Robb counting on patience to pay off, again, with move to JHR

11/22/2024 04:14 PM

Sting Ray Robb heads into his third NTT IndyCar Series season in a bit of a compromise. Throughout his time in motor racing, the Idaho native has never been in a rush to move up the ladder, and he's been rewarded for that patience. But that notion will be put to the test once the next championship gets under way.

His main accomplishment to date in winning the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 championship with Juncos Racing was a perfect demonstration of how Robb, on a more relaxed schedule, could get the best out of himself in his third year in a category, and that's where he finds himself as the newest driver for the Juncos Hollinger Racing team in 2025.

Set to embark on this third season of IndyCar competition, the 23-year-old is entering the year where the best version of himself tends to be revealed, but it won't be easy, not after moving to his third team in as many seasons. His IndyCar 2023 debut with Dale Coyne Racing was one-and-done, followed by a 2024 spent with A.J. Foyt Racing and getting to know an all-new crew of mechanics, engineers, and leaders in the program.

And despite his familiarity with Juncos from their years together in the USF championships and one season of Indy NXT, Robb is starting over yet again with the outfit owned by Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger and an all-new crew working on and engineering his Chevy-powered car.

In a sport that rewards consistency and momentum, Robb has yet to experience such things in IndyCar, which will conspire against beginning next season with that third-year magic in full motion.

"You’re 100-percent right," Robb told RACER. "That was one of the bigger struggles for me this last year. I was switching to a new team, but a lot of the team itself was brand-new as well. It's hard to get everyone on the same page. And we had a lot of issues throughout the year that were not your typical errors that you want to see in any car; having your steering wheel fall off at Barber and the brakes fail at St. Pete is obviously the worst possible scenario.

"Our goal was to have some continuity going into next year for the third year, and so when David Malukas got announced (at Foyt), it was a bit of a shock, because we thought that that’s where I was going to be, so we went hunting after that. We knew that Juncos was one of the options at that time, because we were starting to discuss the following season with people, just in case. So when we first talked to Ricardo, obviously he and I have some history, which is good.

"That continuity is there a little bit. He actually sat in the engineering room quite a bit in 2020 when we won the championship, and again in 2021 when I moved to Indy NXT with him. So I understand who he is, I understand his passion, his determination, and that’s why he’s gotten to where he’s at. That’s why we’re here, and we think that that’s the best option for me, just because I needed someone that was going to buy into me — not just as a team owner, but also with the passion and dedication to get me to where I need to be. I need a breakout season."

Robb has a unique perspective on the upcoming season with JHR.

"Where the last two years I felt like, honestly, 2024 was my second rookie season, I think that it’ll be somewhat like that again," he said. "It's challenging not having that continuity as a team going into the season, but this is the earliest I’ve signed, and so I think that’ll be really, really helpful for just being able to go into the shop and visit with the guys and building relationships there. That goes a long way.

"Motorsports is built on the relationships that you have with your team. If you can’t have a relationship and have that communication and build those people skills within the team, you’re going to fail. So having known some of these guys for as long as I have, I think that that’s already built up a lot, and that’ll be helpful in the long run. And also being my third year in any car, I kind what to expect from the car. I know what to look for."

After learning he wouldn't be returning to Foyt, Robb was faced with limited options on where he might continue his IndyCar career. A return to Coyne was a possibility, and while there were other vacancies on the market, the most realistic chances stood with going back to his first IndyCar team or trying to rejoin Juncos. The latter scenario was tricky as their Indy Pro 2000 championship in 2020 turned sour when Juncos Racing was largely uncompetitive in 2021 in Indy NXT.

Having placed eighth in the standings with zero podiums during a season where only nine full-time drivers were present, a frustrated and disappointed Robb left Juncos and joined Andretti Global, where he took a win and eight podium appearances on the way to securing second behind champion Linus Lundqvist. The frosty split with Juncos was the first item to reconcile.

"There was a little bit of mending that had to happen, and honestly, I had my reservations when we first started having conversations," Robb said. "I think that our team had the potential to be very good in that season, but we ended up making the switch because we felt that the priorities were held more for the IndyCar team, which they were putting back together. Ricardo was making a big push for IndyCar and so that’s where his focus was. So we didn’t get to have Ricardo at his best on that side of things.

"Whereas in this case, I know that this is Ricardo at his best. His focus is all here. He’s fully committed. We got to have a really good conversation, Ricardo and I — we discussed old times and reminisced, and were able to sit down and really look each other in the eyes and see, OK, is this going to work? Do we believe in each other? Do we have hope for what we can achieve? And the answer was yes. And so we had laid out both of our goals, where our intentions were and where our heads were, and said, 'OK, yes, I think that this is a great alignment This is a good thing. Let’s join back up and make something happen.' And the forgiveness was there a long time ago."

Rumored to bring the biggest sponsorship package of any driver in IndyCar, the newlywed — who spoke with RACER while on his Hawaiian honeymoon — is also incredibly self-aware. He knows the funding from devoted family and friends is the main point of attraction from the teams who've signed him, and there's an inner challenge to redefine himself in the years ahead.

If Robb has a role model in the series, it's Andretti's Marcus Ericsson, whose backers from Sweden bankrolled his career in junior open-wheel through Formula 1 and his IndyCar stops at Arrow McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing. With Ericsson's considerable success at Ganassi, which included victory at the Indianapolis 500, he was courted by Andretti who signed him — sans financial support — and made the 34-year-old one of the highest paid drivers in the series. Achieving the same paying-to-paid dynamic as Ericsson is Robb's dream.

"That’s the goal. That’s the end goal, for sure," he said. "We’re in a state of the sport where I’m not going to be ignorant and say, 'Well, no, I’m doing this based off my talent.' I know where I’m at. You know that I’m humble enough to say that. But I’m gonna backtrack here a little bit, because I’ve been very blessed with the support group that I have. When I first got into car racing, I was fresh out of karts. My parents were out of money in karting, so we had to have that support group step in from Day 1. And there were plenty of times where it didn’t happen.

"There were times where my mom, who I call my 'momager,' said as we’re getting onto a flight, 'Hey, have your dad call me when you guys land, and I’ll let you know if there’s money in the bank to race.' And sure enough, we would land and call, and she'd say, 'So and so that knows so and heard about you, and they want to keep supporting you, so we have enough money to get through this race weekend, but without the extra set of tires.'

"And that’s just the way that we did it all the way through, and we had the right people step in at the right times, and they’ve become our family now. We call my group of people 'Team SR2' (Team Sting Ray Robb) and it really is. Everyone that’s joined this ride has become part of the team, part of that family, and they’ve bought into it. So I feel very lucky and blessed to be in a spot where I get to live the dream out, but it means a lot more that I have the people surrounding me that have allowed me that opportunity.

"Because it’s not just blood family; it’s people from all over the country, all over the world, that have been supporting me from a very early spot, and they continue to do so. I feel very thankful to have those people step in again at the right times to allow me the opportunities, because it’s a tough sport right now."