The Luck of the Irish Follows Conor Daly to P1 in Final Practice

Conor Daly

Conor Daly took the luck of the Irish with him this St. Patrick's Day to finish P1 in the final practice session of the day. After two official test days yesterday and one official practice this morning, it seems the young Irish-blooded driver found his stride in his lucky #22 Juncos Racing car during the final session this afternoon. With a time of 1:57.600, Daly also clocked in the only lap time under 1:58.000 in the official practice sessions yesterday.

"I'm very happy with the day," said Daly. "We worked hard all day today and yesterday, changed lots of things, looked for more speed and it's really paid off. I really want to thank the crew and everyone on the team because they worked really hard to get us to where we are now. Now, I'm looking forward to qualifying tomorrow."

Tatiana Calderon has continued to improve during her time with Juncos Racing, finding time and using new tactics during every on-track session. Early on in this afternoon's session, Calderon spun in turn 10, landing her #25 car in the dirt and ending her session early. Before today's incident, Calderon's best finishing position of the week was 11th in the first official test session on Tuesday, showing promise that she could finish in the top-ten in her rookie race this week.

"I'm really happy with the team," said Calderon. "I'm improving a lot. I already did a better time in my first session this week than I did back at the series test in January. After the test, our driver coach Peter Dempsey sent me a debrief sheet to review, and I had time in between then and this race to really think about everything. The team has also helped me become much more mentally strong since the test in January which is really helpful. I'm really looking forward to qualifying tomorrow and the race on Friday."

Hayden Duerson entered into his rookie season in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear just last week as a third driver for Juncos Racing. After years of driving go-karts, the 18-year-old is now taking his experience to a whole new level of competition by beginning to compete in formula cars. Duerson has used his limited amount of track time this week to get used to the car and prepare for qualifying tomorrow and the race on Friday.

"I'm really happy with my progress," said Duerson. "I am getting a lot of support from the crew, our driver coach and the entire Juncos Racing team which has been great. My goal this weekend is to keep improving my lap times in each session as I continue to adapt to the car, so I'm going to keep working towards that goal as we go into qualifying and the race."

"I'm so happy with the drivers, crew and whole team," said Team Owner Ricardo Juncos. "We've just been working hard in the shop since the series test in January in preparation for the first event, and after today, we are starting to see the results. I knew it was going to be a little more challenging for Hayden (Duerson) and Tatiana (Calderon) because it is their first time in a Pro Formula Mazda, but they are improving every time we are on track which is exactly what we are looking for. I really believe in their potential, so we just need time to get them up to speed. We are so happy with Conor (Daly). He was working so hard over the past two days to figure out everything he needed to and finally in the last lap of the last session, we did it. Now, we have an idea of what we can really do this weekend."