For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Gladdis Finishes Second
And Hall Places Fourth in Second Half
Of Star Mazda Doubleheader at Portland Sunday
PORTLAND, Ore., July 27 - Andersen Racing's Tom Gladdis had another great day
at Portland International Raceway on Sunday. The 17-year-old from the Isle
of Wight and Gibraltar won the pole for Round Five of the Star Mazda
Championship presented by Goodyear in the morning, and then finished second in the race
in the afternoon, setting the fastest race lap to boot.
John Edwards led the entire race, but just 0.979 of a second separated
Gladdis's Marrache & Co. No. 5 from Edwards' car at the end of the 36-lap contest on
the 1.977-mile road course. Joel Miller placed third.
Andersen Racing's Charles Hall of Sheffield, England, finished fourth with
his car, which is sponsored by Blimpie, AccentBanking.com, Pardoes Solicitors
and Allied Interior Products.
Both Edwards and Hall got by Gladdis shortly after the standing start. He
ran in third place until lap 24, when he passed Hall. He chased Edwards the
rest of the way.
Hall ran in second from lap one through lap 23 until Gladdis got by. There
were two Andersen Racing drivers in podium positions for the entire race until
six laps from the end, when Miller got by Hall to push him to fourth.
Gladdis's fastest lap of the race was timed in 1:09.548 for an average speed
of 102.335 mph. The third Andersen Racing driver in the race, Peter Dempsey of
Ashbourne, Country Meath, Ireland, set the third-fastest lap of the race with
a 1:09.978 at 101.706 mph. Unfortunately he had a racing incident while he
was attempting to pass Alex Ardoin for fourth on the first lap. The contact
damaged the left-front pushrod on his car, which is sponsored by LotusWorks,
Center Jewellers.ie, Quayside.ie, Allied Interior Products and Trojan Complete IT
Solutions. Although Dempsey returned to the fray and was very fast, he lost
three laps due to the pitstop and ended up 27th in the final rundown.
Unofficially Miller now leads the point standings with 179 points over Hall
with 174, Ardoin with 168, Billy Goshen with 155, Gladdis with 150, Dempsey
with 140 and Edwards with 136. Each driver's best 11 of 12 races count for the
championship, however.
SPEED will show both Portland races at noon Eastern on Aug. 9, the same day
the Star Mazda contingent will be competing at Road America in Elkhart Lake,
Wis. The circuit then appears at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec on Aug. 17 and Mosport
International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario on 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.
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-race quotes follow:
Tom Gladdis: "Our start was good but not as good as Charles's. I couldn't
get past him, but then eventually I did. We gained time on Edwards at the end,
but he won and we were second. With the win yesterday and the second today we
gained a fair amount in the points this weekend and we had two poles too, so it
was good."
Charles Hall: "We were just trying to pick up some points today. We had a
good car in qualifying, but we didn't quite have the same pace as the leaders in
the second half of the race, so we're pleased with fourth place. We had some
problems with some competitors blocking today, but it was still a good race."
Peter Dempsey: "I got a pretty good start, but then I made a mistake passing
Alex Ardoin. I had to pit for repairs, which put me down a couple laps. We ran
fast after that, but that problem ruined any chances for a good finish. I'm
really disappointed; it was a frustrating weekend. But I think the people from
LotusWorks and our other sponsors still had fun."
Sunday's stats:
Qualifying for Second Portland race (10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.):
1. Tom Gladdis, 1:08.722, 103.565 mph
3. Charles Hall, 1:09.151, 102.923 mph
5. Peter Dempsey, 1:09.239, 102.792 mph
Second Portland race (2 p.m. to 3 p.m.):
1. John Edwards
2. Tom Gladdis*
4. Charles Hall
27. Peter Dempsey, finished 33 of 36 laps
* set fastest lap of the race with a 1:09.548, 102.335 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.