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Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
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RLR/Andersen Racing
To Move to RLR's Headquarters;
Preston, Reggio Named
To Top Engineering Positions
PALMETTO, Fla., Oct. 14 - The latest news from RLR/Andersen Racing's
Firestone Indy Lights team features a new location, a new lead engineer and a
promotion.
The Palmetto, Fla.-based team announced today that its two-car Firestone Indy
Lights team will relocate to Rahal Letterman Racing's (RLR) IndyCar
headquarters in Hilliard, Ohio on or about Dec. 1.
Andersen Racing is the official development team of RLR. Its Firestone Indy
Lights team worked out of RLR's shop in suburban Columbus, Ohio this summer to
save travel costs, but will be based there full-time in 2009.
Andersen Racing's Star Mazda team will continue to operate from the team's
test track, Andersen RacePark in Palmetto, Fla. Andersen Racing has already won
the 2008 team championship in that series, while two of its drivers, Peter
Dempsey and Tom Gladdis, will go for its driver championship on Saturday at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Andersen Racing also won the team and
driver titles this year in the F2000 Championship Series, earning that driver
championship with Anders Krohn.
Due to the expansion of the Firestone Indy Lights schedule in 2009 and
RLR/Andersen's relocation to Ohio, Dominic and Nicholas Cape are stepping down as
the team's Firestone Indy Lights engineers. Taking over those positions are
veteran engineer Walter Preston assisted by Mike Reggio, who is being promoted
from the position of Andersen Racing's Star Mazda director of engineering.
The team's off-season testing program begins soon. Interested drivers are
asked to contact team co-owner Dan Andersen at dandersen@andersenracingteam.com
or (941) 723-3900 for more information.
"Following two very successful seasons in Firestone Indy Lights, we have
decided to significantly advance our program in that series by permanently
relocating it to RLR's headquarters," Andersen explained. "We will have access
to all areas. Our cars will be worked on in bays adjacent to RLR's IndyCar
operation, and our engineers will be located within RLR's engineering department.
We expect that this immersion of our operation into RLR's will provide us
with the boost to our program that is required to move us from race winners to
championship winners.
"We thank the Cape brothers for establishing our Firestone Indy Lights
program in a very strong way in just two short years, and we wish them all the best
as they pursue other opportunities in motorsports," Andersen added. "We're
thrilled that we were able to find someone with Walter Preston's experience to
join our team for 2009."
Preston steps into the top engineering spot at RLR/Andersen Racing with 36
years of experience in the sport. A resident of Granville, Ohio, he has worked
with various open-wheel cars all the way up to IndyCar and the Indy 500.
"Walter worked with RLR on Danica Patrick's Atlantic program several years
ago," Andersen noted. "He just concluded a season engineering for Newman Wachs
Racing on the Atlantic race car of Simona De Silvestro, winning the Long Beach
round and finishing eighth in that championship."
"I'm looking forward to a new association with Dan and John Andersen, and
trying to help them move on to their next level," said Preston, who won the
Formula Atlantic championship with Chris Smith in 1992, and the two-liter Can-Am
championship with Jim Trueman in 1981. "I'm also looking forward to getting
back together with the RLR staff."
Preston enjoys working with young drivers. That should make him a perfect fit
with Andersen Racing, one of the most respected and accomplished junior
formula car teams in North America.
"This year we accomplished a lot with Simona," he said of De Silvestro, 20,
who won at Long Beach after starting second and finished the year with four
top-five finishes and nine top-10s. "I also enjoyed working with Carl Skerlong
in Atlantics and Brian Cunningham in Lights, and helping to get Jeret Schroeder
into the Indy 500 in his rookie season in 1999."
In addition to Cunningham in Indy Lights, Preston worked with Robby Unser at
Team Medlin in 1996, and Mark Hotchkis (1995) and Eddie Lawson (1993) at
Leading Edge Motorsports while participating in that series. His IndyCar work with
both Schroeder and Roberto Guerrero came while working with Price Cobb, and
he's also done data work for Team Menard.
Preston also worked on Finlay Motorsports' Grand-Am Daytona Prototype and
Grand-Am Cup program in 2005 and 2006. He worked with the drivers who tied for
second in this year's Daytona Prototype driver point standings, GAINSCO/Bob
Stallings Racing teammates Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, when they were competing
in the Atlantic series. (Fogarty and Preston were with RLR in 2003, while
Preston worked with Gurney when he finished third in the Atlantic championship in
2002 with Dorricott Racing.) In addition to the Can-Am title with Trueman,
his sports car successes include designing successful Trans-Am and IMSA GTO
chassis for Rocketsports and McDill Racing.
Andersen Racing strives to promote both drivers and staff from within, so
Andersen is especially pleased that Reggio will move up to the team's Firestone
Indy Lights program.
"Mike oversaw our Star Mazda and F2000 programs this year, with those two
teams winning 17 races in all," Andersen noted of Reggio, who will relocate to
the Dublin, Ohio area from his present home in Bradenton, Fla. "He has been
with Andersen Racing for the past three seasons, and will continue to provide
some oversight of our Mazda program during tests and whenever else possible,
while moving his main focus to Firestone Indy Lights."
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. RLR/Andersen
Racing finished sixth in the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights entrant point
standings, fielding cars for J.R. Hildebrand, Andrew Prendeville and Daniel Herrington
in that series this year.
For more information see andersenracingteam.com, andersenracepark.com and
indycar.com/indylights.
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 has already won the team championship for 2008 for both the
F2000 Championship Series and the Star Mazda Championship presented by
Goodyear. It finished sixth in the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights team standings.
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.