For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: 317-201-0729
RLR/Andersen's Hildebrand Wins
Firestone Indy Lights Race
At Kansas Speedway Sunday
KANSAS CITY, Kan., April 27 - Everything came together for RLR/Andersen
Racing Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.
After a year and a quarter of competing in IndyCar's development series, the
Palmetto, Fla.-based team led its first lap in the series and then 46 more to
achieve its first Firestone Indy Lights victory ever.
Behind the wheel of the team's Allied Building Products No. 25 Dallara,
series rookie J.R. Hildebrand of Indianapolis posted the victory in the
67-lap/100-mile Kansas Lottery 100. It was only the second oval-track race ever for the
20-year-old native of Sausalito, Calif.
Coupled with Hildebrand's second-place finish in the last race, held in St.
Petersburg, Fla. on April 6, he is now leading the point standings going into
the series' biggest race of the year, the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway on May 23.
Robbie Pecorari, a former Andersen Racing Star Mazda driver, finished second
to Hildebrand on Sunday, just 0.0553 of a second behind for the eighth-closest
finish in series history. He started next-to-last and improved 21 positions
to post the greatest advance from start to finish in series history. Rounding
out the podium finishers was Arie Luyendyk Jr.
RLR/Andersen's Andrew Prendeville of Las Vegas topped the charts in the
morning practice session after SWE Pole Qualifying was cancelled due to cold
temperatures. He took the green flag in 11th place with his Best Friends Animal
Society No. 5 and vaulted into eighth right away.
Unfortunately Cyndie Allemann spun right in front of him with 25 laps down.
Prendeville did everything he could to miss her, but he clipped her car,
sending him into the Turn 2 wall of the 1.5-mile trioval. His car then careened
across the track right in front of a pack of cars that miraculously missed him.
Prendeville escaped uninjured, but his car was done for the day. He ended up
23rd in the final rundown with 25 laps completed for his Racing Laps for Best
Friends program.
Hildebrand started fourth and ran in fourth or fifth for the first 14 laps.
He passed Luyendyk for third on lap 15, and then got by Dillon Battistini for
second on lap 19. His winning move came on the next lap when he overtook
polesitter Richard Antinucci at the start/finish line. Luyendyk and then Pecorari
did everything they could to make a pass stick, but Hildebrand was not to be
denied the rest of the way. Pecorari was extremely close for the last eight
laps after the final restart, but Hildebrand persevered to become the first
American to win in this series so far this year.
There were five caution flags in all for a total of 30 laps. The first one
was for a spin but the other four, including the one Prendeville was involved
in, were for contact.
In addition to winning the race, RLR/Andersen Racing received the $1,000
Firestone Image Award as the team that best represented Firestone through its use
of patches and decals on its cars, transporter, pit equipment and uniforms.
Sunday's race is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. EDT on
Thursday, May 1.
Earlier that day Hildebrand is scheduled to attend the second annual
Developmental Preschool "Mini 500" at Pleasant Grove Elementary School, 5199 W.
Fairview Rd. in Greenwood, Ind. His visit is intended to show support to these
children, who are working hard to overcome physical, social and behavioral
obstacles. A parade and a race are planned for the event, billed as "The Greatest
Spectacle in Pre-School Racing." The media is encouraged to attend.
RLR/Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. It is the
development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. Its Web sites are at
andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
Hildebrand also represents Mockett.com, Formotion Products, Inc., Spy and
Santa Cruz Bicycles. His Web site is at jrhildebrandracing.com.
Andersen Racing offers a unique three-series program to groom future
open-wheel stars. Two of its five F2000 Championship Series drivers, Anders Krohn and
Jonny Baker, finished first and second in that series' season-opening
doubleheader last weekend at VIRginia International Raceway. They and their
teammates, Ricardo Vassmer, Doug Prendeville and Scott Willard, will try to go for two
more victories in that series' next doubleheader May 9-10 at Road Atlanta.
