Kyle Kaiser will step up to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2018 with Juncos Racing, the team that took him to the Indy Lights championship in 2017.
At present, the deal covers only four races including the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 and the preceding race around the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the final two races yet to be determined.
By winning the Indy Lights title, Kaiser won $1million from Mazda to move up to IndyCar, and the twenty-one-year-old is delighted to be stepping up with his title winning team in 2018.
“I’m very excited to be moving up to the Verizon IndyCar Series with Juncos Racing,” said Kaiser. “Juncos has been a huge part of my recent success in the Mazda Road to Indy.
“I have the utmost confidence in Ricardo’s (Juncos) program moving forward and I’m very thankful to everyone involved for making this possible, especially Mazda, Cooper Tires and Dan Andersen for their investment into the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system which will allow me to take the final step towards a career in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“Now, I’m just anxious to get behind the wheel as soon as possible!”
Juncos Racing made its debut in IndyCar in the 2017 Indianapolis 500, running a two-car entry for Sebastian Saavedra and Spencer Pigot, and team owner Ricardo Juncos feels retaining the services of Kaiser into 2018 is a confidence boost as they aim to step up into the premiere open wheel category in the United States.
“This is what our mission is at Juncos Racing, to take drivers to the next level in their career,” said Juncos. “We began with Kyle in the Pro Mazda series back in 2014 and then took him to the Indy Lights series, where he had three years to grow into the driver he is today.
“Each season, Kyle showed tremendous progress on and off track. That hard work and dedication paid off this past season with Kyle winning the Indy Lights championship. Now that Kyle has decided to return to the team for his first run in the Verizon IndyCar Series shows his confidence in our organization.
“Kyle and his family have been a part of the Juncos Racing family for a long time and I am thrilled to be a part of this time in his career and look forward to helping him be a successful driver next year in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“I want to thank Kyle and his family for continuing to support Juncos Racing and for giving us the opportunity to work with Kyle for our fifth year in a row.”
