For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
RLR/Andersen's Drivers to Start
Eighth and 18th Sunday at Infineon
SONOMA, Calif., Aug. 22 - RLR/Andersen Racing's Mario Romancini qualified
eighth while his teammate, Ali Jackson, will start 18th in Sunday's Carneros
100 Firestone Indy Lights race at Infineon Raceway.
Romancini, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded his best lap on his final circuit
during the 40-minute qualifying session Saturday afternoon when he was
timed in 1:23.8780 for an average speed of 98.844 miles per hour for the
12-turn, 2.303-mile road course. His No. 5, which is sponsored by Andersen Racing,
Revita Recycling, Win Brazil Marketing, Allied Interior Products and
Lafarge North America, will start on the outside of Row 4 beside a car driven by
Richard Philippe when the 40-lap/92-mile, 19-car race gets the green flag at
11:15 a.m. local time (2:15 p.m. Eastern) tomorrow.
Jackson, of Moyvalley, County Kildare, Ireland, will start the race on the
outside of Row 9 beside Juan Pablo Garcia. His qualifying time, which was
set on his 13th of 19 laps, was 1:25.0625 for an average speed of 97.467 mph.
His No. 9 is sponsored by the Moyvalley Golf and Hotel Resort and Allied
Interior Products.
Less than a second separated the top 10 cars.
Richard Antinucci came from seventh to win here in 2007, but historically
this event has very few lead changes. In the five years since the series has
held seven previous races here, there has never been more than one lead
change during a race. That happened twice, while there were no lead changes in
five other races.
Both of the RLR/Andersen Racing drivers are rookies in this series, and
both had only 45 minutes of practice on Saturday morning prior to the
qualifying session. They both shaved about a second off their practice times in
qualifications.
Romancini goes into this race sixth in the point standings. Jackson, who
did not compete in all the events, is 16th.
Point leader J.R. Hildebrand won the pole with a time of 1:23.0361 (99.846
mph), which was not a record.
There is a half-hour warm-up session at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow before the race
starts at 11:15 a.m.
VERSUS's telecast of the race is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern time on
Monday.
After Sunday's race only two more events remain in 2009: Aug. 29 at
Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., and Oct. 9 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in
Homestead, Fla.
More information on the series can be found at indycar.com/pro.
For more information on Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied
Interior Products and Lafarge North America and offers programs in karting 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. Its karting team's new Web site
is located at andersenkarting.com.
Saturday's stats:
Practice (9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.):
1. J.R. Hildebrand, 1:23.5781, 99.198 mph, lap 13 of 16.
8. Mario Romancini, 1:24.8643, 97.695 mph, lap 12 of 15.
18. Ali Jackson, 1:26.2006, 96.180 mph, lap 15 of 16.
Qualifications (1:30 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.):
1. J.R. Hildebrand, 1:23.0361, 99.846 mph, lap 17 of 18.
8. Mario Romancini, 1:23.8780, 98.844 mph, lap 19 of 19.
18. Ali Jackson, 1:25.0625, 97.467 mph, lap 13 of 19.
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 program utilizing multiple
entries in three different platforms: karting, 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, andersenracepark.com and andersenkarting.com.