Andersen
Walko Racing
www.andersenwalko.com.
Andersen Walko
Racing Off to a Great Start;
Tops
Every Practice Session So Far at Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio
- August 6, 2004
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications
www.restartcommunications.com
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Either Andrew Prendeville or
Adam Pecorari topped the time charts in all
five SCCA Formula Ford Zetec practice sessions Thursday and
Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as Andersen Walko Racing prepared
for twin Cooper Tires Championship races here
tomorrow and Sunday.
The team, based in North
Versailles, Pa. and Fairfield, N.J., could clinch the
team championship this weekend with two victories and Cape Motorsports finishing
third or worse in both races.
Although winning both races is difficult, it's not
impossible. AWR did just that in June when
Prendeville, of Monroeville, Pa., and Pecorari, of Aston, Pa.,
won both halves of a similar doubleheader here. They finished first and second
in the second race to boot.
The AWR drivers were
first and second in both practice sessions Friday, with Prendeville
first in the first one and Pecorari first in the second one.
In the final tune-up
before qualifying is held tomorrow at 10:10 a.m., Pecorari
had the fastest lap with a 1:23.344 (97.533 mph) and Prendeville was second
with a 1:23.394 (97.475 mph). Being only five
one-hundredths of a second apart showcases
the talent of both young drivers and also the expertise of Andersen
Walko Racing in preparing two cars that are so evenly matched. Pecorari's
fastest lap came despite the fact he went off
course once during the session and had to
pit to see if anything was bent.
Prendeville, the series'
current point leader, didn't record a time in the first
practice session Thursday while the team fixed a mechanical problem, but he
went on to top two practice sessions while Pecorari was fastest in the other
three in the five sessions held before qualifying.
The fastest lap run in
preparation for this event so far is the 1:23.027 (97.909
mph) lap that Prendeville ran in the first practice session Friday.
Pecorari holds the track
qualifying record here with a 1:22.702 (98.686 mph) for
the 2.258-mile, 15-turn road course, set in June.
Prendeville's Van Diemen
Ford, #25, is sponsored by Racelink, Roos Racing School
and the Train Collectors Warehouse. Pecorari's similar #28 carries the colors
of SAI Hydraulics.
"If we can get
qualifying to go as well, we'll be in good shape," noted team co-owner
John Walko. A half-hour qualifying session
will be held Saturday morning to set the field for
the first race, a 20-lap/45.160-mile event slated to get the green flag at
2:45 p.m.
The fastest lap each of
the 24 drivers record during the first race will determine
the starting line-up for the second half of the doubleheader, which is scheduled
for 10:15 a.m. Sunday.
Both races are support
events for a Grand American Road Racing Assn. program.
Driver quotes follow:
Prendeville: "We had some sort of electrical or fuel pick-up problem in the
first session yesterday, but the Andersen Walko
team was able to get it fixed right away and
in the next session out we were quickest.
"We're off to a good
start. Our cars are even better than they were here in June.
The other teams are much closer now, but we made headway too.
"The driver title
will go down to the last race, but it would be great if we could
clinch the team championship this weekend."
Pecorari: "The
car has been working well. We've been making some changes here
and there, just small things, trying to stay in front.
"I went off course
in that last session when I was trying to pass Chris Guerrieri
and it didn't work out. There was no damage to the car though. "Now
we'll put on new tires and rock and roll tomorrow, and see what we cando."
Andersen Walko Racing
practice times Thursday and Friday follow:
Thursday, first practice: 1. Pecorari, 1:24.210 (96.530 mph); 18. Prendeville, no time.
Thursday, second practice:, 1:50 p.m.: 1. Prendeville, 1:24.196 (96.546 mph);6. Pecorari, 1:24.906 (95.739 mph).
Thursday, third practice:, 5:20 p.m.: 1. Pecorari, 1:23.890 (96.898 mph); 3. Prendeville, 1:24.368 (96.349 mph).
Friday, first practice:, 8:30 a.m.: 1. Prendeville, 1:23.027 (97.909 mph); 2. Pecorari, 1:23.176 (97.730 mph).
Friday, second practice:, 11:30 a.m.: 1. Pecorari, 1:23.344 (97.533 mph); 2. Prendeville, 1:23.394 (97.475 mph).
For more information see www.andersenwalko.com, www.cooperseries.com, www.prendy.net, www.adampecorari.com and www.restartcommunications.com
Racing Incident on
the Last Lap Spoils Klein's Top-10 Run at Portland
Portland,
Oregon - July 25, 2004
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications
www.restartcommunications.com
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andersen
Walko Racing's Jonathan Klein was the victim of a racing incident while running
in the top 10 on the last lap of yesterday's Star Mazda race at Portland
International Raceway and had to drop out with a flat tire.
The young star from Long Grove, Ill. officially finished 19th
in the 30-car race presented by Goodyear after starting 15th.
Less than one second separated the first 14 positions on the
grid, with thirty-one cars overall posting qualifying times.
Klein's Andersen Walko Racing No. 97 is sponsored by Nexus
Distribution, Ironclad Performance Wear, Midwest Steel & Services, Kafact
Plastics and Fettes, Love & Seiben.
"It was my first time at the track," noted Klein by
telephone while waiting for an airplane home Saturday night. "We
learned the track quickly, and we were third-quickest in the morning practice
session on Friday.
"We had a little bit of an overheating problem during
the afternoon practice session," he continued. "Then we sort of
missed on the set-up for qualifying, and we qualified 15th.
"Things went well at the start of the race," he
noted. "We were up to eighth
at one point, but then dropped back two positions to tenth.
