For media information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen Racing's Mechanics Repair
Miller's Car and He Qualifies 13th
For Long Beach's Firestone Indy Lights Race
LONG BEACH, Calif., April 17 - Andersen Racing's mechanics worked non-stop
to repair or replace components of the Andersen Racing/Mockett/Allied No. 5
and get it ready for qualifications after Joel Miller crashed in the
Firestone Indy Lights practice session Saturday morning at the Toyota Grand Prix of
Long Beach. Their expertise and hard work paid off when Miller was
13th-fastest in the series' qualifying session a few hours later on the temporary
street circuit adjacent to the Long Beach Convention Center.
Miller, who is making his first series start, was not injured in the
morning practice crash, which occurred in Turn 1 of the 1.968-mile, 11-turn track.
He hit a tire wall just off the unforgiving circuit and came to a stop in
a precarious position, and then was hit by another driver who couldn't avoid
him. The other competitor was able to drive away but Miller's car came back
to the paddock via a wrecker with right-side and right-front damage.
The Andersen Racing mechanics then took center stage as they fixed the car
on the floor of the Convention Center while a crowd of onlookers watched.
They achieved their goal and Miller was able to run the entire qualifying
session a few hours later.
That qualifying session was slowed numerous times by yellow flags, however,
which made it hard for the drivers to manage the heat in their Firestone
Firehawk tires and the traffic in order to record a fast lap. Miller, of
Hesperia, Calif., used the session more as a practice session than a traditional
qualifying effort due to the crash, but he still was able to post the
13th-fastest time with a lap in 1:16.7151 for an average speed of 92.352 miles
per hour. His best lap was the 15th of 21 he ran in the session.
Miller's appearance at this race is being supported by many local
businesses and individuals, including Doug Mockett of Mockett and Co., John Wilkins
of Rancho Motor Co., Seers Lumber Co., Joe Phillips, Vance Mitchell and
family, Greg Ewald and family, Mark Willhide, Carlo and Stacy Berro of Dreamcars,
Don and Karen Shackelford, Jack and Jamie Miller, Terry Fowler of Sunset
Paint and Body, and Eric Schroder.
The other Andersen Racing driver here, rookie Carmen Jorda of Alcoy, Spain,
will start 16th in the Andersen Racing No. 4, which is sponsored by ASAP
Sports, NTGS.es, iHOLA!, Air Europa, pepetravel.com and Allied Building
Products Corp. Her qualifying time was 1:18.4485 for an average speed of 90.311
mph. Her best lap came on the 26th of 28 laps she ran in the session.
The 45-minute race will begin at 10:40 a.m. Pacific time Sunday. It is part
of the longest-running major street race in North America.
Andersen Racing's Web site is at andersenracingteam.com. More information
on Jorda is available on line at carmenjorda.com. More information on Miller
can be found at joelmillerracing.com. He also has another Web site at
JMillerIndy.com where fans can make donations to help him compete in the Firestone
Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 28.
The series' Web site is at indycar.com. It will have live timing and
scoring and video coverage of the race at Long Beach, and all the other Firestone
Indy Lights races.
Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp.,
competes in karting, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights. A sister company,
Andersen Promotions, administers the newly revived USF2000 National
Championship, which is presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda.
Post-qualifying quotes:
Joel Miller: "We were having some braking issues in practice and I hit the
tire wall. Another driver couldn't avoid me. I think it was Junior Strous,
but I'm not sure. Whoever it was, he was able to drive away.
"The team did a fantastic job to get the car ready for qualifying after the
crash. I really want to thank them for all their hard work.
"We used qualifying as a test session to see what we had after the
accident. But there were four yellows in qualifying, which didn't help. You just
did three- or four-lap runs. On the last two times when they called a
yellow, I was working on a fast lap that ended up not counting.
"But we're getting closer. This is my first Firestone Indy Lights race and
I'm definitely on a mission to learn as much as possible. These cars are a
lot different to drive than a Star Mazda car. You have to let the car roll
and do what it wants to do. You can't be as aggressive with this car as you
can with a Star Mazda car.
"But I think without the problem in practice, we would have been in the top
10 for sure. We'll try our best to stay clean in the race and see what we
can come up with."
Carmen Jorda: "I have gone off twice so far; in Turn 5 and in Turn 6. I
didn't hit anything; I just touched the wall.
"It was a strange qualifying session because of all the yellow flags. We
put new tires on but then there was a yellow. We put new tires on another
time but again, the yellow came out. I never got enough heat in my tires. I
did my best lap on the last lap, but it didn't count because another yellow
came out.
"This is only my second time on a street course. It's easy in some ways
but it's hard to put everything together for one really good lap.
"I just have to keep pushing."
The stats so far:
First practice (Friday, 12:15 p.m.):
1. Sebastian Saavedra, 1:15.1732, 94.246 mph
15. Joel Miller, 1:17.8519, 91.004 mph
16. Carmen Jorda, 1:18.9741, 89.710 mph
Second practice (Saturday, 8 a.m.):
1. James Hinchcliffe, 1:15.0108, 94.450 mph
16. Joel Miller, 1:17.0115, 91.997 mph
17. Carmen Jorda, 1:17.7358, 91.139 mph
Combined results of practice sessions:
1. James Hinchcliffe, 1:15.0108, 94.450 mph
16. Joel Miller, 1:17.0115, 91.997 mph
17. Carmen Jorda, 1:17.7358, 91.139 mph
Qualifications (Saturday, 12:55 p.m.):
1. James Hinchcliffe, 1:14.6261, 94.937 mph
13. Joel Miller, 1:16.7151, 92.352 mph
16. Carmen Jorda, 1:18.4485, 90.311 mph
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 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.
A sister company, Andersen Promotions, administers the USF2000 National
Championship presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda. It is part of
both the Indy Racing League's Road to Indy program and the MAZDASPEED
Motorsports driver development system.
Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp. 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, andersenkarting.com, andersenracepark.com and usf2000.com.