: May 22, 2019, 11:10 PM
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On May 13, team owner Ricardo Juncos revealed that his two main sponsors for the team’s second IndyCar race of the season had pulled out, one of them extremely last minute.
Then Kaiser shunted on Fast Friday as the squad prepared for qualifying, forcing the team to prepare its spare car. When Kaiser clocked only 35th fastest time on Saturday, that relegated the 2017 Indy Lights champion to the group of six entries that would compete for the last three spots on the grid.
However, further work from Juncos' little squad team, and a gutsy effort by Indy 500 sophomore Kaiser, saw its last-chance effort eclipse Alonso’s four-lap average by a mere 0.019mph to snatch the precious final spot on the outside of the 11th row.
The team has now been able to confirm a new sponsor for this weekend’s race – 250ok, an Indianapolis-based email intelligence platform. Greg Kraios, 250ok’s CEO grew up in Speedway, Ind., as a lifelong race fan, identified with team founder Juncos’ story of working up from humble beginnings in Argentina to becoming an owner of an NTT IndyCar Series team. Kraios grew up in a working-class Indiana neighborhood, ultimately working at ExactTarget [now Salesforce] before founding his own technology company.
Said Juncos: “We are thrilled to announce a highly innovative company like 250ok has joined our effort and will be our primary sponsor for the No. 32 Juncos Racing Indy 500 entry.
“When Greg Kraios [CEO of 250ok] offered to support us, and we were connected over our personal journeys, we knew this sponsorship was meant to be. We both share the same values, commitments and goals, and I look forward to building our relationship with the 250ok team.”
Said Kraios: “After hearing Ricardo’s story, and knowing they were in need of a sponsor, I jumped at the opportunity. From our similar upbringings, supporting his hardworking and odds-defying team felt like a personal calling.”
Juncos has not yet been able to confirm any further IndyCar rounds after the 500.
UPDATE
Both NFP (an insurance company) and Global Medical Response have also agreed to return to Juncos for the 2019 Indy 500.
Said Juncos: “Since our relationship began in 2018, NFP has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our partnership – beginning with last year’s Indy 500, to this year’s Circuit of the Americas and now the 103rd Running of the Indy 500.
“To say the last couple of weeks have been a test of our resilience would be an understatement. To be able to rely on partners like NFP means the world to us at Juncos Racing. We have seen firsthand NFP’s exceptional culture, commitment to employees and clients, and determination to maximize and push the boundaries of what’s possible. It’s partners like NFP and GMR that have helped to drive our mutual success.”
Said NFP chairman and CEO Doug Hammond: “We’re delighted to continue our strong partnership with Juncos Racing and Kyle Kaiser for the Indy 500. Just as NFP is passionate about going the extra mile for our employees and clients, Juncos is passionate about going above and beyond to succeed on the sport’s biggest stage. We wish Kyle and the entire Juncos team all the best at the Brickyard later this week.”
GMR president and CEO Randy Owen added: “We are excited to partner with NFP and Juncos and to support Kyle at the Indy 500. Global Medical Response companies have a long history of being involved with motorsports through our ground and air medical safety teams.
“This is the second year of our involvement as the AMR IndyCar safety team and are providing onsite medical support for drivers and fans at the Indy 500 this year.”
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