Juncos Hollinger seeks new investment

Brad Hollinger is seeking a new investor to join the IndyCar Series team he co-owns with Ricardo Juncos.

The operation based in Speedway, Ind., fields a pair of full-time entries under the Juncos Hollinger Racing banner, which competed in IndyCar from 2017-19 as Juncos Racing, left due to a lack of funding, and returned in 2021 after Hollinger made a sizable investment in the team and provide the annual operating budget for the company’s relaunch.

In his fifth year of IndyCar team ownership, the founder and CEO of Vibra Healthcare says he loves the direction Roger Penske is taking the series and is looking to strengthen JHR’s future with the addition of a new partner to take an ownership stake that’s similar to his own.

Under the original plan, the team would use Hollinger’s investment to get up to speed before taking on the responsibility of sourcing the $8-10 million needed to run each car per season, but minimal progress was made in that regard through the 2024 season.

Continuing to cover JHR’s sponsorship shortfalls lost most of its appeal, and in response, a significant change was made for 2025 with a switch from paying both drivers to turning its second car into a for-hire opportunity that was taken by Sting Ray Robb and his group of backers. Conor Daly was hired to drive JHR’s primary entry, which is funded by Hollinger/JHR and sponsors brought by Daly.

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“We do have a good commercial program this year and it's being helped by what's happening with the sport overall. I’m thrilled with the progress of IndyCar and particularly with FOX Sports and the whole momentum Penske has going with the series. I’m excited for where we are,” Hollinger told RACER.

“So that's been a big boost this year. Revenue has come in much more meaningfully. We have a paying driver and his sponsors bring a substantial source of capital into the organization as well. So that's been good, but prior to this year, it's been nearly 100 percent me. So yes, I would like to bring in a partner to join me. It could come in multiple forms. It could be a wealthy individual or individuals, or it could be an institution, an equity group. There are a couple lines in the water for sure and there’s interest.”

Hollinger came to IndyCar with Juncos after buying into the Williams Formula 1 team in 2014 and continues to use the relationships formed during his years in F1 to enrich and improve JHR. Racing is the American’s passion, which has been demonstrated through his extended financial support of the team. But he’s also involved for other reasons.

“I didn't get into this just for giggles,” he said. “One, I'm a businessman. Ultimately, I would like to make a return on my investment in the future. But most importantly, I would like to win races and compete against the Ganassis and the Penskes and Andrettis and be right up there at the tip of the arrow.

“We brought in Dave O’Neill, brought in a couple other people from Formula 1, and they've been quite helpful. He's got a huge group of friends in F1 that are technologically really strong. Now the next step is we need to do more RD&E (research, development and engineering). That's where the difference is between us and those top teams right now, and that requires some increased capital as well. Enhancing the simulator and doing more testing, Getting the use of AI much more significantly into our business. I do that in our hospital business and there's huge opportunities there in IndyCar racing,

“To use AI in a sophisticated way, that does require some capital as well. RD&E is where the biggest differences are made. So that’s where I’d see a new partner-investor as being important for us.”

Mike Shank joined IndyCar in 2017 with his Michael Shank Racing team and added Jim Meyer as a co-owner and investor in 2018, which returned as Meyer Shank Racing. Bobby Rahal and Carl Hogan formed Rahal-Hogan Racing in 1992, split, saw the team evolve into Team Rahal, and later added David Letterman and Mike Lanigan to become IndyCar's only three-name outfit as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. If Hollinger finds the right partner, Juncos Hollinger Racing could become the series’ second three-name program.

“Absolutely, yes, we could add a name, or it could be a different moniker altogether,” he said. “We would want to promote the team in the most significant way and create some excitement, maybe do something a bit more on the unique side. So I'm open to a change in the name down the road, but we’ve got to first get some business done before that happens.”