For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Racing Laps for Best Friends
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: 317-201-0729
 
 
 
 
Prendeville Finishes All 77 Laps
At Nashville Saturday
For Racing Laps for Best Friends 
 
LEBANON, Tenn., July 12 - Neither a thunderstorm, a green race track nor a 
loose race car could keep Andrew Prendeville from finishing ninth in the Sunbelt 
Rentals 100 Firestone Indy Lights race Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway in 
the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5. 
 
With the solid showing he completed all 77 laps of the race, guaranteeing the 
most donations possible to Best Friends from the fans that made per-lap 
donations based on his performance at racinglapsforbestfriends.com.
 
The race was delayed an hour and 45 minutes due to a thunderstorm.  With the 
IndyCar race following on the schedule, compete with live TV, Prendeville's 
race became a timed event of 45 minutes or 77 laps, whichever came first.
 
Luckily for the not-for-profit animal welfare group there were only two 
caution periods in the race, and all 77 laps were completed. 
 
The storm erased all the Firestone Firehawk rubber that had been laid down on 
the 1.33-mile concrete oval in practice and qualifying, making for a green 
track. Although it was easy to spin without that rubber, Prendeville stayed out 
of trouble throughout the race. 
 
Prendeville, a native of Chatham Township, N.J., started 12th, but he zoomed 
into the top 10 by the end of lap one. Franck Perera passed him with six laps 
down to push him to 11th place, but he got tenth back on lap 14 when Dillon 
Battistini pitted with a flat tire. That put Prendeville right behind Brent 
Sherman, whom he passed on lap 17 for ninth place.
 
He got eighth when Jeff Simmons pitted for a new nose cone, and then stayed 
in that spot for the next 21 circuits. He moved up to seventh on lap 45 when 
James Davison dropped out after contact with Jonny Reid.
 
The restart on lap 53 didn't go well for Prendeville.  He dropped one spot 
initially, but then got caught by a train of cars and slipped back to 11th. He 
regrouped at the end though, passing Sherman for tenth with five laps to go and 
getting by Pablo Donoso on the last lap for ninth place.
 
"The Best Friends Animal Society car was real loose at the beginning of the 
race," Prendeville said afterwards. "I made adjustments, and just tried to 
balance the car for the second half of the race. 
 
"I lost some positions there once when I was hung out to dry on a restart," 
he noted. "I was on the outside, and I just got passed.  But then we were able 
to regroup, and we finished ninth.
 
"Will [Paul] and Seb [Jubelin, his mechanics] did a great job, as always," he 
said.  "I'd also like to thank everyone who made donations to Best Friends on 
racinglapsforbestfriends.com.  We were able to finish all 77 laps, which is 
good."
 
Saturday's race will be televised at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time July 17 on ESPN2.
 
Prendeville's next two races are next Saturday and Sunday at the Mid-Ohio 
Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. It is one of the Las Vegas-based driver's 
favorite tracks. Donations to Best Friends based on that doubleheader, as well 
as the other races remaining on the 2008 schedule, are already being accepted 
at racinglapsforbestfriends.com. 
 
Fans can also purchase Best Friends raffle tickets at 
racinglapsforbestfriends.com.  Prizes are sessions at the famous Bertil Roos Racing School.
 
In addition to racinglapsforbestfriends.com, bestfriends.org and 
indycar.com/indylights, more information is available at andrewprendeville.com and 
andersenracingteam.com.