For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: Linda@AndersKrohn.com
 
 
 
 
Krohn Finishes Ninth at Barber Motorsports Park
 
LEEDS, Ala., April 10 - The racing gods rolled a nine for Anders "The
Viking" Krohn Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, as he finished ninth
in car No. 9 and set his fastest lap on the ninth of 40 laps run in
the second Firestone Indy Lights race of the year.
 
Krohn, a native of Stavanger, Norway who lives in Houston, got off to
a great start. He started fifth in his red Belardi Auto
Racing-prepared car, and Krohn, the Brownsburg, Ind.-based team and
his sponsors were anxious to see if he could better his fifth-place
finish in the season opener. Those sponsors include Liberty
Engineering, Logi Trans Offshore Express, Trallfa, PM International
Suppliers, Allied Building Products, ZAT Graphics, Eagles Canyon
Raceway, OMP and Bell Helmets.
 
They had a lot to be happy about at the start. Krohn made a very
impressive move and got by Esteban Guerrieri and Conor Daly before the
first turn to vault from fifth to third. It was a position he would
hold for half the race, so a possible podium finish was definitely in
sight.
 
A few turns later on that first lap the Sam Schmidt Motorsports cars
of Guerrieri, Victor Carbone and Josef Newgarden tangled behind him in
Turn 6, bringing out the first of three full-course yellows.
 
The green flew again on lap 3 but the yellow came out again on lap 4
when Gustavo Yacaman's car lost fuel pressure and rolled to a stop in
Turn 4. Krohn used that yellow to think about possible ways to get
around the leader, polesitter Victor Garcia, and the second-place
driver, Stefan Wilson, on the restart, but when the green flew again
on lap six those two were just too strong on Sunday. Instead, Krohn
concentrated on keeping a comfortable pace in third place, as he was
trying to save his Firestone tires for any future assaults on his
position.
 
Another yellow waved on lap 17 for David Ostella, who had rolled to a
stop in Turn 6 of the 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course.
 
The turning point of the race for Krohn came shortly after that
restart. When the green flew on lap 20 James Winslow got around Krohn
on the inside in Turn 5 for third place. Krohn remained in fourth for
one lap until Conor Daly passed him in Turn 8. Another top-five
finish was still possible but then a few seconds later Daly and
Winslow made contact. Winslow spun and Krohn had to run into the
grass while taking evasive action, dropping from fourth to ninth in
the scuffle.
 
The incident did not require a full-course yellow and Krohn remained
in ninth the rest of the way. In the waning stages of the race he had
to hold off Winslow, which he accomplished.
 
Garcia led the whole way to record the victory over Wilson and Peter
Dempsey, while Krohn's Belardi Auto Racing teammate, Jorge Goncalvez,
finished fourth despite racing with a broken leg.
 
Krohn's fastest lap of the race was a 1:20.347 on lap nine.
 
On Saturday morning Krohn qualified fifth with a time of 1:17.5993
(106.702 miles per hour), which was just 0.3200 off the time Garcia
ran to win the Sunoco Pole. Krohn was immediately fast at Barber just
like he was at the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., as he posted
the second-fastest time in the first practice session with a 1:18.9953
(104.816 mph) and he topped the second practice session with a lap in
1:19.8082 (103.749 mph) on Friday.
 
Sunday's race was televised live on VERSUS.
 
On Thursday Krohn visited approximately 100 children at the Children's
Hospital of Alabama in an appearance organized by Racing for Kids.
 
Unofficially Krohn is now seventh in the point standings heading into
the third of 13 races next Sunday, April 17, on a 1.968-mile street
course in Long Beach, Calif. That race will be covered live on VERSUS
too. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
 
Krohn's Web site is at anderskrohn.com. His team's is at
BelardiAutoRacing.com. The series' Web site, which features live
timing and scoring, is at indycar.com/fil.
 
Krohn's post-race quote follows:
 
"I'm disappointed, of course.
 
"The problem started on the restart. I was running comfortably in
third place. I didn't have anything for the leaders, but I had a
comfortable gap on fourth place and I was just trying to save my
tires.
 
"Then came the restart. Heading down to Turn 5 James Winslow had a
very late move under braking. We nearly came together but managed not
to, and I lost one position.
 
"Because of that we slowed down, and that let Daly get all over us.
Daly and Winslow got together, and I had to take evasive action. From
then on we just didn't have any pace. Our tires fell off completely
after I went through the grass.
 
"We ran P3 for awhile and a podium finish would have been fantastic,
but it just wasn't to be today.
 
"Around the time I went off the track there was something that slowed
the performance of the car down, but we haven't figured out what that
was yet. We're still going over the data to see if we can find
anything.
 
"I have to thank our guys on the Belardi Auto Racing team. This track
is very challenging, and the grip levels were very different for all
the different sessions we ran here. The team really showed its
strength because our guys knew how to react to those changes. I just
wish we could have had a podium finish for them because they worked
hard and they deserved it. It makes me even more excited to see what
we can do next week at Long Beach.
 
"I was happy to do the hospital visit. We saw over 100 patients at
the Children's Hospital of Alabama. It's tough seeing that many sick
children, but it was great to see their smiles when they got an
autograph or a toy car. I think it's a great program and I'm proud to
be one of Racing for Kids' representatives. It makes you realize how
lucky you are to be able to race, and do what you love to do."