For more information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Milwaukee is a Learning Experience
For Andersen Racing's
Star Mazda Drivers on Saturday
WEST ALLIS, Wis., June 20 - Mikael Grenier and Denis Navarro finished 12th
and 13th, respectively, for Andersen Racing at the Milwaukee Mile Saturday
in round six of the Star Mazda championship presented by Goodyear.
Unfortunately two other drivers for the Palmetto, Fla.-based team, Richard
Kent and Conor Daly, were involved in an accident on the first lap and
failed to finish the race. It was a huge disappointment for all involved,
especially since Kent started on the pole here and Daly started third, and they
each posted convincing victories at the doubleheader in New Jersey just last
weekend.
Luckily neither Kent nor Daly were hurt in the Turn 1 accident, and the
damage to their cars was not extensive. Kent, of Clifton Reynes, England,
drives the No. 33 sponsored by Traka and Allied Interior Products. Daly, a
MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver from Noblesville, Ind., drives the No. 22 sponsored
by Indeck, Cytomax, College Network and Merchant Services.
All four Andersen Racing drivers were making their first oval-track start.
Grenier started 16th in the 22-car field, but the rookie from Stoneham,
Quebec was able to improve four positions with his No. 17 sponsored by NAPA
Auto Parts, CAA-Quebec, HS Telecom, Desharnais Pneus et Mécanique, 66graphx and
VSM Racing.
Navarro, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, started 14th and finished 13th with his No.
21 sponsored by Navarro Medicines Distribution and Allied Interior Products.
Anders Krohn, who won last year's Formula 2000 championship driving for
Andersen Racing, won the 100-lap race over Adam Christodoulou, Alex Ardoin,
Peter Dempsey and Jorge Goncalvez.
Rain on Friday played havoc to the event schedule. Star Mazda qualifying
was scrubbed and the starting grid was based on each driver's fastest
practice lap on Friday. That was great news for Kent, who got the pole with a time
of 27.971 seconds (128.705 miles per hour), and for Daly, who started third
with a lap that was only 0.022 of a second longer than Kent's.
Christodoulou regained the points lead following Milwaukee. He leads
Dempsey by four points, 211 to 207. Joel Miller is third with 194.
Daly is now tied for sixth with Krohn. Kent is ninth, Grenier is tenth and
Navarro is 13th.
Andersen Racing remains second in the team point standings.
The next Star Mazda race is on another oval - Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa
- on July 10. That is the same track where the RLR/Andersen Racing
Firestone Indy Lights drivers are competing today. For more information on the Star
Mazda series, see its Web site at starmazda.com.
Allied Building Products Corp. and Lafarge North America sponsor Andersen
Racing, the development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. The team's Web site
is located at andersenracingteam.com. Information on the team's 1-mile road
course test track at its headquarters can be found online at
andersenracepark.com. The series' Web site is at starmazda.com.
Post-race quotes follow:
Mikael Grenier: "My car was OK; it could have been better and it could
have been worse. It was very good considering that we didn't have much
practice here due to the rain and my crash in practice. That happened in the last
corner. I hit the wall and missed most of the second practice session.
"It was really hard to pass during the race. Everyone was quick. It was
just a bad weekend for us. We'll try again in Iowa."
Denis Navarro: "I had some handling issues, but I played with the bars and
learned how to adapt. It was my first oval race ever, and I was able to
finish all 100 laps. I finished right behind one of my teammates, too. I
learned a lot, all of which will help when we go to Iowa."
Richard Kent: "I got together with Conor in Turn 1 on the first lap. The
car isn't too bad. It wasn't a big crash, really; it's just very
disappointing.
"We had a good car. We started on the pole since we had the fastest time
in practice. Unfortunately it just wasn't our day today. We'll try again in
Iowa."
Conor Daly: "I don't really know what happened. It was an unfortunate turn
of events.
"Before that, I really enjoyed it. We were running strong and were in
position to have a good run. It just didn't work out that way.
"My car isn't too bad. There's some right-front suspension damage and
damage to the front wing. We'll try again in Iowa."
The weekend stats follow:
Practice 1 (Friday, 2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m.):
1. Rusty Mitchell, 28.055, 128.319 mph
6. Conor Daly, 28.292, 127.244 mph
8. Richard Kent, 28.343, 127.015 mph
13. Mikael Grenier, 28.684, 125.506 mph
19. Denis Navarro, 28.950, 124.352 mph
Practice 2 (Friday, 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.):
1. Richard Kent, 27.971, 128.705 mph
4. Conor Daly, 27.993, 128.604 mph
12. Denis Navarro, 28.329, 127.078 mph
15. Mikael Grenier, 28.481, 126.400 mph
Qualifying was scrubbed due to rain on Friday affecting the event schedule.
The starting line-up was based on each driver's fastest time posted in the
two practice sessions on Friday.
1. Richard Kent, 27.971, 128.705 mph
3. Conor Daly, 27.993, 128.604 mph
14. Denis Navarro, 28.329, 127.078 mph
16. Mikael Grenier, 28.481, 126.400 mph
Race (Saturday, 3: 15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., 100 laps):
1. Anders Krohn
12. Mikael Grenier
13. Denis Navarro
21. Richard Kent
22. Conor Daly
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, four-step program
utilizing multiple entries in four different platforms: karting, Formula BMW
Americas, 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 and andersenracepark.com.