With the first practice session of the new IndyCar Season due to begin at St. Petersburg on Friday, Feb. 28, it’s time to start ramping up for the launch with a look inside each of the 11 teams.
What’s new, what’s different, and what has stayed the same? We’ll find out from each team, continuing after Ed Carpenter Racing with Juncos Hollinger Racing.
2024 ACHIEVEMENTS
To understand where the Juncos Hollinger team is starting in 2025, let’s begin with a look back to where it ended in 2024.
• Drivers’ championship: Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Chevy, 17th place. Zero wins/poles/top threes, one top five, six top 10s, zero races led, running at the finish of 15 out of 17 races. Average starting position of 12.8, average finish of 15.6.
• Drivers’ championship: N/A; Various drivers, No. 78 Chevy.
• Entrants’ championship: No. 77, 16th (earned a Leaders Circle contract), No. 78, 20th (earned a Leaders Circle contract).
2025 DRIVERS
• No. 77 Chevy: Sting Ray Robb (2024, 20th place. Zero wins/poles/top threes/top fives, one top 10s, two races led for 31 laps, running at the finish of 12 out of 17 races. Average starting position of 23.9, average finish of 19.4).
• No. 78 Chevy: Conor Daly (Part-time in 2024 for three teams, earned JHR’s first podium with a third at Milwaukee 1).
2025 KEY POSITIONS
• Team owners: Ricardo Juncos, Brad Hollinger
• Team Principal: Dave O’Neill
• Team Manager: Tom Edwards
• Technical Director: David Brown
• Head of Trackside Engineering: Will Phillips
• No. 77 Race Engineer: Townsend Lucas
• No. 77 Race Strategist: Ricardo Juncos
• No. 77 Chief Mechanic: Mike Witson
• No. 78 Race Engineer: Adam Blocker
• No. 78 Race Strategist: Dave O’Neill
• No. 78 Chief Mechanic: Mike Witson
MAJOR CHANGES
• Released Romain Grosjean after one season. Grosjean signed on as PREMA Racing’s reserve driver.
• Split with Agustin Canapino. Replacement driver Conor Daly was promoted to full-time as Grosjean’s replacement in the No. 77.
• Sting Ray Robb was signed to drive the No. 78.
• Technical director Yves Touron left to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as Graham Rahal’s race engineer.
• Race engineer Steve Barker left to join PREMA Racing to engineer former JHR driver Callum Ilott.
• Race engineer Allan McDonald left to join Arrow McLaren.
• Will Phillips, racecar designer, race engineer, and former IndyCar technical director, has returned to JHR.
• David Brown, former Formula 1 race engineer, joined JHR.
• Parted with chief marketing officer Mark Myers.
THE MISSION AHEAD IS TO…
Reboot, rebuild, and rise. With 100 percent turnover for JHR’s drivers and senior engineers, the team enters its third consecutive season with significant alterations to its competitive line-up. On the crew and infr astructure side, not much has changed, but inside the cars, and with the people who make them perform, it’s another do-over for JHR.
Team principal Dave O’Neill has been a stabilizing force after joining the team last May. The veteran Formula 1 team manager has been adding layers of polish, professionalism and depth that are needed, and with a deep list of contacts, he’s also brought in some star talent like David Brown and re-engaged Will Phillips.
Owing to ongoing struggles to find external sponsors, the team transitioned both of its cars from housing paid drivers to seeking drivers who can bring some or all of the operating budget for the season. It speaks to the financial reality some teams are facing, as everyone from Arrow McLaren to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have done the same with one or more of its entries.