Hayden Duerson Signs With Juncos Racing For Sebring And St. Petersburg Events

VERO BEACH, March 10, 2010: Hayden Duerson, 18, has signed with Juncos Racing for the first two races of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. The St. Petersburg native has competed in many regional racing events over the past few years, including finishing second at the 2008 Sebring-opener in the Skip Barber National Series, making him well-suited to compete in both round one at the Sebring International Raceway and round two at the Streets of St. Petersburg.

"I am very excited to be competing in the Star Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing," said Duerson. "I am looking forward to working with my teammates, Conor Daly and Tatiana Calderon, and I believe with the help of Ricardo and the great team of people he has put together, we will be very competitive this year. It will especially be a lot of fun for me to race in front of my family and friends when we compete in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a race I have wanted to be a part of for a long time."

Duerson has competed in numerous karting and racing events over the past few years, claiming multiple wins and podiums. From 2005-2007, Duerson was a member of the Italian Motors karting team under the direction of Michael Valiente as well as a competitor in the Skip Barber Regional Series. In 2008, Duerson entered in the Skip Barber National Series alongside his new teammate, Conor Daly. That same year, he took on a completely new challenge and raced in the KONI Challenge 6-Hour Endurance Race at Virginia International Raceway with his father, Craig Duerson.

Duerson has also won several awards for his racing achievements including the Snap-On Stars of Karting "Rookie of the Year" award in 2007, the Suntrust Youth Scholarship award in 2007, and recognition as one of Skip Barber Racing's "Elite Twelve" in 2007. Last year, Duerson entered his senior year at Shorecrest Preparatory School, but he still continued to race, driving a Pro Shifter in the 2009 Florida Winter Tour where he finished 5th overall after competing in four out of the six events that took place.

"I'm very happy to have Hayden on the team," said Team Owner, Ricardo Juncos. "He will be a rookie in Star Mazda this year, and I'm really confident his potential. He has had a really impressive career so far and has shown that he has a lot of talent by winning gokart races at one of the best levels in the world. The fact that he drove for Italian Motors and studied with a really professional coach like Michael Valiente gives Hayden a really good base. Hayden also knows the Sebring track really well which is a very important thing to consider. In his first Skip Barber National race at Sebring he finished in second place. I think with his experience with the Sebring racetrack and our team support, we are going to be really good at the first race."

Duerson will make his rookie debut in the Star Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing at the 2010 season-opener at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida on March 19. For more information, please go to www.juncosracing.com.