South Korean driver Heamin Choi will return to racing for the first time since 2016 in a second Juncos Racing car in the Indy Lights season finale at Portland.
Choi made seven Indy Lights starts across 2015 and ’16 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, getting a best finish of 10th at Iowa in his second year. He also entered the Freedom 100 in 2016, although failed to finish. As the first Korean racer in the USA, Choi has set many milestones, and was also a top 10 finisher in USF2000.
Last year he drove in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test with Juncos, and was slowest of the 10 Indy Lights drivers.
?I?m very excited to come back to Indy Lights with Juncos Racing,” said Choi.
“It was really hard to have a long break without racing. During my break I worked on meeting a lot of people and finding some Korean partners. The Portland race will be good preparation for my next season and the Indy 500 hopefully in the near future.
“I hope to get my confidence back and show my potential at Portland. I appreciate Ricardo [Juncos, team principal] for giving me a great opportunity and my supporters in Korea.?
Juncos added, ?We are pleased to have Heamin back with us. We had a great time working with him last October at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Chris Griffis test.
“Even though Heamin has not been in an Indy Lights car this season, I am confident he will have a great run at Portland. I want to thank Heamin, his family, and sponsors for the opportunity to work with him again.?
Juncos has ran one full-season entry for Victor Franzoni this year, culminating in a victory at Road America, and also ran former Force India development driver Alfonso Celis Jr in the second round of the season at Barber Motorsports Park. Choi will be piloting the same car Celis drove. Celis remained with Juncos when he made his IndyCar debut at Road America, where he finished 20th.