For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Dempsey
Sets New Track Record
In Star Mazda Qualifying Saturday
At Trois-Rivieres
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que., Canada, Aug. 16 - Andersen Racing Star Mazda driver
Peter Dempsey is on fire, both literally and figuratively.
The 22-year-old from Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland is so hot that his car
actually caught on fire Friday during the second practice session on the
street circuit in downtown Trois-Rivieres. Repairs were made by the Palmetto,
Fla.-based team and on Saturday morning Dempsey set a sizzling new track record in
winning the pole for Sunday's race.
Dempsey won the most recent event in this series, which is presented by
Goodyear, last weekend in Wisconsin. On Saturday morning he knocked 0.318 of a
second off Ryan Justice's two-year-old Trois-Rivieres track record to win this
year's pole with a lap in 1:01.788, averaging 88.619 miles per hour for the
1.506-mile, 10-turn, twisty and tight street circuit. Dempsey is sponsored by
LotusWorks, Center Jewellers.ie, Quayside.ie, Motorsport Ireland, Allied Interior
Products and Trojan Complete IT Solutions.
The fire on Friday was dramatic but minor by all accounts. It may have been
caused by debris on the exhaust header. Dempsey was able to bring the car into
the pits, where the blaze was quickly extinguished.
Andersen Racing, which is leading the team point standings in this series as
well as the F2000 Championship Series, has three other drivers in this race
too. Tom Gladdis of the Isle of Wight and Gibraltar qualified seventh with his
Marrache & Co. No. 5. Natalia Kowalska of Biesiekierz, West Pomeranian
Voivodeship, Poland, recorded her first top-10 qualifying result with her Natan
Developers-sponsored car. Points leader Charles Hall of Sheffield, England, who was
involved in an accident at the start of Friday afternoon's practice session,
will start 12th tomorrow with his No. 77, which is sponsored by Blimpie,
AccentBanking.com, Pardoes Solicitors and Allied Interior Products. He was fastest
in the first practice session on Friday.
Tomorrow's 55-minute race is scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time.
The action then moves to Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario
next Saturday, Aug. 23. A doubleheader at the brand-new New Jersey Motorsports
Park Sept. 13-14, a race at Road Atlanta Oct. 3 and the season finale at
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Oct. 18 round out the 2008 schedule.
Sunday's race is expected to be broadcast on SPEED at noon Eastern on
Saturday, Aug. 30. The latest TV schedules are posted on starmazda.com and
speedtv.com.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. It is the
official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. For more information see
andersenracingteam.com, andersenracepark.com and starmazda.com.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
Peter Dempsey: "It was brilliant; things are going really well! There are
lots of people here. It's a great show; people are asking for autographs and
everything; it's cool.
"My fastest lap came on my last lap. I got about three clear laps, and then I
sat on pit lane hoping nobody would go faster, and they didn't. The car was
brilliant.
"Lots of people from home supported me for this race; my usual list plus
Motorsport Ireland as well. To give you the complete list of people who have
helped this year would be too much for your press release.
"We had a small fire in one of the practices yesterday. We needed new
sidepods for the car because the heat shield came away. It wasn't a huge problem;
it was fixed by this morning."
Tom Gladdis: "It's going OK. I never raced on a street course before, but
we're chipping away at it. P7 isn't too bad on the grid. We're just looking to
get points tomorrow to keep our championship hopes alive. I want to thank my
engineers, mechanics, the whole Andersen Racing team, Mazda and Goodyear."
Natalia Kowalska: "It's going pretty well. This is my first time on a street
course. The first session was pretty good; in the second session we
struggled a little with the set-up. We were in the second half of the field for
qualifying but I was P1 in my group, which we thought was pretty good. It's my
first top 10 in qualifying, so we're pretty happy. There are some turns I think
we can improve on; we think we can go faster tomorrow."
Charles Hall: "We were P1 in the first practice, but then I made a mistake in
the afternoon practice shaking down the car, and now we will start 12th on
the grid.
"The car is fine now; the accident had knocked the steering out. It's a
shame but no big deal. We'll just try our best tomorrow."
The weekend's stats so far:
First Practice Session (Friday, 10:40 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.):
1. Charles Hall, 1:02.881, 87.079 mph
3. Peter Dempsey, 1:03.218, 86.615 mph
6. Tom Gladdis, 1:03.687, 85.977 mph
16. Natalia Kowalska, 1:04.636, 84.714 mph
Second Practice Session (Friday, 3:20 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:02.650, 87.400
8. Tom Gladdis, 1:04.103, 85.419 mph
12. Natalia Kowalska, 1:04.405, 85.018 mph
19. Charles Hall, 1:11.643, 76.429 mph
Qualifying for Round 7 (Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:01.788, 88.619 mph*
7. Tom Gladdis, 1:02.637, 87.418 mph
9. Natalia Kowalska, 1:02.938, 87.000 mph
12. Charles Hall, 1:03.378, 86.396 mph
* Breaks Ryan Justice's track record of 1:02.106 set in 2006.
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. 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.