For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
RLR/Andersen's Herrington Qualifies Fifth
While Hildebrand Will Start 19th
Sunday at Chicagoland
JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 6 - In preparation for the Firestone Indy Lights season
finale at Chicagoland Speedway that will be televised live on ESPN2 tomorrow at
noon Eastern time, RLR/Andersen Racing's Daniel Herrington and J.R.
Hildebrand qualified fifth and 19th, respectively, Saturday afternoon on the 1.52-mile
trioval.
Tomorrow's 67-lap/100-mile race, called the SunRichGourmet.com 100, is slated
to start at 11 a.m. Central time Sunday, 30 minutes earlier than originally
scheduled. It supports the sold-out PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300
IndyCar Series season finale, which will be broadcast live on ABC at 2:30 p.m.
Eastern time.
Each of the 24 drivers' combined time in two laps under the clock determined
his or her qualifying time in SWE Qualifying. Herrington went out ninth and
recorded two laps in 28.9764 and 29.0376 for a combined time of 58.0140 and an
average speed of 188.644 miles per hour to nail down fifth place with the
Andersen Racing No. 5 Dallara. He'll start on the inside of Row 3 beside James
Davison.
Hildebrand had a disappointing qualifying result with the Allied Building
Products No. 25. Although he was sixth in both practice sessions, he ended up
19th in qualifying with two laps in 29.3230 and 29.3493 for a combined time of
58.6723 (186.528 mph). The team was hard at work at press time trying to
determine the cause of the problem and then fix it before Hildebrand lines up on the
inside of Row 10 beside Brandon Wagner for the start of Sunday's race.
Both Hildebrand, of Sausalito, Calif., and Herrington, of Winston-Salem,
N.C., are making their first starts here. Hildebrand is just eight points out of
third place in the championship, but the driver who holds that position going
into the season finale, Ana Beatriz, qualified second. The championship is
between the polesitter, Raphael Matos (28.7183 and 28.8060 for a combined time
of 57.5243 or 190.250 mph), and Richard Antinucci, who will start ninth.
Herrington is not running for the championship, as he's just competing in
half of the 16 races being held this year.
Qualifying was held under partly cloudy conditions, a temperature of 72
degrees Fahrenheit and an 8 mph breeze from the west-southwest.
RLR/Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. The
Palmetto, Fla.-based team is the official development team of Hilliard, Ohio
IndyCar team Rahal Letterman Racing.
In its efforts to provide the best training available for future open-wheel
stars, Andersen Racing also fields multiple entries in two other series. TV
viewers can watch Andersen Racing's Peter Dempsey win the recent Star Mazda race
at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec at 11 a.m. Eastern time Sunday on SPEED before
switching to the live Firestone Indy Lights coverage on ESPN2 at noon.
The team also competes in the F2000 Championship. Andersen Racing's Anders
Krohn has already clinched that title. The team is the official factory team
for Van Diemen in that series.
More information on the team can be found on its Web sites at
andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
Daniel Herrington: "So far, so good. I've never been here before, and
Kentucky was my first oval-track Firestone Indy Lights race. The only oval I did
before that was Milwaukee in Star Mazda.
"We've been improving all the time. This track is quite a bit different than
Kentucky. The transitions in the turns are easier. Qualifying was pretty
easy too. At Kentucky I had to acclimate myself a lot. I did a bunch of
side-by-side action in practice this morning to get used to this. It scared my team,
but it'll help tomorrow in the race.
"The breeze wasn't really a factor. I thought it would affect me more than
it did, but with the direction it was blowing it was OK.
"I was on the limiter a bit going into Turn 1, but other than that everything
was good."
J.R. Hildebrand: "Something is wrong, but I have no idea what. The car felt
fine; it was just too slow. We'll have to examine it and try to find out
what's wrong. Right now I have no idea what it could be, but something is
definitely wrong."
The stats so far:
First Practice (Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.):
1. Arie Luyendyk Jr., 28.1580, 194.332 mph
6. J.R. Hildebrand, 28.3869, 192.765 mph
13. Daniel Herrington, 28.4913, 192.059 mph
Second Practice (Saturday, 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.):
1. Ana Beatriz, 28.5009, 191.994 mph
4. Daniel Herrington, 28.5464, 191.688 mph
6. J.R. Hildebrand, 28.5552, 191.629 mph
Note: All drivers' first practice session times were fastest for combined
practice report.
SWE Race Car Parts Qualifying (Saturday, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.; combined time of
two laps):
1. Raphael Matos, 28.7183 and 28.8060 for combined time of 57.5243, 190.250
mph
5. Daniel Herrington, 28.9764, 29.0376 for combined time of 58.0140, 188.644
mph
19. J.R. Hildebrand, 29.3230, 29.3493 for combined time of 58.6723, 186.528
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.