Juncos Hollinger Racing has confirmed it will field Reece Gold and Matteo Nannini (pictured left to right, above) as its Indy NXT by Firestone drivers for the 2023 season.

A former two-time winner in Indy Lights,  JHR is returning to the primary IndyCar feeder series after a year pushing for success in other racing categories. The fielded rookie Callum Ilott in the NTT IndyCar Series, while also engineering Gold to second place in the Indy Pro 2000 championship, with the team also becoming the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 team champions.

Gold, an 18-year-old Miami native, will drive the No. 76 Ticket Clinic entry.

“I am happy to be staying with Juncos Hollinger racing for INDY NXT in 2023,” Gold said. “I have had two great seasons with JHR in Indy Pro 2000, with this past season being our best, picking up four wins and second in the championship. We have already shown great progress in testing for 2023 and I am looking forward to the season. Thank you to The Ticket Clinic and everyone at Juncos Hollinger Racing for their support.”

Indy NXT will mark the U.S. racing debut for Nannini, after competing in the FIA’s Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships. As well as being a race winner and podium finisher in F3, Nannini — whose father is a first cousin of former Formula 1 driver Alessandro Nannini — is also a former F4 UAE champion. The 19-year-old Italian-Argentinian impressed Juncos Hollinger Racing during a Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis MotorSpeedway, and has now committed to driving the team’s No. 75 machine.

“I am very excited to have confirmed with Juncos Hollinger Racing after the positive tests last year. It’s a great opportunity to be able to race in America and I don’t want to waste it,” said Nannini. “I have great respect for Ricardo and I’m sure we could do great things together. Indy NXT is the best springboard to continue my journey towards IndyCar. I thank the people who are helping me especially my business partner for making this possible.”

Ricardo Juncos, is looking forward to getting the new season underway in a championship that has attracted new teams and a host of fresh driving talent.

“First of all, I’m so excited coming back to Indy NXT after a year away in 2022, which allowed us to focus on our IndyCar program as we became a full-time operation. After 14 years we decided to close our Indy Pro 2000 program, to allow us to create a solid Indy NXT program with two really good drivers, and to expand to two cars in IndyCar. We achieved many wins and two championships over six years, in what was previously known as Indy Lights, and we are excited to come back and continue building on those achievements.

“We are looking forward to building our junior IndyCar program, which is something unique and something good to have, since not only Indy NXT is growing but also IndyCar. The Indy NXT pre-season car count has around 17 cars participating in some pre-season tests, so I’m very excited to come back to the series. Indy NXT being under IndyCar and Roger Penske Promotions is great for the sport, great for the series, and is what we were looking for. You can see the results after one year, being back at almost 20 cars.

I’m looking forward to a great 2023 season, and I want to thank the drivers, the driver’s sponsors, and their families for the trust in our team.”