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Daly Remains In Front From Green T Checkered To Win Fifth Race Of 2010


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Joliet, August 1, 2010: In yet another brilliant run, Conor Daly dominated in this afternoon's race at Autobahn Country Club to win his fifth race of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. He started from the pole position, led every lap from green to checkered flag and once again claimed the fastest lap of the race with a time of 2:13.299. The 18-year-old has also now extended his lead in the driver's championship by an even larger margin-54 points over Andersen Racing's Anders Krohn. Additionally, Daly leads the Visit Florida Cup, a "championship within a championship" in which the winner receives a Florida dream vacation, by 13 points.

"It was another great day for Juncos Racing," said Daly. "We had a great weekend overall, and I'm really happy with the progress we've made. I just can't wait for the rest of the season now. There are only a few races left, so I'm going to work hard and focus on going for the championship."

Teammate Rusty Mitchell had a consistent, incident-free race today, resulting in his best finish of the season as a Juncos Racing driver. Mitchell stayed in the hunt and had gained three positions by the end of the first lap, moving him up to sixth place where he stayed for the remainder of the 45-minute event. Mitchell now sits ninth in the driver's championship with 237 points, just 20 points behind Team Apex's Jorge Goncalvez.

"I didn't have a great start, but I made up for it," said Mitchell. "I moved up three positions by the end of the first lap and from there, I just really focused on driving a solid race and gaining some points in the driver's championship. I want to thank the guys for working so hard all weekend long, and I also want to congratulate my teammate Conor Daly for achieving another well-deserved win."

Rookie Tatiana Calderon truly showcased her talent and potential each day this weekend by consistently putting herself in the same group as the front-running drivers of the season. She started this afternoon's race from her best career qualifying position of seventh and was set to challenge the field for a podium finish. Calderon had already begun to overtake competitors on the opening lap when she unexpectedly experienced contact from the #18 car of Joao Horto who was behind her, causing her to spin off course and rejoin the field at the back of the pack. Calderon fought her way back up through the field and ultimately finished today's race in 11th position.

"I'm a little disappointed with the final result of the race today," said Calderon. "I think I deserved better, but unfortunately I can't control the other competitors. Regardless, I really had a great weekend overall. The team did a great job, and once again I learned a lot. Now I'm just looking forward to the next race in Trois-Rivieres."

After not participating in a race in almost a year, Sean Burstyn turned out fifth and sixth place results in the official practice sessions and qualified at the front of his group this morning, ending up sixth overall. Though he appeared to be in a promising position for today's race, a mistake on the first lap caused him to spin off and fall back. Burstyn was working his way back up through the field when he came into contact with the #91 car of Ashley Freiberg and spun off again. After he restarted again, the 20-year-old struggled to get by Freiberg for several laps despite him being in the quicker car. Once he got by, he moved up to cross the finish line in 15th position.

"After a year of not racing, it was great to come back and still run consistently in the top-ten positions. I have to say that it really puts everything into perspective for me. I'm extremely satisfied with my results this weekend, and Juncos Racing proved to me once again that they are the best. Despite not having the most favorable results in the race, I'm very happy to know that my pace is still right there with the front of the field."

The action of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship continues in two weeks at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec, Canada. For more information, please go to www.juncosracing.com.