For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: 317-201-0729
RLR/Andersen Racing
Qualifies Sixth and 14th
At Milwaukee Saturday
MILWAUKEE, May 31 - RLR/Andersen Racing's Andrew Prendeville ran his fastest
laps of the day in SWE Pole Qualifying Saturday afternoon at the Milwaukee
Mile to earn the sixth starting spot for tomorrow's Milwaukee 100 Firestone Indy
Lights race.
Driving the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5, the Las Vegas-based driver
recorded laps in 25.5555 seconds and 25.3905 seconds for the 1.015-mile oval as
the first of 19 drivers out in the qualifying session. With a combined time of
50.9460 seconds (143.446 miles per hour), the Chatham Township, N.J. native
will start on the outside of Row 3 beside Arie Luyendyk Jr. when the 100-lap
race gets the green flag at 11:30 a.m. Central time Sunday. A total of 22
drivers are expected to start tomorrow's race.
Prendeville's teammate, Sausalito, Calif.'s J.R. Hildebrand, crashed 24
minutes into the first practice session Saturday morning, making contact with the
SAFER barrier in Turn 2. Luckily Hildebrand wasn't hurt, but his Allied
Building Products No. 25 suffered heavy damage to its left rear in the crash, which
occurred at 8:39 a.m. (Prendeville was first and Hildebrand was second in
that session before Hildebrand's crash, and they ended up third and fourth for
that session, respectively.)
The Palmetto, Fla.-based team immediately got to work on Hildebrand's No. 25,
and heroically had the car back on the track at 12:15 p.m. in time to do a
few laps before the second practice session ended.
According to RLR/Andersen co-owner John Andersen, the team changed the
Dallara's rear wing; replaced its left-rear suspension, including the drive shaft;
replaced the left sidepod; replaced the left-front suspension; and replaced
other assorted parts, including the oil cooler and the rear attenuator, in about
three hours and 36 minutes.
Hildebrand was still exploring the repaired car's characteristics during
qualifying, and he ended up 14th on the grid for tomorrow's race, beside Jonny
Reid. His combined two-lap time in quals was 52.0577 for an average speed of
140.383 mph.
The pole went to an ex-Andersen Racing Star Mazda driver, Pablo Donoso. His
fastest lap was a 25.0721, well off Wade Cunningham's track qualifying record
of 24.7254 seconds set in July 2006.
Qualifying was held during sunny conditions but with a stiff west-northwest
breeze of 15-17 miles per hour.
Live coverage of tomorrow's race will be offered on-line at
indycar.com/indylights. The race will be broadcast at 1 p.m. Eastern time June 5 on ESPN2.
Andersen Racing strives to provide the best training possible for future
open-wheel stars. In addition to the Firestone Indy Lights series, it fields
multiple entries in the F2000 Championship Series and the Star Mazda series
presented by Goodyear. One of its F2000 drivers, Doug Prendeville, Andrew's
brother, is on hand here at Milwaukee, as is one of its Star Mazda drivers, Peter
Dempsey. The team, which is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp., is the
development team of IndyCar's Rahal Letterman Racing. Its Web sites are at
andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
Prendeville has a unique program to raise funds for the Best Friends Animal
Society based on the number of laps he completes in his races through a Web
site at racinglapsforbestfriends.com.
In addition to Allied Interior Products, Hildebrand represents Mockett.com,
Formotion Products, Inc., Spy and Santa Cruz Bicycles. His Web site is at
jrhildebrandracing.com.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
Andrew Prendeville: "Qualifying went well. The RLR/Andersen guys did a good
job with the Best Friends Animal Society car.
"I was the first one out. It's the fastest we've run here so far, so I'm
pleased. I think we have a good car for the race tomorrow.
"It was pretty windy. It gets your attention in Turn 2, but it's pretty
random. That's the same for everybody though."
J.R. Hildebrand: "I got a few laps in during the second practice session, but
I really didn't know what I'd be dealing with during qualifying because those
were really the first fast laps we'd done since the crash this morning. The
set-up wasn't where we need it to be and there is definitely some left, but I
want to thank all the RLR/Andersen guys for their hard work to get the car
ready after the crash. They worked really hard, and we'll continue to work hard
to get it back to the way it was before the crash. I really want to give a big
thank you to the guys on the team for doing such a great job to get it back
together.
"It's a long race. I'm going to have to avoid getting in an accident, and
see what I can do.
"The wind didn't affect it too badly.
"I could stand to have some more laps under my belt, but we'll get it
together. We've had good race cars all year long."
The weekend stats so far:
First Practice (Saturday, 8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.):
1. Bobby Wilson, 25.8722 seconds, 141.233 mph
3. Andrew Prendeville, 26.0532 seconds, 140.251 mph
4. J.R. Hildebrand, 26.0725 seconds, 140.148 mph
Second Practice (Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.):
1. Bobby Wilson, 25.5338 seconds, 143.104 mph
6. Andrew Prendeville, 25.9268 seconds, 140.935 mph
17. J.R. Hildebrand, 26.5418 seconds, 137.670 mph
Combined Practice Results:
1. Bobby Wilson, 25.5338, 143.104 mph
6. Andrew Prendeville, 25.9268, 140.935 mph
10. J.R. Hildebrand, 26.0725, 140.148 mph
Quals (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.):
1. Pablo Donoso, 25.0721 and 25.0861 for combined time of 50.1582, 145.699
mph
6. Andrew Prendeville, 25.5555 and 25.3905 for a combined time of 50.9460,
143.446 mph
14. J.R. Hildebrand, 26.1028 and 25.9549 for a combined 52.0577, 140.383 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.