Yahoo Autos Arrow McLaren and Juncos Hollinger form alliance
An overabundance of sponsorship agreements on Arrow McLaren’s side will benefit Juncos Hollinger Racing as the two NTT IndyCar Series teams have concluded a deal that will see Arrow McLaren’s colors and sponsors carried on at least one of JHR’s Chevy-powered entries.
No significant specifics were provided for the unified entry, but the announcement did state that “the alliance may evolve over time, beginning with a commercial and strategic focus, working together to grow their respective propositions,” and “the teams … will also consider this alliance as a talent development opportunity, with the potential for engineers, mechanics and drivers to build their experience.”
JHR expanded to two cars in 2023 with the incumbent Callum Ilott joined by rookie Agustin Canapino. Canapino placed second in IndyCar’s Rookie of the Year contest while finishing an impressive 21st in the Drivers’ championship as he learned each track and oval racing for the first time, and Ilott led the emerging team with a pair of fifth-place results on the way to finishing 16th in the standings, nestled between Graham Rahal and fellow IndyCar sophomore David Malukas, who was recently signed by Arrow McLaren.
As JHR founder Ricardo Juncos told RACER in a recent interview, Ilott is under contract through 2024; Canapino’s return is not guaranteed as funding for the Argentinian to continue is not yet in place. A driver change in one of the two entries fielded by the Indiana-based team is also possible.
RACER understands the forging of the relationship started from conversations held between McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and JHR co-owner Brad Hollinger.
“We believe our alliance will enable us to accelerate our progress while also benefiting McLaren with commercial and talent development opportunities,” Hollinger said.
Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward, who told RACER last week that a technical alliance will not be included in the first season of the deal, echoed Hollinger’s comments.
“We’re continually working to strengthen all areas of our team,” he said. “And a strategic alliance with Juncos Hollinger Racing helps both of us in leveraging our commercial and marketing power and the McLaren Racing brand in a new way.”
