Grosjean scrambling to stay on IndyCar grid in 2025
11/11/2024 03:00 PM
Romain Grosjean and the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing team produced six visits to the top 10 this season, double the amount that JHR earned in any other season since it joined the NTT IndyCar Series in 2017.
The Swiss-born Frenchman and the No. 77 crew also made significant progress in qualifying, where the Chevy-powered entry started inside the top 12 eight times — at nearly half of the events — and delivered JHR's best finish to date with fourth at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. And it might not be enough for him to hold onto his seat.
Despite JHR's uptick in competitiveness, which also included Conor Daly's late-season assistance in the No. 78 Chevy that secured a $1 million Leaders Circle contract from series owner Penske Entertainment, the Ricardo Juncos- and Brad Hollinger-owned outfit finds itself with two open seats and an overriding need to attract funding through paying drivers or any sponsorship it might procure to fill its openings.
For a paid professional like Grosjean, the team's financial hardship has left the 38-year-old waiting to hear if JHR will take up his option or move on and sign a new lead driver.
"It’s all budget," Grosjean told RACER. "So right now, I’ve got nothing lined up. It is what it is. I think last year was probably one of my best seasons, and I may end up not being in the grid next year, just because the marketing has been horrendous for IndyCar, the hybrid has brought the costs to a level that’s unbearable for teams, and that’s the way it is.
“I think we built something good that I would like to carry on, and they would like to carry on as well. But we need sponsors, so we are actively trying to find money for the car, and then once the car is funded, we can go racing."
Drawing from the relationships he's built throughout his career, Grosjean has been active over the first two months of the off-season in trying to link business contacts to JHR.
"I’m actively trying hard to find partners for the for the team," he said. "I think of it as kind of my duty to do that and help them. That’s where we are."
Grosjean entered the world of IndyCar in 2021 with Dale Coyne Racing before moving onto Andretti Global from 2022-2023 and then JHR in 2024. By coincidence, Coyne and JHR are the only teams with seats available, and as a result, the lines of communication have been busy with his former team owner regarding a potential reunion.
"I’ve never stopped talking with Dale," Grosjean said. "I really love him as a person. I always keep in touch, and I’m not a genius, but I think there’s only two teams left on the grid to have discourse.
"There’s a lot of work to be done there at Dale's team – the last two seasons have been a bit rough. But if we cannot pull it off with Juncos, that will be an option as well. Get back at it and build it from where we were before, and hopefully do something good."
