For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
White Tests Firestone Indy Lights Car
With RLR/Andersen Racing at Mid-Ohio
PALMETTO, Fla., Sept. 26 - The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season finale is
still two weeks away, but RLR/Andersen Racing recently conducted a test at
the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for Ron White, a driver who
hopes to raise enough funding to compete in that series next year.
White, 28, of San Jose, Calif., successfully completed approximately 200
miles of testing on Mid-Ohio's 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in one of the
Palmetto, Fla.-based team's Firestone Indy Lights cars. It was White's
first full-day road-course test in a Firestone Indy Lights car, although he
passed the series' oval-track test at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead,
Fla. in January 2007 with Michael Crawford Motorsports and also ran about a
dozen laps on that facility's road course at that time.
Mario Romancini of Miami, Fla. and Sao Paulo, Brazil will represent
RLR/Andersen Racing at the 2009 season finale on Homestead's 1.5-mile oval on
Friday, Oct. 9, as he's done all year. He's currently seventh in the overall
point standings for the Firestone Firehawk Cup and third in the Mesco Building
Solutions Rookie of the Year standings, and he hopes to continue to race in
America in 2010. Live coverage of the 67-lap Homestead finale is planned for
VERSUS and indycar.com at 6 p.m. Eastern.
White said the test was a good opportunity to gain seat time in a Firestone
Indy Lights car, and he's hopeful he can put together a program for 2010.
"We had a good test; the weather was on our side and I was excited to work
with Andersen Racing for the first time," White said. "I'd like to thank
the team for the opportunity to gain some of the knowledge and experience that
I'll need to compete in Firestone Indy Lights next year. I look forward to
working with them again. The team was very organized and everyone worked
very well together. They were very friendly to me as well.
"The car had good power and it was fun to drive," White added.
Team co-owner John Andersen was also very pleased with the test. "Ron
adapted well to the car, and as the day progressed his times got better and
better," he said. "We shared the day with some other drivers who had more
experience in a Firestone Indy Lights car, and Ron ran competitive times. I think
he learned a lot, and we were very pleased with him and how he handled
himself in the car."
Andersen said the team would conduct more tests in November after the 2009
season finale at Homestead.
Walter Preston, RLR/Andersen Racing's technical director, was pleased with
White's test too. "Ron adapted nicely, never put a wheel wrong, and we
covered all his objectives for an introduction to Firestone Indy Lights," he
said. "After a night to reflect on the test I'm sure when he tests again he
will be able to be even more competitive. He was a pleasure to work with, and
very professional."
"Walt was a good engineer to work with, as he would explain what changes he
was going to be making to the car before he would change it," White said.
"Before the test I told him I wanted to learn as much as I could about how
each change we made would affect the car. He did a good job explaining
things to help me get a better understanding of how the team arrives at the
set-ups it uses."
White is looking for marketing partners in order to contest the entire
13-race 2010 Firestone Indy Lights schedule, which can be found at
firestoneindylights.com.
White competed in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear in 2006
and 2007, finishing third in that series two years ago with victories at
Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. and the Trois-Rivieres street circuit in
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Three years ago this weekend he posted his third
consecutive victory of the 2006 Star Mazda season when he won that series' race
at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., enroute to a fifth-place finish in the
final point standings that year. Andersen Racing fielded Star Mazda cars for
four different drivers at Road Atlanta yesterday: Conor Daly, Joel Miller,
Richard Kent and Denis Navarro. All finished in the top seven, and Daly was
on the podium. The team is the defending Star Mazda team champion.
For more information on Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied
Interior Products and Lafarge North America and offers programs in karting in
addition to Star Mazda and 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.
White also has an impressive karting background. He became the first
American to win a round of the European karting championship in 28 years when he
was victorious in Sarno, Italy in 2004. He also was very successful in the
U.S. Formula 2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires.
White's Web site, which is undergoing updating, is located at
ronwhiteracing.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.