For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: 317-201-0729
RLR/Andersen's Hildebrand Finishes Second
In Sunday's St. Pete Indy Lights Race
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 6 - Series rookie J.R. Hildebrand gave Palmetto,
Fla.-based RLR/Andersen Racing its best finish ever in Firestone Indy Lights
competition by finishing second Sunday on the St. Petersburg street course in
the Allied Building Products No. 25.
The runner-up finish came in only the fifth start ever in this series for
Hildebrand, a native of Sausalito, Calif., who resides in Indianapolis. It was
also the second top-five finish for Hildebrand in less than 24 hours, as he
finished fifth Saturday in the first half of the Firestone Indy Lights
doubleheader that supported the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg IndyCar race.
The race was quite wild, and Hildebrand escaped numerous close calls to take
the checkered flag 1.5415 seconds behind Richard Antinucci. Logan Gomez was
third followed by Dillon Battistini and Sean Guthrie.
Hildebrand's RLR/Andersen Racing teammate, Andrew Prendeville of Las Vegas,
was the victim of one of the numerous accidents. He ended up 20th, completing
22 of the 40 laps in the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5.
Hildebrand started fifth and Prendeville started seventh. The two drivers
who started alongside them, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Cyndie Allemann, gave the
RLR/Andersen drivers their first close call when Luyendyk and Allemann came
together in Turn 4 on lap one, collecting five other cars in the process. When all
the noses were counted neither of the RLR/Andersen cars were involved, and
Hildebrand was now fourth and Prendeville was fifth.
Antinucci passed Prendeville for fifth on the restart on lap seven, but the
green was only out for two laps before another yellow waved for an incident
involving Chris Festa and Juan Manuel Polar in Turn 1.
Hildebrand got by Raphael Matos for third on the restart on lap 11, while
Prendeville bided his time in sixth. Matos got third back when he passed
Hildebrand on lap 13. A few seconds later Antinucci wiggled by too to push Hildebrand
back to fifth, right in front of Prendeville, by lap 14.
They stayed together in those positions until lap 22 when Bobby Wilson and
Prendeville had contact in Turn 7 as Wilson was trying to overtake Prendeville.
Both cars ended up in a tire barrier. Prendeville got his car unstuck and
continued back to the pits but his day was done, as was Wilson's.
Hildebrand, meanwhile, was still in fifth place. Polesitter Jeff Simmons, who
had led from the start, and Matos tangled with 25 laps down, which vaulted
Ana Beatriz into first place on lap 26 followed by Antinucci and Hildebrand.
The officials made Hildebrand come in to examine a possible oil leak under
that yellow, but there wasn't one and he was allowed to restart in third place
when the action resumed on lap 31. Gomez, who had worked his way up to fourth,
hit Hildebrand on the restart but Hildebrand was able to shrug it off and
keep control.
His closest call was still to come though. Antinucci hit Beatriz on lap 32 in
Turn 1, and Hildebrand had to take evasive action to miss Beatriz by just
inches in a real heart-stopper that may prove to be one of the most exciting
moves of the season. Pablo Donoso wasn't as lucky, as he and Beatriz came together
a little later in Turn 2 before the proverbial dust had settled.
The top five for the restart were Antinucci, Hildebrand, Gomez, Battistini
and Guthrie. The green came out once more on lap 37 but the top five didn't
change. After the race, series officials penalized Antinucci 10 points for
avoidable contact with Beatriz, but they let his victory stand.
There were five caution flags in all, for 16 of the 40 laps.
With the runner-up finish Hildebrand is now fourth in the point standings,
only one point out of third place, while Prendeville is now tenth.
Hildebrand's fastest race lap was a 1:08.2779 for an average speed of 94.905
miles per hour turned on lap 16. Prendeville's fastest race lap, lap 20, was
done in 1:08.7425 for an average speed of 94.265 mph.
The St. Pete Indy Lights doubleheader will be covered on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
Eastern time on April 10.
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.
Post-race quotes follow:
J.R. Hildebrand: "We had a pretty good car. I couldn't get through the
hairpin as well as I would have liked, which was why I couldn't take advantage of
the restarts. I think I would have been closer to him [Antinucci] at the end
without that problem, but it's the team's best finish ever so I'm happy.
"There was a lot of defensive driving out there, and a lot of racing
incidents. The guys were pushing it to the limit and running out of grip.
"My closest call was the one at the end when Richard [Antinucci] got into Bea
[Ana Beatriz] in Turn 1. She didn't hit the brakes and was headed right
towards me, so I jumped on it and got by, but it was only by inches. I was waiting
for it [the impact].
"There definitely was a lot of defensive driving at the end.
"I know the RLR/Andersen team is really good at what they do. I've had a lot
of success working with the Capes. We intend to be on the podium all the
time, and we'll keep working to make it happen."
Andrew Prendeville: "I'm happy for Allied and for our team.
(About the accident) "It was a foolish move on Bobby's part and it took me
out of the race. That's it."
Dan Andersen (team co-owner): "We had a terrific result today from J.R., who
demonstrated exceptional ability to avoid a problem in Turn 1. It was
unfortunate that Andrew was taken out by another competitor, who incidentally has
apologized.
"The crew did a great job. They were able to make changes to the cars' set-up
from yesterday to adapt to the changing track conditions. The whole team did
an outstanding job at what is now our home event.
"Our guests from Allied certainly had an exciting race to watch, and J.R. was
able to put their logo on the podium. I should add that it was a delight
having Bobby Rahal on the timing stand with us during today's race too.
"This coming Friday we will test at Indy, which is always special. Andrew had
a terrific run in the Freedom 100 there last year. We will continue to work
hard, but I'm really excited to be going to Indy with both Andrew and J.R. this
year."
Today's stats recap follows:
Warm-up (Sunday, 8:05 a.m. to 8:20 a.m.):
1. Raphael Matos, 1:07.5562, 95.920 mph
3. J.R. Hildebrand, 1:08.1381, 95.101 mph
7. Andrew Prendeville, 1:09.3636, 93.421 mph
Second race (Sunday, 10:45 a.m.):
1. Richard Antinucci
2. J.R. Hildebrand
20. Andrew Prendeville
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.