Three of Andersen Racing's four Star Mazda drivers, Charles Hall, Peter
Dempsey and Tom Gladdis, finished in the top five in the Star Mazda season opener
at Sebring, Fla. in March, with Hall second and Dempsey third. That trio, as
well as their teammate, Julianna Gonzalez, will try their best to break into
the "win" column too at their next race May 17 at Miller Motorsports Park in
Tooele, Utah.
Post-race quotes follow:
J.R. Hildebrand: "I'm so happy! It feels so good for the team; everybody has
worked so hard. To be able to come away with a win in just the fourth race
has put us in a really good spot in the championship. I didn't think our first
win would come on an oval, but we'll take it and keep going with Indy coming
up and the height of the season.
"I can't thank everyone at RLR/Andersen Racing enough. We've progressed and
improved our finishing position with every race, and now I'm on the top step of
the podium!
"My car was working better up high at first. I was able to go around the high
side pretty easily. I had a big push behind other cars down at the bottom.
With other cars around me, I was able to stick up on the high line and keep it
flat around the top. I think Antinucci was having trouble staying low. So I
tried to kind of pin him down there so he couldn't use any more of the track.
Then I was able to kind of truck by on the outside, and then a caution came
out.
"Once I was on my own, it seemed like being on the bottom is where it was
going to happen. It makes it easier to keep people in check behind you if you're
on the bottom, so that's why I was sticking it down there.
[About the laps after the last restart]: "I was probably looking backwards
more than I was looking forward. Robbie raced me clean. The Allied Building
Products car was good right at the bottom, so I was able to stay there and keep
him behind me. We ended up pulling it off at the line."
Andrew Prendeville: "It happened in Turn 2.
"My car was inconsistent before that. It was pushing and then it was
randomly loose. I got a good start, but then I struggled to stay close to the lead
pack. I backed off to let my tires cool down to see what I could do in the
next half of the race, but then someone spun in front of me and I couldn't miss
it. Luckily no one hit me when I came back down off the wall and across the
track.
"I'm very happy for our team. We've worked our tails off for the last year,
and today it paid off; just not for me right now."
John Andersen (RLR/Andersen Racing co-owner): "It's the team's first victory
in this series, so it's a nice reward for all the hard work and all the money
we've been spending.
"We came into this series with good, experienced people but we were new to
these cars and we were new to most of these tracks. Now that we've learned some
things about these cars and we have experience at most of the tracks, I think
we'll be very competitive going forward. I should note though that Kansas
Speedway was new to us, as today was this series' first race here since 2004.
"Winning is an unbelievable feeling; it's the ultimate high. But I feel bad
for Andrew, who got caught up in another driver's accident. We have the good
and the bad of racing all under the same transporter here, but hopefully
Andrew's day will come soon too."
About Allied Building Products Corp.:
Allied Building Products Corp., headquartered in East Rutherford, N.J., is
one of the largest roofing and siding distributors in the United States. Founded
in 1950 with five employees and two trucks, today it is a $1.8 billion
building material distribution company with over 3,500 employees, more than 200
branches in 30 states, well over one million square feet of office and warehouse
space, and an inventory of approximately 85,000 products, from residential
roofing and siding to doors, windows, waterproofing, manufactured stone, interior
products and commercial roofing systems. For more information see
alliedbuilding.com.
About Andersen Racing:
Andersen Racing strives to provide the best and most comprehensive training
possible for future open-wheel superstars while giving its marketing partners
media exposure and hospitality opportunities at some of the most prestigious
events in North America. It provides a unique, three-step program utilizing
multiple entries in three different series: the F2000 Championship (webcast), Star
Mazda (televised on SPEED) and Firestone Indy Lights (televised on ESPN2).
In 2008 it will field multiple entries in 42 races in 19 states and provinces
at some of the best facilities on the continent, including the famed
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Andersen Racing's principals, brother Dan and John Andersen, have extensive
experience in series administration as well as team management. They've worked
with many of today's top open-wheel stars, including several Indy 500 winners.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. It is the
official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing, which competes in the IndyCar
Series and the American Le Mans Series. In addition, its F2000 team is also
the official factory team of Van Diemen. The team is headquartered at Andersen
RacePark, an 18-acre facility in Palmetto, Fla. that includes a 1-mile test
track. For more information see andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.