For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Dempsey Powers Away
To a 14.6-Second Victory Sunday in New Jersey
And Pads His Lead in Star Mazda Championship
MILLVILLE, N.J., Sept. 16 - With a whopping 14.659-second victory in the
second half of a doubleheader at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday, Andersen
Racing's Peter Dempsey reaffirmed his points lead in the Star Mazda
Championship presented by Goodyear with just two races remaining.
When the complete points earned are calculated, Dempsey now leads Joel Miller
by five points, 354 to 349. The best 11 of each driver's 12 races count for
the championship, however. With the one drop Dempsey is again on top, leading
John Edwards by three points, 337 to 334. The championship will come down to
the last race, as unofficially the current top seven still have a shot. That
includes two other Andersen Racing drivers: Charles Hall and Tom Gladdis.
To date Dempsey has won more races than any other driver in the series, as
he's been triumphant four times. Edwards has three victories. Andersen
Racing's Hall and Gladdis have one victory each, as does Miller.
Andersen Racing, which was won six of the 10 races run so far this year,
leads the team point standings by 77 points over JDC Motorsports, 318 to 241.
Dempsey, of Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland, started third Sunday in his No.
21, which is sponsored by LotusWorks, Center Jewellers.ie, Quayside.ie,
Motorsport Ireland, Allied Interior Products and Trojan Complete IT Solutions. He
blasted by Miller, who started second, going into Turn 1 on the first lap, and
then zeroed in on the polesitter, Edwards.
His chance came on lap 23 when a lapped car spun in front of Edwards, forcing
him to take evasive action. Dempsey avoided them both and took the lead, and
was never again headed.
Dempsey enjoyed a huge advantage over the second-place driver, Alex Ardoin,
at the checkered flag on lap 32, thoroughly to the delight of the guests of
Allied Interior Products on hand as well as his father, Cliff, who surprised his
son by flying in from Ireland to attend the doubleheader.
Edwards finished third and Miller fourth. Andersen Racing's Hall, of
Sheffield, England, rounded out the top five with the Palmetto, Fla.-based team's No.
77, which is sponsored by Blimpie, AccentBanking.com, Pardoes Solicitors and
Allied Interior Products.
Team and series newcomer Valle Makela of Laitila, Finland finished seventh on
Sunday with the No. 31, which carried the colors of Amitec and Allied
Building Products. The team's fourth driver here, Tom Gladdis of the Isle of Wight
and Gibraltar, spun on the first lap after contact with Billy Goshen and had to
pit for the radiator of his Marrache & Co. No. 5 to be cleaned of debris. He
rejoined the field in last place but regrouped to place 13th in the 23-car
field.
Now only two races remain: Oct. 3 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. and Oct.
18 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.
The SPEED TV schedule shows Dempsey's Aug. 23 victory at Mosport airing at 2
p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27. Saturday's race at New Jersey is slated to be
shown at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5, while Sunday's race is scheduled to be
broadcast at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12. The Road Atlanta race is scheduled to air at
12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. 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. It is the
official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. For more information see
andersenracingteam.com, andersenracepark.com and starmazda.com.
Post-race quotes follow:
Peter Dempsey: "I got a good start and got past Miller going into Turn 1. I
was just hanging on to Edwards as much as I could, waiting to see if anything
happened. Then Edwards got some bad luck with traffic that made him spin, and
I was there to pick up the pieces. I saw the guys drop back in my mirrors
and I just made sure that I remained focused on the job in hand.
"I am delighted to pick up the team's sixth and my fourth win of the year.
It was great to do it with all the people from Allied there. We can't forget
the series sponsors, Mazda and Goodyear, either. I must say a huge thank you to
Anthony Murray for all the hard work he has put in for me recently. Also my
dad, who came over from Ireland, which I was not expecting! I'm really happy
for both of them; it's fantastic!"
Charles Hall: "Today was a big improvement from Saturday, as we made big
changes overnight. I think I could have a got a little more out of the car in
qualifying, but I pushed hard in the race and was content with fifth after what
was a difficult weekend. We need to do some more work and find some more
speed. I am really looking forward to Atlanta; it'll be a new weekend and a fresh
start."
Valle Makela: "I did not get the best start and I dropped down to sixth.
Midway through the race my tires started to really struggle in the heat and I was
just hanging on at the end. I would like to thank the team for two very
solid top 10s. I am looking forward to the future."
Tom Gladdis: "Goshen and I touched going into the first corner and I ran wide
and picked up a lot of grass in the radiators, so had I had to pit. I came
out 30 seconds behind last place, and got back up to 12th with the
fourth-fastest lap, so the car was good; it's just a bit of a shame I couldn't put it to
full use. These things happen, but hopefully I can get back to the sharp end
in Atlanta. I would like to thank Mike Reggio, Dave DeMarchi and the rest of
the team for all their hard work."
Sunday's stats:
Qualifying for Round 10 (Sunday, 9:20 a.m. to 10:05 a.m.):
1. John Edwards, 1:15.167, 104.264 mph
3. Peter Dempsey, 1:15.340, 104.024 mph
5. Valle Makela, 1:16.182, 102.875 mph
6. Charles Hall, 1:16.184, 102.872 mph
7. Tom Gladdis, 1:16.298, 102.718 mph
Round 10 (Sunday, 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.; 32 laps in 41:23.080):
1. Peter Dempsey
5. Charles Hall
7. Valle Makela
13. Tom Gladdis
Top 10 in Points with 0 Drops:
1. Peter Dempsey, 354
2. Joel Miller, 349
3. John Edwards, 334
4. Alex Ardoin, 327
5. Charles Hall, 325
6. Tom Gladdis, 305
7. Billy Goshen, 283
8. Kristy Kester, 255
9. Taylor Hacquard, 250
10. Ernesto Otero, 243
Top 10 in Points with 1 Drop:
1. Peter Dempsey, 337
2. John Edwards, 334
3. Joel Miller, 329
4. Alex Ardoin, 311
5. Charles Hall, 309
6. Tom Gladdis, 305
7. Billy Goshen, 264
8. Kristy Kester, 235
9. Ernesto Otero, 233
Taylor Hacquard, 233
Team Points:
1. Andersen Racing, 318
2. JDC Motorsports, 241
3. Mundill, 213
4. World Speed Motorsports, 154
5. Kester Racing, 147
Goshen Motorsports, 147
7. Mitchell Motorsports, 71
8. Team Tomlin, 7.
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.