Juncos Hollinger Racing heads to the Streets of Detroit this weekend for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, carrying momentum from a landmark Month of May that delivered the best Indianapolis 500 result in team history.
Rinus VeeKay’s superb sixth-place finish in the No. 76 Chevrolet – achieved via a Fast 12 starting position – set a new benchmark for JHR at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
VeeKay enters Detroit 14th in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship standings with 125 points, while Sting Ray Robb sits 25th with 62 points following a challenging afternoon at Indianapolis shaped by tire vibration issues. With ten races remaining, both drivers head to Michigan focused on building momentum through the second half of the season.
Few venues on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar carry the significance of Detroit. The Motor City is the historic heartland of the American automotive industry – home to General Motors, and a city whose identity has been shaped by the car for well over a century.
Racing through its downtown streets as a Chevrolet-powered team competing at the home of GM, the occasion has particular meaning. This year the weekend introduces a new Spirit of Detroit-inspired event trophy and the 1,250-hp Corvette ZR1X as official pace car – fitting symbols of the city’s enduring automotive legacy.
The 1.645-mile, nine-corner layout is the shortest road circuit on the calendar, and represents one of the most technically demanding environments of the season. The surface is characteristic of street circuit racing – a mix of roads surfaces and transitions accumulated from years of everyday city use, requiring drivers to continuously adapt to shifting grip levels across different sections of the lap. Residue from urban traffic adds further unpredictability, with grip evolving significantly across the course of the weekend as rubber is laid down. Overtaking opportunities are limited by the circuit’s tight confines, making qualifying position and early race execution especially important.
One of Detroit’s unique features is its twin pit lane configuration, with JHR’s entries operating from the left-side lane. Getting the setup right from the outset is critical – the narrow technical nature of the circuit leaves little margin for error, and the rapid transition from the oval at Indianapolis demands a complete setup reset across Practice.
Team Perspective
Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 JHR Chevrolet:
“Coming off Indianapolis, there’s definitely a lot of confidence in the team right now. Getting our best Indy 500 result was a huge achievement for everyone at Juncos Hollinger Racing, and you can really feel the momentum we’re building. Everybody is working incredibly hard, and it’s exciting to be part of that progress.
“Detroit is a completely different challenge. It’s tight, bumpy, and you have to be really committed around a street course like this. If we can execute well and stay on top of things all weekend, I think we have a good opportunity to fight for a solid result.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 JHR-Goodheart Chevrolet:
“Street courses demand a lot from you as a driver because there’s very little room for error, and you have to be precise and disciplined every lap. But I think we’re approaching the weekend with confidence. We’ve continued learning and improving as a group, and if we execute well, I think we can put ourselves in a good position to compete and come away with a strong result.”
Dave O’Neill, Team Principal, Juncos Hollinger Racing:
“Indianapolis was a huge moment for this team. To come away with our best result in our history at the Indy 500 is something everyone in the organization can be proud of, and it’s a reflection of the work and commitment everyone is putting in to move us forward.
“Detroit is a very different challenge – tight, technical, and unforgiving in a completely different way. But we approach it with a similar mindset: prepare thoroughly, execute well, and put out drivers in the best possible position to be able to compete. We have real confidence heading into the second half of the season, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do on the streets of Detroit.”
