For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Dempsey
Sets New Track Record in Winning
Star Mazda Pole Thursday at Road Atlanta
BRASELTON, Ga., Oct. 2 - With eight family members and friends from Ireland
on hand to cheer him on, Andersen Racing's Peter Dempsey set a new track record
Thursday morning at Road Atlanta in winning the pole for Friday's Round 11 of
the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear.
Dempsey's second pole of the season was worth one more point for him in the
championship. With four victories he leads the current driver and Rookie of
the Year standings, while his Palmetto, Fla.-based team has already clinched the
team championship.
His new record is a 1:18.328 (116.740 miles per hour) for the 2.540-mile road
course, breaking Scott Jenkins' 1:18.640 set in 2005.
Dempsey, of Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland, will lead a field of 22 at the
standing start at 4:30 p.m. Friday in his No. 21, which is sponsored by
Quayside.ie, LotusWorks, Center Jewellers.ie, Motorsport Ireland, Allied Interior
Products and Trojan Complete IT Solutions. The race supports Saturday's Petit
Le Mans Powered by the Totally New Mazda 6, one of the premier events in the
American Le Mans Series.
Three other Andersen Racing drivers will start a little further back: Valle
Makela of Laitila, Finland will start fifth; Tom Gladdis of the Isle of Wight
and Gibraltar qualified seventh; and Charles Hall of Sheffield, England will
start eighth.
Makela, who is sponsored by Amitec and Allied Building Products, spun in
qualifying and didn't get to do many laps in the session. Gladdis's Marrache &
Co. No. 5 suffered a cracked bell housing and damage to both left-side corners
when it impacted a tire barrier in Turn 6. Despite an engine change Hall is
still searching for more speed out of his No. 77, which carries the colors of
Blimpie, AccentBanking.com, Pardoes Solicitors and Allied Interior Products.
Star Mazda races are televised on SPEED. This Sunday at 2 p.m. the Sept. 13
race at New Jersey Motorsports Park is slated to air, while Dempsey's victory
at the same track on Sept. 14 is scheduled to be broadcast at 1 p.m. on Sunday,
Oct. 12. Friday's Road Atlanta race is scheduled to air at 12:30 p.m. on
Saturday, Oct. 18. The driver championship will come down to the season finale
Oct. 18 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Laguna Seca's TV time
slot is 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8. All times are Eastern and subject to
change; please see speedtv.com for updates.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. In addition to
being the top Star Mazda team in 2008, it also won the 2008 F2000
Championship and finished sixth in the Firestone Indy Lights series. It is the official
development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. For more information see
andersenracingteam.com, andersenracepark.com and starmazda.com.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
Peter Dempsey: "My fastest lap was lap 12. I did a 1:18.39 before that and I
knew there was more left in the car, so then I did a 1:18.32, which was
three-tenths faster than the track record. There's still more there too, but I had
the pole and the new record so I didn't want to take any chances. The car was
perfect, and hopefully it'll continue to be perfect for the race.
"I want to thank Quayside.ie, LotusWorks, Center Jewellers.ie, Motorsport
Ireland, Allied Interior Products, Trojan Complete IT Solutions and of course the
team, Mazda and Goodyear.
"I also want to thank my family and friends for coming. This is my mom's
first time at one of my races this year, and it's great to be able to put on a
good show."
Valle Makela: "Qualifying wasn't too good for me. I don't know why; maybe I
was trying to push too hard. I had a little bit of understeer in Turn 5; that
was probably the main problem. Then I spun in Turn 3; there was a yellow for
oil on the track but I wanted to do a good time on that lap so I chanced it,
and I spun and the front wing hit the wall. I ended up only doing a few laps
in the session because of that. But I think I'll have a good car for the race."
Tom Gladdis: "It happened in Turn 6. I got loose on entry. I got on the
grass, and the grass was wet, and it put me into a tire barrier. The car isn't
too bad. It's a shame because I had a lot more to get out of the car. So I'm
disappointed, but the team will work hard to get it fixed."
Charles Hall: "I'm very disappointed we didn't do better. The car feels good
and I'm able to do consistent laps. We put in a new engine. The car is easy
to drive; it's just not quick. We're all trying to figure out what the
problem is, but right now we just don't know."
The stats so far:
Test Session 1 (Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 8:25 a.m.):
1. Valle Makela, 1:19.493, 115.029 mph
3. Charles Hall, 1:19.862, 114.498 mph
4. Tom Gladdis, 1:20.325, 113.838 mph
5. Peter Dempsey, 1:20.464, 113.641 mph
Test Session 1 (Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 11:25 a.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:18.793, 116.051 mph
3. Tom Gladdis, 1:19.801, 114.585 mph
6. Valle Makela, 1:19.963, 114.353 mph
8. Charles Hall, 1:20.196, 114.021 mph
Test Session 3 (Tuesday, 3 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.):
1. Joel Miller, 1:19.310, 115.294 mph
2. Valle Makela, 1:19.387, 115.183 mph
3. Peter Dempsey, 1:19.398, 115.167 mph
6. Charles Hall, 1:20.009, 114.287 mph
8. Tom Gladdis, 1:20.083, 114.182 mph
Practice 1 (Wednesday, 8:40 a.m. to 9:25 a.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:19.254, 115.376 mph
3. Charles Hall, 1:19.581, 114.902 mph
5. Valle Makela, 1:19.874, 114.480 mph
6. Tom Gladdis, 1:20.031, 114.256 mph
Practice 2 (Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:18.496, 116.490 mph
4. Valle Makela, 1:18.926, 115.855 mph
5. Tom Gladdis, 1:18.972, 115.788 mph
7. Charles Hall, 1:19.322, 115.277 mph
Qualifying for Round 11 (Thursday, 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:18.328, 116.740 mph*
5. Valle Makela, 1:19.098, 115.603 mph
7. Tom Gladdis, 1:19.302, 115.306 mph
8. Charles Hall, 1:19.316, 115.286 mph
* New track record, breaking Scott Jenkins' 1:18.640 set in 2005.
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.