For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Summerton Finishes Fourth
For RLR/Andersen Racing
Sunday at Long Beach
LONG BEACH, Calif., April 19 — With a solid fourth-place finish Sunday
morning on the Long Beach street circuit, RLR/Andersen Racing's Jonathan
Summerton remains in second place in the Firestone Indy Lights driver point
standings, but he has cut Junior Strous's lead from 28 points to only three.
Summerton started fifth in the Palmetto, Fla.-based team's No. 9, which is
sponsored by Andersen Racing, Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North
America. Summerton, who will turn 21 on Tuesday, stayed in fifth place behind
Stefan Wilson until Wilson pitted with mechanical problems on lap 41 of the
45-lap event, which vaulted Summerton into fourth place.
The Kissimmee, Fla.-based driver now has a second and two fourths in his
three series appearances.
There were only two full-course yellows, both of which occurred in the
first half of the race and only took six laps. The field got very strung out on
the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street course during the race's second half, making
it hard for anyone to pass.
RLR/Andersen's Mario Romancini started 14th but was forced to retire with
only one lap complete due to a problem with the gearbox of his No. 5, which
is sponsored by Andersen Racing, Revita Recycling, Win Brazil Marketing,
Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North America. Romancini, of São Paulo,
Brazil, was able to get the car back to the pits safely. His official finishing
position was 24th.
Summerton's fastest race lap was a 1:16.4007 (92.732 miles per hour) on lap
34. It was the fifth-fastest lap turned in the race, behind the laps run by
race winner J.R. Hildebrand, Wilson, second-place finisher Richard Philippe
and third-place finisher James Hinchcliffe.
VERSUS will air its coverage of the Long Beach race, which includes in-car
footage from Summerton's car, at 4 p.m. Eastern on Monday.
The next race is coming right up next Sunday on Kansas Speedway's 1.5-mile
tri-oval in Kansas City, Kan. RLR/Andersen Racing is the defending winner of
that race with Hildebrand driving. It will be Romancini and Summerton's
first oval track race ever.
Live coverage will again be offered on indycar.com, including practice at 9
a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Saturday, qualifying at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and the
67-lap, 100-mile race at high noon on Sunday. All times are local. TV coverage
of that race is scheduled to air at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, April 27
on VERSUS.
For more information on the team, which is sponsored by Allied Interior
Products and Lafarge North America and offers programs in karting, Formula BMW
and Star Mazda in addition to Firestone Indy Lights, see its Web site at
andersenracingteam.com. For more information on its 1-mile road course test
track in Palmetto, Fla., see andersenracepark.com.
Post-race quotes follow:
Jonathan Summerton: “We didn't have the fastest car today. I think we were
fourth- or fifth-quickest. The car finished where it should have. We need
to do some development work for our street-course set-up.
“Stefan [Wilson]'s car was faster than ours was. Towards the end, we both
had problems with the lapped car that was in front of us. Even though he was
slower than we were, he still held us up.
“This is a track where you finish where you qualify, basically. It's not
really a passing track. So to come out of it a position up from where you
started, we have to be OK with that.
“Kansas will be my first oval race ever. Hopefully we will have a good car
there. The team won there last year.
“It's too early to get excited about the championship, but it's good to be
in contention. It's good for sponsorship. But consistent good results are
what pays off in the end.”
Mario Romancini: “It was something with the gearbox. It happened on the ba
ckstraight. It was a shame, because the car was good. I think I could have
been in the top eight today, but unfortunately I didn't score any points at
all so it hurts me in the championship. It's sad.
“Let's see what happens in Kansas. I'm looking forward to my first oval
race because we had a good oval test at Homestead. Let's hope we can finish
there and get a good position in the championship.”
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 the Lafarge Group:
The Lafarge Group is the world leader in building materials, with
top-ranking positions in all of its businesses: cement, aggregates and concrete, and
gypsum. With 83,000 employees in 78 countries, the Group posted sales of
19.0 billion Euros in 2008.
Lafarge North America Inc. (“Lafarge North America” or "Lafarge"), a
Lafarge Group company, is the largest diversified supplier of construction
materials in the United States and Canada.
In 2009 and for the fifth year in a row, the Lafarge Group was listed in
the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World.” With the
world's leading building materials research facility, the Lafarge Group places
innovation at the heart of its priorities, working for sustainable
construction and architectural creativity.
For more information about Lafarge North America, go to lafarge-na.com or
contact
Louise Muth, director of external communications, at (703) 480-3707.
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, four-step program
utilizing multiple entries in four different platforms: karting, Formula BMW
Americas, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights (televised on VERSUS). In 2008 it
fielded multiple entries in 42 races in 18 states and provinces at some of
the best facilities on the continent, including the famed Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
Andersen Racing won the team championship for 2008 for both the F2000
Championship Series presented by Hoosier Racing Tire and the Star Mazda
Championship presented by Goodyear. Two of its drivers finished first and second in
the F2000 driver point standings, while another was sixth. Three of its Star
Mazda drivers placed third, fifth and sixth in that series' driver
standings. RLR/Andersen Racing finished sixth in the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights team
standings, while one of its drivers placed fifth in that series' driver
point standings.
Andersen Racing's principals, brothers 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. and Lafarge
North America. It is the official development team of Rahal Letterman
Racing. The team is headquartered at Andersen RacePark, an 18-acre facility in
Palmetto, Fla. that includes a 1-mile road course test track. For more
information see andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.