MILLVILLE, N — J. - Anders Krohn led every lap of the first F2000 Championship Series race ever held at Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park, while his Andersen Racing teammate, Jonny Baker, finished second to give the Palmetto, Fla.-based factory Van Diemen team a one-two finish Saturday.
Only seven of the race's 16 laps were run under green-flag conditions, and Krohn, the series' champion and Rookie of the Year, was able to build up a big lead each time he had the opportunity. A late yellow set up a green/white and then checkered flag scenario, but the 20-year-old from Sandnes, Norway powered away on each restart with his No. 9, which is sponsored by Trallfa Industries, Coliseum Dental, Kruse Smith, SR Transport, Antenor and Allied Building Products.
Baker, of Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England, bolstered his hold on second place in the point standings. With his father, Bill, in from England to look on, Baker made a brilliant pass by Kyle Marcelli in Turn 1 on the last lap to nail down that position. Marcelli was involved in an accident in Turn 3, allowing Bobby Caldwell to finish in the final podium position. Tim Minor was fourth in the provisional results, although the finish is under appeal.
Another Andersen Racing driver, Doug Prendeville of Whippany, N.J., started fifth, ran in fourth place for most of the race, and ended up fifth at the end with his Allied Interior Products/Restart Communications Van Diemen.
Andersen Racing's representative in the Masters class, Scott Willard of Weston, Conn., finished 12th with his BroadReach Partners Van Diemen.
On Saturday morning Krohn won the pole with an automatic track record for the series, which is presented by Hoosier Racing Tire. His best lap in qualifying
was a 1:17.185 for the 2.25-mile, 14-turn road course. He also set the
fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:17.594.
His victory Saturday afternoon was his eighth of the year.
Baker qualified third in the 28-car field despite sitting out most of the session when he punctured his car's radiator during an off-track excursion in Turn 2.
Andersen Racing has all sorts of ties to New Jersey. Prendeville is from Whippany, as mentioned. Team owners Dan and John Andersen live in Green Pond and Hamburg, respectively, and their company, Andersen Contracting, is based in Fairfield. The team's primary sponsor, Allied Building Products Corp., is headquartered in East Rutherford.
Andersen Racing's Web sites are at andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com. More information on the F2000 series is available at eformulacarnews.com and f2000championshipseries.com. __
Some post-race quote follows:
Anders Krohn: "Even I have to admit it wasn't exciting. I was looking forward to the race going green more; it's a shame there were so many yellows. But I'm really happy to be on the top step of the podium.
"I want to thank my sponsors and friends who are here from Norway: Olav Underhaug, Tor Johan Finne and Ulf Staalesen. They're all from Trallfa Industries.
"We'll just keep pushing tomorrow."
Jonny Baker: "I was lucky to have that last caution period, because my car was struggling in clean air. I heard on the radio that it was going to be green/white and then checkered, so I had one lap to get it done.
"I got a good restart. It was a bit dirty off line, but I keep going for it.
It was all clean with me on the last lap; I didn't have any contact with anybody.
"I was driving hard on the last lap. It's great to finish one-two for Andersen. I want to thank Mike Reggio and J.R. Elliott, who fixed my car from qualifying this morning.
"There's no shame finishing second to Anders, for sure."
Doug Prendeville: "It was good to get a top five.
"Yes, there was contact with Marcelli and I on the last lap. We went three wide going into Turn 3, and wound up two wide. I was on the inside. I got off on the curb, but kept on going.
"The car was fine; it's too bad there were so many yellow-flag laps. The people from Restart like races with more action.
"I want to thank Allied and all the people who came out this weekend to watch. Joe, Trish, Bob and John are here from the Half Point Pub in Whippany, N.J.
My grandma is here, as are my parents and our friends Les and Bob."
The available stats so far:
Practice 1 (Friday, 10:40 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.):
1. Jonny Baker, 1:16.878
2. Anders Krohn, 1:16.910
5. Doug Prendeville, 1:18.666
16. Scott Willard, 1:20.544
Practice 2 (Friday, 3:20 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:17.091
3. Jonny Baker, 1:17.456
7. Doug Prendeville, 1:18.615
21. Scott Willard, 1:21.277
Combined Practice Report (Friday):
1. Jonny Baker, 1:16.878
2. Anders Krohn, 1:16.910
7. Doug Prendeville, 1:18.615
21. Scott Willard, 1:20.544
Qualifying for Round 13 (Saturday, 11:50 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.):
1. Anders Krohn, 1:17.185*
3. Jonny Baker, 1:17.813
5. Doug Prendeville, 1:18.329
17. Scott Willard, 1:20.323
* Automatic new track record.
Provisional Results for Round 13 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., scheduled for 20 laps/30 minutes):
1. Anders Krohn
2. Jonny Baker
5. Doug Prendeville
12. Scott Willard
* Fastest race lap of 1:17.594, automatic new track record.
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 ev ents in North America. It provides a unique, three-step program utilizing multiple entries in three different series: the F2000 Championship (webcast), Star Mazda (televised on SPEED) and Firestone Indy Lights (televised on ESPN2). In
2008 it will field multiple entries in 42 races in 19 states and provinces at some of the best facilities on the continent, including the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Andersen Racing's principals, brother 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. It is the official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing, which competes in the IndyCar Series. In addition, its F2000 team is also the official factory team of Van Diemen. The team is headquartered at Andersen RacePark, an 18-acre facility in Palmetto, Fla. that includes a 1-mile test track. For more information see andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com.
