For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Cell: (317) 201-0729
Romancini Qualifies Fourth, Jackson 15th
For RLR/Andersen Racing Saturday at Mid-Ohio
LEXINGTON, Ohio, Aug. 8 - With about a dozen guests and employees of Allied
Interior Products from Ohio and Michigan among the crowd looking on,
RLR/Andersen Racing's Mario Romancini qualified fourth on Saturday at the Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course for Sunday's Mid-Ohio 100 Firestone Indy Lights race.
In addition to Allied Interior Products, Romancini's No. 5 is sponsored by
Andersen Racing, Revita Recycling, Win Brazil Marketing and Lafarge North
America.
The fastest time set by the driver from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Miami was a
1:15.1639 for an average speed of 108.148 miles per hour. It resulted in his
third-best starting spot to date and the team's best qualifying result on
road or street courses so far this year.
His teammate, Ali Jackson of Moyvalley, Country Kildare, Ireland, was
originally 12th but ended up 15th in the No. 9 sponsored by the Moyvalley Golf
and Hotel Resort and Allied Interior Products. His official qualifying time
in the 45-minute session was a 1:16.9498 for an average speed of 105.638 mph
on his 14th of 18 laps. He ran a 1:16.4506 (106.327 mph) on his 18th and
final lap, but that lap was thrown out after he nosed into a tire wall in Turn
8 while he was trying to get the most speed out of his car as possible on
what would have been his 19th trip around the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road
course.
This is the first race for both drivers at Mid-Ohio, which is a very
challenging, 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course. The session was complicated further
by changing weather conditions, because the track was wet at the start of
the session, dried off in the middle and was completely dry at the end.
Both RLR/Andersen Racing cars started on rain Firestone Firehawks and then
changed to slicks later. Romancini waited a bit in the pits for the track
to improve, and did a total of 11 laps on slicks.
With eight minutes remaining in the session he was 14th, but he moved up to
sixth with six minutes left. He was fifth with three minutes to go, and
fourth at the end.
James Davison got the pole, while James Hinchcliffe will start second.
Points leader J.R. Hildebrand will line up beside Romancini in Row 2.
Romancini's car is sporting a decal for Give Kids the World Village in
Kissimmee, Fla., which it will continue to do throughout the rest of the year.
Jackson's car promotes another not-for-profit group, International Child Care
Ministries. Both cars also promote the IRL Ministry.
There's a 20-minute warm-up at 8 a.m. tomorrow, followed by the
40-lap/90.32-mile race at 10:15 a.m. Live timing and scoring is planned for
indycar.com.
The race is slated to be broadcast at 4 p.m. Monday on VERSUS. All times
are Eastern.
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.
Post qualifying quotes:
Mario Romancini: I'm very happy. It's the best we've done so far on a road
course. The car was getting better and better every lap. The balance of
the car was very good. The track was drying out throughout the session, and
whoever made a fast lap near the end was going to do well. The track was
totally dry at the end.
"I think we have a strong car for the race."
Ali Jackson: "It's the first time that I've ever been here so it's the
first time I've driven here in the dry or the wet, so it's not too bad. My first
laps here were this morning in practice, so I'm still learning the track.
My car had a small bit of push in qualifying, but the balance was pretty
good."
Saturday's stats:
Practice (8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.):
1. James Davison, 1:13.7274, 110.255 mph, lap 17 of 22
6. Mario Romancini, 1:14.6781, 108.851 mph, lap 18 of 22
15. Ali Jackson, 1:15.8418, 107.181 mph, lap 18 of 23
Qualifying (11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.):
1. James Davison, 1:14.8673, 108.576 mph, lap 14 of 15
4. Mario Romancini, 1:15.1639, 108.148 mph, lap 17 of 17
15. Ali Jackson, 1:16.9498, 105.638 mph, lap 14 of 18
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 and andersenracepark.com.