For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Three Andersen Racing Cars Are in the Top Four
After Star Mazda Qualifying Thursday
At Road Atlanta
BRASELTON, Ga., Sept. 24 - Oil, not water, complicated qualifications for
the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear Thursday afternoon at Road
Atlanta, but Andersen Racing drivers still nabbed three of the top four
spots in the starting line-up for tomorrow's 45-minute race that is scheduled to
begin at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.
The session was held under sunny skies instead of the heavy rains that have
plagued Atlanta recently, but oil dropped by one of the competitors' cars
shortened the top half of the field's qualifying session from 23 minutes to
only 10. That put an end to the usual qualifying strategies, as the drivers
and teams had to go as fast as possible as quickly as possible.
Peter Dempsey, who has been the driver to beat in practice, wound up on the
pole, but Andersen Racing's Conor Daly, Joel Miller and Richard Kent were
second, third and fourth, respectively. A fourth Andersen Racing driver,
Denis Navarro, who had never even seen the track before Tuesday's test
sessions, will start 14th in the 20-car field.
Daly, of Noblesville, Ind., was just 0.048 of a second off Dempsey's
qualifying time to earn a spot on the front row for his No. 22, which is sponsored
by MAZDASPEED Motorsports, Indeck, Cytomax, College Network and Merchant
Services.
Miller, of Hesperia, Calif., will be right behind Dempsey for the standing
start with his No. 2, which advertises Fader Higher Productions, eSoles
Custom Footbeds, Doug Mockett & Co., Burns Truck & Trailer and Brazos Bend
Energy Services.
Kent, of Clifton Reynes, England, will be on the outside of the
all-Andersen Row 2 in his No. 33, which is sponsored by Traka and Allied Interior
Products.
Navarro, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, will be on the outside of Row 7 in his No.
21, which promotes Navarro Medicines Distribution and Allied Interior
Products, for the standing start.
Kent and Daly finished first and second in the series' most recent race.
Daly is third and Miller is fourth in the point standings going into this
event, the next-to-last race of the 2009 season. Kent is sixth and Navarro is
11th. Daly, Miller and Kent are all still in the running for the driver
championship.
Allied Building Products Corp. and Lafarge North America sponsor Andersen
Racing, the development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. The team's Web site
is located at andersenracingteam.com. Information on the team's 1-mile road
course test track at its headquarters in Palmetto, Fla. can be found online
at andersenracepark.com. Information on its karting program can be found at
andersenkarting.com.
The series' Web site, which will have a link to live timing and scoring, is
at starmazda.com.
Post-qualifying quotes follow:
Conor Daly: "It was weird how short it was. I was hoping for more time,
but once we went out I just focused on going as fast as possible as quickly
as possible. Our car is really comfortable. It's really good down the
straightaways. I think we can get Peter tomorrow."
Joel Miller: "We've gone faster in terms of position every session. I had
a good qualifying session; I just got nipped at the end. Two things
happened on the last lap that made me lift. But I'll start third and go from
there. I'm confident we have a good car for the race."
Richard Kent: "We made some changes in qualifying that weren't the right
way to go, but we're in the right area. I'm confident that we have a fast car
for tomorrow's race. It's sunny now, but there is a chance of thunderstorms
for tomorrow."
Denis Navarro: "This is my first time here; I didn't get to test here.
The first time I was on the track was Tuesday. But I like the track; it is
very nice.
"We had a little problem with the fuel pump. We are working on it, and we
should be fine tomorrow."
The event's stats so far follow:
Test Session 1 (Tuesday, 10:20 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:20.492, 113.601 mph, lap 10
2. Conor Daly, 1:20.699, 113.310 mph, lap 13
3. Richard Kent, 1:20.886, 113.048 mph, lap 13
5. Joel Miller, 1:21.484, 112.218, lap 14
8. Denis Navarro, 1:21.592, 112.070 mph, lap 14
Test Session 2 (Tuesday, 3:05 p.m. to 3:40 p.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:20.344, 113.811 mph, lap 14
3. Richard Kent, 1:20.388, 113.748 mph, lap 16
4. Conor Daly, 1:20.564, 113.500 mph, lap 17
5. Joel Miller, 1:20.634, 113.401 mph, lap 5
16. Denis Navarro, 1:23.135, 109.990 mph, lap 1
Practice Session 1 (Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:19.538, 114.964 mph, lap 10
2. Conor Daly, 1:19.765, 114.637 mph, lap 16
4. Joel Miller, 1:19.994, 114.309 mph, lap 15
5. Richard Kent, 1:20.105, 114.150 mph, lap 10
13. Denis Navarro, 1:20.826, 113.132, lap 5
Practice Session 2 (Thursday, 8:35 a.m. to 9:05 a.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:19.438, 115.109 mph, lap 9
2. Richard Kent, 1:19.810, 114.572 mph, lap 8
3. Joel Miller, 1:19.815, 114.565 mph, lap 17
4. Conor Daly, 1:19.936, 114.392 mph, lap 11
12. Denis Navarro, 1:20.536, 113.539 mph, lap 7
Qualifying (Thursday, 2:20 p.m. to 3:05 p.m.):
1. Peter Dempsey, 1:19.584, 114.897 mph, lap 6 of 6
2. Conor Daly, 1:19.632, 114.828 mph, lap 4 of 6
3. Joel Miller, 1:19.948, 114.374 mph, lap 4 of 7
4. Richard Kent, 1:20.229, 113.974 mph, lap 6 of 7
14. Denis Navarro, 1:21.271, 112.512 mph, lap 4 of 13
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.