For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
RLR/Andersen's Firestone Indy Lights Drivers
To Start Sixth and Seventh
Saturday at Infineon Raceway
SONOMA, Calif., Aug. 22 - RLR/Andersen Racing Firestone Indy Lights drivers
J.R. Hildebrand of Sausalito, Calif., and Daniel Herrington of Winston-Salem,
N.C. qualified sixth and seventh, respectively, Friday at Infineon Raceway for
Saturday's 30-lap Carneros 100. Saturday's race and a similar one on Sunday
support the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County
IndyCar race.
Hildebrand's Allied Building Products No. 25 posted its best lap on its 12th
of 21 laps turned in the 45-minute qualifying session with a 1:24.0152 for an
average speed of 98.682 miles per hour. Hildebrand will start on the outside
of Row 3 beside Ana Beatriz.
Herrington's best lap in the Andersen Racing No. 5 came on his 21st and last
lap with a 1:24.1269 (98.551 mph). He'll line up on the inside of Row 4
beside Mitch Cunningham.
Hildebrand was just 0.7301 of a second off Franck Perera's time that won the
SWE Pole. Herrington's fastest lap was just 0.8418 of a second slower than the
pole winner's best trip around the 2.245-mile, 12-turn road course.
Raphael Matos was on top of the standings, Herrington was sixth and
Hildebrand was tenth when a full-course yellow came out about 19 minutes into the
session for Mark Olson, who slid into a tire wall off Turn 3.
Thirty-seven minutes into the session another full-course yellow waved for
Sean Guthrie, who spun in the same turn. Matos still led at that time, while
Hildebrand was sixth and Herrington was ninth.
Hildebrand's lap held up the rest of the way and he remained in sixth, while
Herrington improved at the very end to rise to seventh in the 23-car field.
Both he and the pole winner posted their fastest laps at the very end.
Herrington is making his first appearance at this particular track, while Hildebrand is
a local favorite. Herrington's qualifying effort was his best of the five
previous races he's competed in this year.
Tomorrow's race starts at 11:45 a.m. local time, and Sunday's is at 11:30
a.m. Live timing and scoring will be available at indycar.com. The starting
line-up for Sunday's race will be based on the finish of Saturday's race, with
some exceptions based on a draw that will invert some positions at the top of
the field.
The two Infineon Firestone Indy Lights races will be shown on ESPN2 at 5 p.m.
Eastern Aug. 28.
The season finale is at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on Sept. 7.
RLR/Andersen Racing, which is based in Palmetto, Fla., is sponsored by Allied
Building Products Corp. The team is the official development team of
Hilliard, Ohio's Rahal Letterman Racing.
The team's Web sites are at andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
J.R. Hildebrand: "The Allied Building Products car got held up on a few laps
when we really had a run going. Realistically I didn't feel like we should be
sixth, but with the traffic and the yellows I had trouble putting it all
together for a really fast lap.
"That performance isn't particularly reflective of the car's performance.
The guys worked really hard to get the car the way I like it. I think it's
pretty good at corner-entry, which is confidence inspiring.
"I'll just be looking for a good start and then I'll try to move up. I think
with my experience here I'll be able to avoid going off course, which is a
problem a lot of people are having here."
Daniel Herrington: "With how we did yesterday at the test and in practice
here this morning, I think J.R. and I both had high expectations. We both
thought we'd be in the top five.
"The Andersen Racing car felt pretty good. Early on we struggled with
traffic, or me pushing too hard. The more laps we got on it the more the car
improved, which should help us tomorrow during the race. We still want to figure
out why we're not in the top five though."
The weekend stats so far:
Test (Thursday, 12:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.):
1. Raphael Matos, 1:23.4281, 99.377 mph
2. J.R. Hildebrand, 1:24.4535, 98.170 mph
8. Daniel Herrington, 1:25.1930, 97.318 mph
Practice 1 (Friday, 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.):
1. Raphael Matos, 1:23.6282, 99.139 mph
4. Daniel Herrington, 1:24.3614, 98.277 mph
6. J.R. Hildebrand, 1:24.4562, 98.167 mph
Qualifying for Sat.'s Race: (Friday, 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.):
1. Franck Perera, 1:23.2851, 99.547 mph
6. J.R. Hildebrand, 1:24.0152, 98.682 mph
7. Daniel Herrington, 1:24.1269, 98.551 mph
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.