Juneau Automotive

Juneau Automotive
Founded	2010
Location	United States
Models	S3/S3 E-Class (TMMC)
Associated brands	Inglesby
Factory teams	DeGarmo Enterprises (TMMC)
Manufacturer

Juneau Automotive, commonly referred to as Juneau, is an American automobile company established in July, 2010 as a project between KJS Autosport and Haywood Industries from Juneau, Alaska. After unveiling the AMX-5 model, the Inglesby Motor Company bought the rights from Haywood Industries, and the company became a luxury sports car division of Inglesby. Juneau is highly involved in motorsports, fielding factory teams in stock cars and open wheel racing and also providing manufacturer support for many other teams.

History

In July, 2010, Adam Kesler and Vince Jones of KJS Autosport signed a deal with the owners of Haywood Industries. Later that year in September, Kesler and Jones announced the formation of the automobile company known as Juneau, and it's headquarters would be established in Juneau, Alaska where Haywood Industries is based out of. Along with the confirmation of the new company, pictures were released of the first project by the manufacturer, the Juneau Royale. Kesler-Jones Motorsports completed several testing sessions with the Royale concept and after finding fair amount of speed, Juneau began searching for a second team to provide manufacturer support to. In November, the company announced that the Royale model would not make it to professional motorsports and was instead used as a prototype. The AMX-5 officially replaced the Royale and was revealed to the public as well as confirmation of new ownership. On November 25th, the Inglesby Motor Company bought ownership rights from Haywood Industries and the company became a luxury sports car brand of Inglesby. Juneau then quickly became increasingly involved in auto racing, announcing the formation of teams in the TM Lights Series, the Vaughn Stock Car Championship, and Formula Overdrive. Juneau also became the backing manufacturer for DeGarmo Enterprises in the TM Master Cup Series and several other teams in lower-tier series. As the company progressed into the racing community, they created the S1, which became its second production model and their second primary auto racing model.

The manufacturer made its debut at the TM Master Cup Series Round of Decatur, in which KJS Autosport driver Hamilton West placed his #994 AMX-5 on the grid to the surprise of many. During the race, West made contact with Serena Bacchero, later claiming that "she was being a nuisance and I did all my fellow drivers a favor." He apologized the following day for his comments. West started 32nd in the race, finishing 29th, the last car on the lead lap.

In 2011, Axel Andersson placed his #997 Investor AB Juneau S1 in 6th on the starting grid for the 2011 Karjala Grand Prix, racing for KJS Autosport. It was the Swedish driver's second attempt at Karjala as he also qualified in 2010, earning a top 20 in his TMMC debut. Despite a fantastic qualifying effort, Andersson was involved in a first lap accident, taking him out of contention for the race win in the first corner. Andersson would continue, however, his car became plagued with multiple mechanical issues after the crash and he later dropped out of the race.

On July 20th, 2011, Juneau released a statement followed by several photos of the new 2012 Juneau S2. DeGarmo Enterprises, Juneau's main TM Master Cup Series operation, expressed interest in renewing their manufacturer contract with Juneau and used the new model. On September 18th, 2011, Zelda Ashby won the 2011 Round of Quebec, giving both DeGarmo Enterprises and Juneau Automotive their first win in TM Master Cup competition.

Non-stock cars

Juneau is one of the engine providers for the Formula Overdrive open-wheel series (see below). Juneau also competes in the Continental Racing League Modified Series. The company has also expressed interest in touring cars, rally racing, and forming their own competitive series. On June 18th, 2011, Juneau was reportedly named as the fourth supplying manufacturer for the CRL for all three divisions of the 2012 racing season, however as the series experienced financial difficulties Juneau ultimately pulled the plug on their modified project. In late August 2011, the company announced a new series would run its inaugural season during 2012. Other manufacturers were also thought to be interested, though no brand names were ever mentioned. The series was to be a mixed road and rally tour mainly across Europe with several North American dates to complete the schedule. As of 2013, little to no progress has been stated on the series as company officials are determined to remain focused on their obligations to their supported Master Cup teams.

Teams

The following professional motorsports teams compete with backing from Juneau Automotive.

TM Master Cup

• DeGarmo Enterprises – Yamino Tenchi, Zelda Ashby (S3)
• Mitchell and Sons Racing – Kevin Dwyer, Zack Duff (S3)

Former Teams

Teams that previously were associated with Juneau.

TM Master Cup Series

• KJS Autosport – Hamilton West, Jackson Burwell, Axel Andersson (S1)

TM Lights Series

• KJS Autosport – Hamilton West, Ross Schuyler, Jackson Burwell, Axel Andersson (S1)

Vaughn Stock Car Championship (and lower tiers)

• More Motorsports – Michael More, Jr., Michael More, Sr. (S1)
• Matthews Motorsports – Ryan Matthews, Tiffany Matthews (S1)

Formula Overdrive presented by ARLA

• Juneau, Inc. – Mikko Forsström, Eta Carina

Continental Racing League Modified Division

• Juneau Development (CRL) – Jared Couch

RROL Elite Series

• ChargerTec Racing — Jessica Zander, Henrietta Laverne III

List of models

The following is a complete list of models developed and produced by Juneau Automotive. They are sorted in chronological order by when they were created. Models marked with an asterisk currently do not compete in any form of motor racing.

• Juneau Royale* (2010 Prototype)
• Juneau AMX-5* (2011 TM Master Cup Series model)
• Juneau S1* (2011 TM Lights/VSCC/ARLA Elite Series model)
• Juneau S2* (2012 TM Master Cup Series model)
• Juneau XT3* (2012 Trans-Am project)
• Juneau R-Type* (2012 Rally project)
• Juneau Modified* (2012 CRL model)
• Juneau S3 (2013 TMMC model)