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RLR/Andersen's Herrington Finishes 10th
Sunday at Chicagoland;
Hildebrand Ends Up Fifth in Championship
JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 7 - RLR/Andersen Racing's Daniel Herrington battled back
from the rear of the field after an early spin to finish tenth in the
SunRichGourmet.com 100 Firestone Indy Lights season finale at Chicagoland Speedway
Sunday. The Palmetto, Fla.-based team's other driver in the series, J.R.
Hildebrand, was involved in an accident with his Allied Building Products No. 25 on
lap seven of the 67-lap/100-mile race and ended up 22nd, but he still finished
fifth in the point standings in his rookie season in the IndyCar Series'
official development series.
Herrington, of Winston-Salem, N.C., started fifth in the Andersen Racing No.
5 Dallara, but he spun going into Turn 2 on the first lap. Despite the problem
he was actually very lucky, as he didn't hit the wall and even though the
bulk of the 24-car field had to avoid him, no one hit him either. Dillon
Battistini and Wade Cunningham weren't as lucky, as they had contact a little further
back in the field and were forced to retire from the race.
Due to the spin, Herrington pitted for a new right-rear Firestone Firehawk
tire. Thanks to the quick RLR/Andersen pit crew he didn't lose a lap, but he
was 22nd for the restart on lap seven instead of fifth.
Hildebrand started 19th but the Sausalito, Calif.-based driver was already
14th for that restart. His usual hard-charging drive ended abruptly at that
point, however. "It just snapped loose," he said afterwards of the accident,
which wiped out the right side of his car when he hit the outside SAFER barrier
between Turns 1 and 2 of the 1.52-mile trioval. Luckily he wasn't hurt.
That left Herrington to carry on for the team, which he did from the 19th
starting spot for the third restart on lap 13. He was sandwiched between Brent
Sherman and Cyndie Allemann for a good portion of the race, and then swapped
spots several times with Micky Gilbert. Sherman was particularly strong, as he
set the fastest lap of the race with a lap that was 3 miles per hour faster
than the one that won the pole.
Herrington had further battles with Jonny Reid, Pablo Donoso, Tom Dyer and
Robbie Pecorari, and by lap 55 he was back in the top 10. Two lap before that
he set his fastest lap of the race with a 28.4356 (192.43 miles per hour) while
battling Mike Potekhen and Reid, which was faster than his qualifying times.
He passed Gilbert for ninth on lap 58 but a couple of laps later he was back
in 12th as the pack shuffled positions. He got ninth again on lap 62 after
Dyer spun in Turn 2. He had to take evasive action shortly thereafter to avoid
two drivers who touched, but his patience was rewarded with a top-10 finish at
the end.
With a last-lap pass Arie Luyendyk Jr. recorded his first victory in 62
starts, while Raphael Matos won the Firestone Firehawk Cup points championship. He
won by 32 points, the third-closest final point margin in the series' history.
Just as the drivers' positions were shuffled in this race, the TV schedule
also was altered due to weather affecting other televised events. The latest
information had the Chicagoland Firestone Indy Lights race airing live on ESPN
Classic, not ESPN2, although it is now scheduled to be replayed on ESPN2 at
10:30 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
The broadcast of the recent Star Mazda race at Trois-Rivieres won by Andersen
Racing's Peter Dempsey also didn't air on SPEED at 11 a.m. Eastern on Sunday
as previously announced. Check speedtv.com for updates.
RLR/Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. The team
is the official development team of Hilliard, Ohio IndyCar team Rahal
Letterman Racing.
More information on the team can be found on its Web sites at
andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
Post-race quotes follow:
Daniel Herrington: "For the start, I was going two wide because I thought
that would be OK. Someone else, I don't know who it was, wanted to go three
wide. I don't think [James] Davison saw him. The yellow car might have touched
me but I don't know that for sure. I'm just glad I walked away from it. When
I was spinning and the whole field was passing me, I was just thinking 'Don't
hit the wall!'
"We had to come in to change the right-rear tire, but luckily we didn't lose
a lap. I started passing cars again, and raced my way to the front of the
second group, and then just sort of sat there for while. When we got a train
going there wasn't much you could do to pass.
"Eventually with the help of some yellows I was able to move up some more.
Then near the end Bobby Wilson and somebody else touched, so I backed off and
probably gave away a couple spots because of that.
"My car was very loose for the first half of the race, but it got better as
the tires wore down a bit. I had a whole lot of things to deal with today
handling-wise, and I learned a lot.
"When you qualify fifth you think you can get on the podium or even win, so
when you drop back to the rear right away it's really frustrating.
"My plan was to be very patient for the first half of the race. I'm not sure
that was everyone else's plan though. I just wanted to get through the race
and gain experience, but I was racing with guys that had points on the line,
so they had a different approach."
J.R. Hildebrand: "It just snapped loose and I couldn't catch it. It happened
between Turns 1 and 2. I was on the high side, trying to pass a slower car
on the restart. Then it snapped loose, and I was trying hard not to hit the
other car and I just ran out of room. It tore up the right side of the car.
"I'd like to thank the team for all their hard work this year, and to Allied
for coming out and getting involved."
John Andersen: (Team co-owner and Firestone Indy Lights team manager): "Our
entire team improved from last year. We've established ourselves as one of
the top-tier teams in this series, and we'll work hard to continue to improve.
"We're a little disappointed with our results here, but finishing fifth in
the championship was a huge improvement. Last year our top car was 13th at the
end of the year. We also won our first race in this series this year.
"J.R. did a great job in his rookie season. I think as a team we did a good
job for our sponsor, Allied.
"We'll learn from our mistakes and hopefully move up even higher next year."
Sunday's stats:
Race:
1. Arie Luyendyk Jr.
2. Ana Beatriz
3. Raphael Matos
10. Daniel Herrington
22. J.R. Hildebrand
Unofficial Top 10 Points:
1. Raphael Matos, 510
2. Richard Antinucci, 478
3. Ana Beatriz, 449
4. Arie Luyendyk Jr., 428
5. J.R. Hildebrand, 409
6. Dillon Battistini, 385
7. Pablo Donoso, 360
8. Logan Gomez, 358
9. James Davison, 333
10. Sean Guthrie, 322.
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.