Star Mazda - Juncos Racing Travels To Indianapolis For The Night Before The 500

Fort Pierce, May 24, 2011: Juncos Racing will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana this week for the "Night Before the 500" event at Lucas Oil Raceway. The .686-mile oval is the first of three consecutive oval races-Lucas Oil Raceway, Milwaukee Mile and Iowa Speedway-in the 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season. The team will go into the week fresh from an official series test at the Milwaukee Mile that took place this past Saturday where they will join the Mazda Road to Indy program for one of the biggest events of the season.

Tatiana Calderon, 18, has been training extra hard in preparation for the 2011 season, specifically for the oval races, since last fall. So far, the training has paid off-Calderon claimed her first career podium at Barber Motorsports Park in April and was fourth fastest at the Milwaukee Mile test on Saturday. The young Colombian now welcomes the challenges of the upcoming oval races.

Tatiana Calderon: "I am really looking forward to testing on Friday for the Night Before the 500 race after the long break between racing at Barber Motorsports Park in April and now. I have been training hard for this season, especially for the oval tracks, and the best place to start competing on ovals is the Lucas Oil Raceway in Indy. It is going to be an especially exciting week because of all the activities the Mazda Road to Indy has put together for us. We are going to learn a lot that will help us for the rest of the season and the future.

"Last year, my teammate Conor (Daly) won the race at this track, so we will definitely be starting off with a good setup. The car is going to be great, and I think we have a great opportunity to be back on the podium again this year. Indy is a very special place; there are going to be a lot of people watching, so I want this to be one of my best races."

Rookie Gustavo Menezes, 16, has kept extremely busy during the downtime between the Barber Motorsports Park race in April and now. In addition to the 2011 Star Mazda Championship, Menezes has announced his plans to compete in six Formula Renault 2.0 race events in Europe (three in the Eurocup series and three in the ALPS series) with the Interwetten Race team. The young go-karting star has proven his potential in the first two races of the Star Mazda Championship season with eighth and seventh place finishes in the first two races of the season. Lucas Oil Raceway will be Menezes' first ever race on an oval track.

Gustavo Menezes: "The Milwaukee Mile test was really good for us because we were able to get an idea of where we are before jumping into the "oval segment" of the season. It went quite well, but unfortunately, we were only able to get two runs in before it began to rain, so we did not get many laps on the track. I learned a lot, though, and I'm really looking forward to my first oval race at Lucas Oil Raceway this weekend. It's going to be such an exciting weekend, and I'm so happy to be a part of it."

With podium finishes at both Lucas Oil Raceway and Iowa Speedway, teammate J.V. Horto recorded some of his best finishes of the 2010 season on oval tracks. The 20-year-old Brazilian encountered some bad luck at the season opener in St. Petersburg this year, but made up for it with a fourth place finish at Barber Motorsports Park. Horto currently lies seventh in the driver's championship and is eager to start the oval season.

J.V. Horto: "The break from Barber until now has turned into a lot of physical training for me, specifically working on the neck and shoulders to prepare for the oval races. The podiums I achieved last year at the two oval races are pushing me even more to get a win this time with Juncos Racing. Last year was my first time racing on an oval, and thanks to the Mazda Road to Indy program, I participated in a lot of extra activities at the biggest race in America. All the activities provided to the drivers were also very helpful to improve my driving on an oval track, especially doing track laps with Rick Mears at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"An oval track is much harder than it looks. Lucas Oil Raceway is a very technical and challenging track since the fast line is very high and close to the wall, so you can't make any mistakes. I am really looking forward to the "oval season" with Juncos Racing."

Teammate Martin Scuncio kicked off the 2011 season with a pole position and second place finish on the Streets of St. Petersburg, and despite struggling with car handling issues at Barber Motorsports Park, the 19-year-old Chilean driver is still holding on to a solid third place in the driver's championship. Though he is a rookie in the Star Mazda Championship, Scuncio raced at both Lucas Oil Raceway and Iowa Speedway last year in the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda series, finishing in the top-five positions in both events.

Martin Scuncio: "It is going to be a great experience racing on oval tracks this year. I've done it before, but not with these amazing Star Mazda cars. It is so cool that we are able to be part of the Mazda Road to Indy because we are working so closely with the IZOD IndyCar Series, and that makes us work even harder to get there. I'm really excited for the Night Before the 500 race on Saturday, and I'm also really looking forward to seeing the Indy 500 on Sunday. It's going to be so amazing to watch 33 cars going around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 230 mph for 500 miles."