For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Guthrie to Join RLR/Andersen Racing
For Firestone Indy Lights Season Finale
PALMETTO, Fla., Oct. 3 - RLR/Andersen Racing is pleased to announce that
Sean Guthrie of Albuquerque, N.M. will drive its No. 9 car in the Firestone
Indy Lights season finale on Friday, Oct. 9 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in
Homestead, Fla.
Guthrie, 21, will join Mario Romancini of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Miami as
the drivers for the Palmetto, Fla.-based team's two-car effort.
Car Crafters, IZOD, Andersen Racing and Andersen RacePark will sponsor his
car. Car Crafters has been providing top-quality collision and mechanical
repairs, service and glass replacement to the Albuquerque market since 1982.
Guthrie, who has 41 Firestone Indy Lights starts dating back to 2006, is
returning to the series following a suspension after an incident during the
April 23 race at Kansas Speedway. He has three career top-five finishes and 13
top 10s in the very competitive series. He was running at the finish in 32
of his 41 starts.
"We have known and liked the Guthrie family for many years, and we're
pleased to be able to help Sean return to the series," said team co-owner John
Andersen. "He is a good driver and he's very anxious to get his racing career
back on track. Hopefully he'll be able to have a good weekend and then
build on that for 2010."
"The first word that comes to mind is 'Wow!' said Guthrie. "I was
vacuuming glass out of a car at my dad's body shop on Wednesday when I got a call
from my dad. He said 'Do you want to drive for Andersen at Homestead?'
"After a short conversation and a few hours to wrap my head around the
idea, the decision was made. I'm extremely excited to be back in the car and
can't wait to work with the great Andersen Racing crew. I have raced against
Andersen Racing in both the Star Mazda series and Firestone Indy Lights, and
they have always had a tremendous team."
Guthrie has two previous starts in Firestone Indy Lights at Homestead. He
finished 19th there in 2007 and 11th in 2008.
"Returning to Homestead is something I had been looking very forward to
after my disappointing race last year, where I went a lap down due to an issue
during the warm-up lap, and then had to pass the leader to get my lap back.
I eventually finish 11th," Guthrie added. "It was by far the best car I had
in 2008, and it was a race that I should have won.
"I'm excited to meet Mario too," Guthrie continued. "I have never met him
but have heard good things about him. I'm sure that we can learn things from
each other and work as a team to put an exclamation mark on 2009 for
Andersen Racing."
Live coverage of the 67-lap Homestead finale is planned for VERSUS and
indycar.com at 6 p.m. 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. Its karting team's new Web site
is located at andersenkarting.com.
Guthrie's Web site is at seanguthrie.com, while Car Crafters' is at
carcrafters.com.
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.