ANDERSEN RACING TAKES STAR MAZDA TEAM POINTS LEAD AFTER THREE OF ITS DRIVERS FINISH IN TOP FIVE AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK SATURDAY

Source: Restart Communications
Date: 05/18/2008

By finishing second in the 22-lap/45-minute race, Andersen Racing's Charles Hall maintained second in the series' driver point standings, just two points behind Joel Miller, who won the season opener and finished third Saturday.

If Miller would have finished just one position further back Saturday, Andersen Racing drivers would be holding the points lead in all three series in which the team competes. RLR/Andersen Racing's J.R. Hildebrand is the current Firestone Indy Lights point leader, while Andersen Racing's Anders Krohn tops the F2000 Championship Series point standings.

Although Miller finished third to polesitter/race winner John Edwards and Hall on Saturday, two other Andersen Racing drivers applied a lot of pressure by finishing right behind him in fourth and fifth. Peter Dempsey placed fourth in Andersen Racing's No. 21, which is sponsored by Center Jewellers.ie and Quayside.ie, while Tom Gladdis finished fifth in the team's Marrache & Co. No. 5.

After a wreck behind the front-runners in Turn 1 on the first lap, Edwards was able to wiggle away from the field on the restart on lap three. With no more full-course yellows on the circuit's 3.048-mile outer course, he built up an insurmountable lead. Hall, of Sheffield, England, was 14.514 seconds behind Edwards at the checkered with his No. 77, which is sponsored by Blimpie, AccentBanking.com and Pardoes Solicitors.

Hall started sixth but vaulted into third after the standing start, behind only Edwards and Miller. Miller fell back after a problem in Turn 4 on the restart after the accident, and Hall capitalized on that to move into second place. Miller's bobble also helped Dempsey, of Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland, who moved into third on lap four. Gladdis, a resident of Gibraltar and a native of the Isle of Wight, England, was fifth at that point.

Both Dempsey and Gladdis claimed that the driver sandwiched between them in fourth, Ernesto Otero, was blocking excessively. The Star Mazda officials agreed, and penalized Otero 30 seconds after the race to move Dempsey from fifth to fourth and Gladdis from sixth to fifth.

Hall had a 7.622-second advantage over Miller at the end. Gladdis got by Dempsey on the next-to-last lap, but Dempsey got him back on the final circuit. There was only 0.293 of a second between those two teammates at the wire.

A fourth Andersen Racing driver, Jonny Baker of Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England, finished 12th in the Allied Interior Products car. Andersen Racing is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp.

Gladdis set the third-fastest lap of the race with a 1:45.168 (104.336 miles) while he was battling Dempsey on lap 21. Hall had the fourth-fastest lap of the race with a 1:45.222 (104.282 mph) on the same lap.

In the post-race ceremonies, Hall was presented $500 from the Racing for Kids program.

Saturday's race, part of the Larry Miller Automotive Group Utah Grand Prix, will be televised on SPEED at 3 p.m. Eastern time May 31.

The series' third race of the year will be held at Watkins Glen, N.Y. June 7.

For more information see andersenracingteam.com and andersenracepark.com. The series' Web site is at starmazda.com.

Driver quotes:

Charles Hall: "I got a very good start. We were three or four wide, but I just hung in there.

On the restart I could see them fighting, but it was good, clean racing. I passed Miller in Turn 3. When we got to Turn 4 we both broke really late. He fell back, but I was able to get away.

"We had a good car. Our Goodyear tires were good too. They went away a little, but I found if I just stayed calm they would come back. So I had no problems with the car or the tires.

"I just couldn't catch Edwards today. But I want to thank everyone at And ersen Racing. We're in this to win the championship, so two seconds are OK."

Peter Dempsey: "It was disappointing. I overcooked the first corner on the start and went backwards. I was able to get back up to third, but then the car developed some understeer. We'll have to look at the data and see what happened.

"At the end Tom had more pace than me. Ernesto Otero was definitely blocking. He got penalized for 30 seconds, so we got fourth."

"I want to thank everyone at Andersen Racing for their support this weekend. We'll try to do better next time."

Tom Gladdis: "I had a bad start, and dropped back to eighth or something like that. After the safety car I got back up to sixth or so, but Otero was blocking so Miller was able to catch back up. Then Miller passed me, and Peter and I raced each other the rest of the way.

"On the second-to-last lap I got Peter for fifth in the first turn and then Otero for fourth, but then Otero blocked me and Peter got me back in Turn 5 on the last lap.

"If it wasn't for Otero blocking, I think I could have been third quite easily.

"My car had some understeer but it was quite good to be honest. I want to thank Mike Reggio and Dave DeMarchi and everyone else at Andersen Racing."

Jonny Baker: "My car was really quick. I got a really good start. Then in Turn 2, I got in the marbles and I got off the track, and that dropped me back.

"I softened the front bar and got up to 12th. In the clean air my car was running great. I was setting times comparable to the front-runners except for Edwards. I had a bit of a water issue, but other than that the car was awesome.

"I want to thank Ian Lacy and Chris Vallee, and Andersen Racing for giving me the opportunity to be in this race. I really enjoyed it, and I hope I can come back and do it again."

Saturday's stats:

Qualifying (9:25 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.): 1. John Edwards, 1:43.650, 105.864 mph 4. Tom Gladdis, 1:44.887, 104.615 5. Charles Hall, 1:44.996, 104.507 mph* 6. Peter Dempsey, 1:45.020, 104.483 mph** 10. Jonny Baker, 1:45.700, 103.811 mph * Actually started sixth due to a penalty. ** Actually started fifth due to Hall's penalty.

Race (4:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.; 22 laps/45 minutes): 1. John Edwards 2. Charles Hall 4. Peter Dempsey 5. Tom Gladdis 12. Jonny Baker

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, 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, Andersen Racing's F2000 team is 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.

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