For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: 317-201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing Trains
Stars of Tomorrow
INDIANAPOLIS, May 4 - As the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens its gates to
start its traditional month of May activities, Andersen Racing is leading the
point standings in two of the three support series in which it competes, and it
has drivers in second- and third-place in the other one.
The Palmetto, Fla.-based team, which is sponsored by Allied Building Products
Corp., strives to offer the best training future Indy 500 drivers can obtain
anywhere.
Led by brothers Dan and John Andersen, the team fields cars for 11 different
drivers. It is the development team for IndyCar's Rahal Letterman Racing.
Graham Rahal was one of Andersen Racing's Star Mazda drivers in 2005.
John Andersen manages RLR/Andersen Racing's two-car Firestone Indy Lights
team. The driver of one of those cars, J.R. Hildebrand, a native of Sausalito,
Fla., is the Firestone Indy Lights point leader heading into the Freedom 100 at
IMS on Friday, May 23 with RLR/Andersen Racing's Allied Building Products No.
25. A rookie in the series, he is the only Firestone Indy Lights driver to
finish in the top 10 in every race so far this year. He won the series' most
recent event at Kansas Speedway on April 27, which was only his second
oval-track race ever.
The team's other Firestone Indy Lights driver, Andrew Prendeville of Las
Vegas, driver of the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5, finished fourth in the
Freedom 100 last year. A native of Chatham Township, N.J., he ran as high as
second in that event and set the fastest lap of the race by running even faster
than the speed that won the pole.
Hildebrand was second fastest at the Firestone Indy Lights open test at IMS
on April 11, while Prendeville was third, just 0.0550 of a second behind.
Andersen Racing drivers Anders Krohn and Jonny Baker are first and second,
respectively, in the F2000 Championship Series heading into its third and fourth
races of the year May 9-10 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. Both are rookies
in that series.
Krohn, of Sandnes, Norway, won both of the F2000 races at VIRginia
International Raceway in Alton, Va., on April 19-20. Baker, of Farnham Common,
Buckinghamshire, England, was second in both events. Each won a pole and each came
away with a new track record. Baker now holds the series' qualifying track
record, while Krohn set a new track record for fastest race lap.
Other Andersen Racing F2000 drivers who are determined to move up in the
point standings at Road Atlanta include Ricardo Vassmer of Caracas, Venezuela and
Coral Springs, Fla.; Doug Prendeville of Whippany, N.J. (Andrew's older
brother); and Scott Willard of Weston, Conn.
Andersen Racing is Van Diemen's factory team in that series.
The middle rung on Andersen Racing's development ladder is the Star Mazda
Championship presented by Goodyear, where Andersen Racing has assembled an
international roster of four drivers. One of them, Charles Hall of Sheffield,
England, finished second in the season opener at Sebring International Raceway in
Sebring, Fla., in March. Peter Dempsey of Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland,
was right behind him in third place to give Andersen Racing the majority of the
podium positions.
Andersen Racing's Tom Gladdis, who lives in Gibraltar, is fifth in the
current point standings heading into the Star Mazda race Saturday, May 17 at Miller
Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. He set the fastest race lap at the season
opener.
The team's only female driver, Juliana Gonzalez of Mexico City, Mexico, was
involved in an accident at the Star Mazda season opener but is expected to
rebound solidly in Utah.
A fifth Star Mazda driver, Valle Makela of Laitila, Finland, plans to join
the team for three races later this year.
"I really want to be leading the point standings at the end of the season
rather than in the spring, but I'm very pleased with our results so far," said
Andersen Racing co-owner Dan Andersen. "I'm very proud of everyone on our team.
I feel we have a solid roster of drivers, engineers, mechanics and support
personnel."
"I'm really looking forward to the Freedom 100," added John Andersen, the
other team co-owner. "IMS is the pinnacle of open-wheel racing, and to go there
with the series points lead is something special. Both of our drivers are very
comfortable on this track, so I look for great things from our team."
For more information, see andersenracingteam.com.
The team has a 1-mile road course at its headquarters in Palmetto, Fla.,
called Andersen RacePark. It is very popular for testing and for karting. For
more information on the track, see andersenracepark.com.
RLR/Andersen Racing personnel who will be in action at the Freedom 100 here
the week of May 19, and their places of residence, follow (headshots are posted
on andersenracingteam.com):
* Andrew Prendeville, driver of the Best Friends Animal Society No. 5: native
of Chatham Township, N.J. currently living in Las Vegas.
* J.R. Hildebrand, driver of the Allied Building Products Corp. No. 25,
native of Sausalito, Calif. currently living in Indianapolis.
* Dan Andersen, team co-owner: Green Pond, N.J.
* John Andersen, team co-owner and Firestone Indy Lights team manager:
Hamburg, N.J. (The Andersens are brothers.)
* Michelle Kish, overall team manager: Palmetto, Fla.
* Dominic Cape, chief engineer: St. Petersburg, Fla. (native of Manchester,
Bolton and Blackpool, England.)
* Nicholas Cape, engineer/assistant manager: St. Petersburg, Fla. (native of
Manchester, Bolton and Blackpool, England; the Capes are brothers.)
* Jake Ware, data acquisition: Bradenton, Fla.
* William Paul, chief mechanic on Prendeville's car: Bradenton, Fla.
* Sebastian Jubelin, second mechanic on Prendeville's car: Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
* Douglas Beaulieu, chief mechanic on Hildebrand's car: Columbus, Ohio
* Francisco Navarro, second mechanic on Hildebrand's car: St. Petersburg, Fla.
* Brandon Deagle, truck driver: St. Petersburg, Fla.
* Lee Orebaugh, spotter for Prendeville's No. 5: Dallas, Texas area.
* Jim Cooper, spotter for Prendeville's No. 5: Ninevah, Ind.
* David Rogers, spotter for Hildebrand's No. 25: Dallas, Texas.
(One additional spotter for Hildebrand will be named later.)
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, Andersen Racing's F2000 team is 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.