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Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
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E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Kent and Daly Get on the Podium
For Andersen Racing
In Star Mazda Season Opener
Friday at Sebring
SEBRING, Fla., March 20 - The first day of spring traditionally signals the
time when flowers start to bloom, birds start to chirp, and Andersen Racing
drivers start to record podium finishes.
Two of those drivers - Richard Kent and Conor Daly - did just that Friday at
Sebring International Raceway here in the season opener of the Star Mazda
championship presented by Goodyear.
Kent, of Clifton Reynes, England, started on the pole, led briefly, and
finished second in the 45-minute race in his No. 33 sponsored by Traka and Allied
Interior Products to lead the charge for the Palmetto, Fla.-based team.
Insiders went to see if the wheels were still on Daly's car after the race,
because he proverbially drove the wheels off his No. 22 coming from 16th to
fourth at the line after gearbox problems in qualifying. The 17-year-old from
Noblesville, Ind., one of the drivers in the MAZDASPEED motorsports driver
development program, had almost as memorable a race here as his father, Derek Daly,
did when he won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 1990 and 1991.
Although Conor Daly crossed the line in fourth place, officials advanced him to third
in the final rundown and penalized the driver originally ahead of him one
spot for blocking on the last lap. In addition to Mazda, Daly's effort is backed
by Indeck, Cytomax, College Network and Merchant Services.
Another resident of the Hoosier state, Joe D'Agostino of Brownsburg, Ind.,
started 11th and finished a solid seventh in a car carrying the logos of Classic
Mazda of Orlando, Fla., Allied Interior Products, Lafarge and Arai Helmets.
Andersen Racing's fourth driver here, Denis Navarro of Sao Paulo, Brazil, had
to start 25th in the 26-car field due to a problem with his car's suspension
in qualifying. He not only brought his car home in one piece, he improved his
position 10 spots to finish 15th for his sponsors, Navarro Medicines
Distribution and Allied Interior Products.
The top five in the race were Adam Christodoulou, Kent, Daly, Caio Lara and
Joel Miller.
Kent had clutch problems at the standing start and both Alex Ardoin and
Christodoulou got by him. On lap three Ardoin served a stop-and-go penalty for
jumping that start, which pushed Kent into second place right before a full-course
yellow waved on lap five for a car that had spun out.
Kent got the lead going into Turn 1 on the restart on lap six, but
Christodoulou got him back in Turn 10 to lead that lap. The top two spots never changed
again, although Kent hounded Christodoulou the rest of the way. One more
full-course yellow on lap 17 for Toshi Deki stopping on the track gave Kent one
more shot, but Christodoulou had learned his lesson from the earlier restart and
didn't give Kent even a tiny opportunity that time. Christodoulou had a
0.504-second margin of victory over Kent when the 45-minute time allotment ran out
with 20 laps complete.
Daly's start was the complete opposite of Kent's, as he advanced six
positions to reach the top 10 by the end of lap one. He was eighth by the end of lap
two and then settled into sixth place from laps three through 11. He got by
Jorge Goncalvez for fifth on lap 12 and Peter Dempsey for fourth on lap 19, and
then got third when the original third-place finisher was penalized.
D'Agostino dropped back two spots initially, but then started to climb back
up through the field. After a good battle with Joel Miller he was right behind
Daly in seventh place by lap eight. Miller got him back on lap 10 but
D'Agostino ran in seventh place from lap 12 until the checkered.
Navarro had his work cut out for him due to his starting spot, but he
methodically worked his way up to 15th at the end. He got that position at the
halfway point. He was 14th on laps 16 through 18, and took the checkered in 15th
position.
The next Star Mazda race is April 25 at VIRginia International Raceway in
Alton, Va. Check starmazda.com for future TV broadcast information.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. and Lafarge
North America. It is the official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing.
In addition to Star Mazda, it fields cars in karting, Formula BMW Americas and
Firestone Indy Lights.
The team's Web site is located at andersenracingteam.com. Information on the
team's 1-mile road course test track at its headquarters can be found online
at andersenracepark.com.
Post-race quotes follow:
Richard Kent: "Every time I got close to Adam [Christodoulou], I didn't have
the aero push to get by him. He drove a flawless race. He never made a
mistake, and without one there was nothing I could do.
"I had a terrible start because my clutch was binding a bit, and that put me
back to third. Alex [Ardoin] had a penalty, and then the race settled down a
bit.
"Then I had a good battle with Adam. I was able to get the lead back when I
got by Adam on one restart. But then I made a mistake and went too deep and
locked up going into the hairpin, and he got me back going into Turn 10.
"But it was a good race; Adam and I both drove cleanly. I was pushing 100
percent the whole time. I want to thank everyone at Andersen Racing, Traka and
Allied. With the pole yesterday and the second today, it was a good start to
the year."
Conor Daly: "It was a long race. I just worked my way up. I was in a pretty
good position by the first caution. Once I got by [Peter] Dempsey in Turn 1,
I did my best to get a podium. I ran into a problem with Caio Lara in Turn 7
on the last lap.
"The car was pretty good. The track changed dramatically during the race,
but our Goodyear tires held up well. I may have flat-spotted both of my front
tries, but that's because I went into turns really hard lots of times. I think
the wheels are scuffed, and there might be some damage to some of the end
plates.
"I want to thank everyone at Mazda, Andersen Racing and all my sponsors."
Joe D'Agostino: "I'm very happy with the race. I was a little rusty with my
race craft, but I didn't forget how to pedal. The whole team did a great job
and gave me a good car. There was no point to bring back a trashed race car.
"It was pretty wild. Some guys were blocking. Joel Miller was very good and
very clean to race with though. I just tried to work with Conor and come up
through the field with him, and I think we worked together well.
"It's great to be back. It's nice to find a good home in the United States
with Andersen Racing. I have to thank Classic Mazda of Orlando for their help.
Hopefully I can continue on from here."
Denis Navarro: "I had a clutch problem at the start. From then on I tried
to come through the pack, but it was difficult. There were some
inconsistencies in how some drivers reacted to overtaking cars. Some people ran you into the
grass rather than let you by.
"But I'm glad to have come up from 25th to 15th. I'm in the points, and I
can't wait for the next race at VIR."
Unofficial race results and points (Friday, 3:55 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.):
1. Adam Christodoulou, 44 points
2. Richard Kent, 41 points
3. Conor Daly, 37 points
7. Joe D'Agostino, 29 points
15. Denis Navarro, 21 points
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 90,000 employees in 76 countries, the Group posted sales of 17.6
billion Euros and net income of 1.9 billion Euros in 2007. 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.
The Lafarge Group is the only company in the construction materials sector to
be listed in the 2008 "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.
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,
which competes in the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. 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.