Callum Ilott Delivers Juncos Hollinger Racing Best Finish inNTT INDYCAR SERIES at GMR Grand Prix

Indianapolis, Indiana (May 14, 2022) –Callum Ilott earned his best finish since joining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, along with delivering Juncos Hollinger Racing their best finish ever in the series taking eighth in the GMR Grand Prix today.

The two-day event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway began with two practice sessions followed by qualifying on Friday. NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Ilott driving the No. 77 Racing for Children’s Chevrolet came out strong finishing the first practice session that morning in second. The temperatures began to heat up in the early afternoon, changing the track conditions for the final practice session before qualifying. Ilott finished the session in 19^th.

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES concluded Friday with qualifying. Ilott, who was in Group 2, easily made his way out of the first round taking fourth. During the second round, the Briton narrowly missed making it out, finishing seventh, just one spot away from the final round. Ilott once again delivered the team their best qualifying effort ever in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Saturday morning kicked off with a 30-minute warm-up session under warm sunny skies, where Ilott again proved his impressive speed finishing second overall. Conditions began to change over the next few hours, with a major threat of storms and rain.

After a short delay due to lightning, teams headed out to the grid under slightly rainy conditions. Once the green flag waved, fans were treated to a thrilling race involving multiple incidents, tire strategies, and how long the storms would hold off to get the 85-laps race in. Midway through the race Ilott made his way into the Top-5 running fourth before the rain began to steadily fall. JHR held off on putting Ilott on wet tires for as long as they could before pitting one final time. Ilott, came out of the pits running in 15^th during one of the final cautions. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES then announced the race would become a timed race, rather than based off of making the complete 85 laps. Once the race returned to green, Ilott made his way up six positions within the first few turns to run ninth. During the final minutes Ilott was able to make his way up one more position, ultimately finishing the race in eighth. This eighth-place finish was not only Ilott’s best in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but the best finish ever for JHR.

“It’s our best finish so far this year,” said Ilott. “It was a bit of an up-and-down race. We had to find our feet a little bit at the beginning. I managed to start making way through and had some good running in the mixed conditions. We were kind of a bit late on one of the calls to box for wets. We dropped a couple of places but managed to make a couple back. I couldn’t see anything at the end. It was more about survival and hanging on at that point. There was so much water and spray everywhere. For the team, for Juncos Hollinger, Chevy and our single-car team, a top-eight result is a big reward in this race. What an amazing result. Let’s try and get some more.”

“This was an incredible and wild day on track,” said JHR Co-owner and Team Principal Ricardo Juncos. “Callum and the team did an amazing job during every session the past two days. We have really come together, and we have continued to build off the momentum we gain each time on track. After such an eventful race, it is truly amazing to walk away with a eighth-place finish. We have had great success running in the Road to Indy, so to see us here running with the leaders in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is absolutely amazing.”

“I am extremely proud of everyone at JHR and Callum for what we were able to show and accomplish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Brad Hollinger JHR Co-Owner. “We have continued to build off such a great momentum each time on track, which is remarkable for such a small team in such a short time. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of their hard work and effort they put into each day to make us better as a team. We were thrilled to again partner with Racing for Children’s and give them a great race to be a part of.” 

Racing for Children’s Donation Information: Text “CURE” to 36413 to donate or visit racingforchildrens.org .