For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: 317-201-0729
RLR/Andersen Racing Signs Hildebrand
To Join Prendeville for 2008 Indy Pro Series
PALMETTO, Fla., March 5 - RLR/Andersen Racing is pleased to announce that
J.R. Hildebrand, the 2006 Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 champion, will drive
its
No. 25 Indy Pro Series car this season.
Hildebrand, 20, a native of Sausalito, Calif. who resides in Indianapolis,
joins Andrew Prendeville of Las Vegas as RLR/Andersen Racing's two Indy Pro
Series drivers for the 16-race season. The Palmetto, Fla.-based team also fields
multiple cars in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and the
F2000 Championship presented by Hoosier Racing Tire.
With the announcement, Hildebrand is reunited with engineers Dominic and
Nicholas Cape, who guided him to his F2000 championship in 2006 before becoming
RLR/Andersen Racing's chief Indy Pro Series engineers in 2007. Hildebrand and
the Cape brothers had a phenomenal year in 2006, winning a record 12 of 14 F2000
races enroute to the title. They also set the record for the most consecutive
victories in a season with seven; the most laps led in a season; and the most
poles in a season.
Hildebrand drove for Newman Wachs Racing in the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic
series, finishing seventh overall as the top American rookie. His best finish
was
second at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland in June.
Hildebrand also drove in the Indy Pro Series doubleheader at Infineon Raceway
in Sonoma, Calif. with RLR/Andersen Racing last August. He suffered a wrist
injury on lap two of the first race that spoiled his chances for good results
there, but he was very competitive in practice and qualifying. He passed his
Indy Pro Series rookie test with another team last month in Nashville, Tenn.
Hildebrand is a former winner of the prestigious Team USA Scholarship
program, finishing third overall in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Cup in 2005
in
Europe. He was second overall and Rookie of the Year in the Pacific F2000 Zetec
Formula Ford series in 2005. He earned the championship in the SCCA Formula
Russell series in 2004.
Hildebrand has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
although he's currently on a deferral with that institution while he pursues
his
racing career. He was graduated a semester early from Redwood High School in
Corte Madera, Calif., in December 2005 as a National Merit Scholar with a
4.12 grade point average.
RLR/Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products. Hildebrand also
represents Mockett.com; Formotion Products, Inc.; Spy and Santa Cruz Bicycles.
The first race of the 2008 Indy Pro Series season is in 24 days at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.
For more information see andersenracingteam.com, andersenracepark.com,
jrhildebrandracing and indycar.com/pro.
Quotes follow:
J.R. Hildebrand: "I can't begin to express how excited I am to be racing
for
RLR/Andersen Racing this year in the Indy Pro Series. Dan and John [Andersen
Racing co-owners Dan and John Andersen] have given me a great opportunity and
have been fantastic in working everything out. Reuniting with Dominic and
Nicholas Cape, who I won the Formula Ford 2000 Championship with, is going to
be
a real treat.
"I have raced at Mid-Ohio and Infineon Raceway before, but nowhere else
on
the schedule as of right now. However, I honestly think that we will be
extremely competitive everywhere we go. With my road-course background I think
that
we will be particularly fast at places like St. Pete, Mid-Ohio and Infineon,
but I predict we will be quite fast every weekend no matter where it is.
"I'm ready to put my head down and come out swinging. I think it's going
to
be a great year. I have no doubt that we will immediately assert ourselves as
championship contenders."
Dan Andersen (Andersen Racing co-owner): "J.R. proved from the very first
session at Infineon last season that he can drive these cars, and now that he
has
passed his Indy Pro Series rookie test with flying colors, I am truly excited
about what 2008 will bring."
John Andersen (Andersen Racing co-owner/Indy Pro Series team manager): "I've
known J.R. and his family for almost three years. I think he's a very
talented driver; he showed that talent at Infineon last year. Before that, I
watched
him in 2006 when he won the Cooper Tires F2000 Championship, and I was the
director of competition for that series. The Capes worked with him that year,
and they all got along very well and were very successful. He seems to work
extraordinarily well with both Dominic and Nicholas Cape.
"I've been impressed with J.R.'s ability to adapt quickly to changing
conditions. He's very calm and very analytical. He's well adapted to going to
a
track and knowing what he needs to go fast there, and then coming up with
solutions with his engineers.
"He's a very well-spoken and well-dressed young man who presents a good
image
for both himself and his team. He's very personable and PR-savvy."
Bobby Rahal (co-owner, Rahal Letterman Racing): "I am very pleased Dan and
John Andersen were able to bring J.R. into the team. J.R. has shown his
competitiveness over the last several years, including his Indy Pro Series debut
at
Infineon. With J.R. and Andrew I think the chemistry in the team will be
positive, and it will ensure that Andersen Racing is a potential race winner
every
time out."
Scott Roembke (chief operating officer, Rahal Letterman Racing): "J.R.
Hildebrand is a very promising talent, and we are very excited about watching
what
he can do in the Indy Pro Series in 2008. He has had great success to this
point despite his young age, and we are sure that Andersen Racing will give him
everything he needs to show his talents
at this level."
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 the Indy Pro Series (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.