"On the last lap I was making a pass for ninth, and I
made the pass, but at the next corner the guy that I had passed hit me and
popped my left-rear tire, ending my race. So I didn't finish the race
under circumstances that I couldn't control."
Michael Potekhen won Saturday's race, a support event for an
American Le Mans Series headliner, over Daniel DiLeo and Scott Jenkins.
The event is scheduled to be broadcast on SPEED at noon ET on Aug. 21.
Klein won't have long to wait before he can try again, as the
next race is slated for Aug. 7 at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville,
Ontario, Canada.
"Eric, Scott, Seb and the rest of the Andersen Walko
team did an excellent job prepping the car this weekend, and I want to give
special thanks to them," Klein said. "I also want to thank my
sponsors.
"I also want to thank Dan [Andersen] and his family for
coming out and supporting me on a weekend that they could have been relaxing at
home," he added.
For more information see www.andersenwalko.com
and www.starmazda.com.
Pecorari and Prendeville
Finish One-Two Sunday as AWR Rules Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio - June 27, 2004
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications
www.restartcommunications.com
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Anyone who doesn't realize
that the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is Andersen Walko Racing's track wasn't paying attention to
the SCCA Formula Ford Zetec doubleheader here this weekend.
The team, which is based in Fairfield, N.J. and North
Versailles, Pa., sat on the pole for both races, set a new track record in
qualifying, led every single lap in both races, set the fastest race laps in
both events, and saw both of its drivers post victories and even finish first
and second in the second race. If that wasn't enough, one of them, Andrew
Prendeville, took the points lead no matter how it's calculated.
After some bad luck Saturday, everyone was pulling for AWR's
Adam Pecorari on Sunday - even Prendeville's mom. The racing gods must have
agreed that the time was right for Pecorari's first career FF Zetec victory, and
he took the checkered with a 4.416-second lead over his teammate, Prendeville.
Steve Welk was third followed by Bobby Wilson and Ian Baas.
Pecorari, of Aston, Pa., was behind the wheel of the SAI
Hydraulics/Andersen Walko Racing Van Diemen Ford #28, while Prendeville, of
Monroeville, Pa., drives the Andersen Walko Racing/Racelink/Roos Racing School
Van Diemen Ford #25.
Prendeville started on the pole on Sunday with Pecorari
fifth. Pecorari was on a mission, and he had charged into third by the end
of lap one. He passed Ian Lacy for second on lap two. After some thrilling
side-by-side racing through the esses, Pecorari passed Prendeville for the lead
on lap seven. The pair continued to hold the top two spots the rest of the
way in the 20-lapper, and no one even got close to challenging either one of
them.
Calculating the raw points, Prendeville now leads in the
national championship with 231 points over Wilson (227), Jason Bowles (187),
Pecorari (167) and Wade Cunningham (140). With the two drops taken into
account Prendeville leads with 205 followed by Wilson (191), Bowles (177),
Pecorari (157) and Cunningham (140).
Now the series will travel to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma,
Calif. on July 18 before returning to Mid-Ohio Aug. 8. Events at Road
America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. on Aug. 22 and in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Oct. 10
round out the schedule.
For more information see www.andersenwalko.com
Driver quotes follow:
Pecorari:
"For the start, our line had a plan. I was behind Cunningham and Lacy
going into eight. Cunningham and I hit when we were running side by side, but it
wasn't anything serious. I passed Lacy a little later; I think it was in
turn seven.
"Andrew had a good lead. Yesterday I made a
mistake by not passing him when I could, and then that yellow came out and with
that restart I lost my chance. So today I knew I had to get after him pretty
fast.
"It was a really dicey move. If it was somebody
else we probably would have gone off, but I knew he'd be smart about it.
We ran through seven, eight and nine side by side, and coming out of nine I got
him.
"About six laps to go my tires were dead, but lapped
traffic was great today and I didn't have any problems with that.
"The whole Andersen Walko crew worked hard this weekend.
They fixed my car to a T after yesterday's accident. They even found something
when they were fixing it that made it better today. I want to thank
everyone on the team; my sponsor, SAI Hydraulics; and my parents."
Prendeville:
"I tried to hang onto him at the esses, but he got by me. Above all
else I tried to keep it clean. Once he got by me, he pulled away.
"Our strategy going into this weekend was to try to get
a good finish on Saturday even if it meant I didn't have as good tires on
Sunday. I wanted to have at least one good finish. You have to use the same
tires in qualifying as you use in the race, and I knew my tires wouldn't be as
good on Sunday as they were on Saturday. They went away on the third or
four lap, but I was still able to win on Saturday and finish second today,
so our strategy worked.
"I had a great start. I got a bang from behind,
but I was expecting it.
"Adam and I ran through the esses side by side. I
had a flashback to the 2002 Runoffs here, because my brother Doug and I were
running side by side and we touched that time, but today Adam and I got through
there clean.
"He had the better tires. I knew he'd be faster
than me today, and he was able to make the pass. My job was just to try to
be consistent and stay out of trouble. Ian and Wade got together coming out of
the keyhole, and that helped a lot."
Prendeville
Wins FF Zetec Race Saturday
At Mid-Ohio for Andersen Walko
Lexington, Ohio - June 26, 2004
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications
www.restartcommunications.com
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
Andrew Prendeville led every
lap to record his third SCCA Formula Ford Zetec victory of the season Saturday
at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Andersen Walko Racing/Racelink/Roos
Racing School Van
Diemen Ford #25.
The young star from Monroeville, Pa. crossed the finish line
on lap 20 with a 2.103-second lead over the runner-up, Wade Cunningham.
Bobby Wilson was third.
The victory unofficially gives Prendeville the points lead
with the two drops that each competitor is allowed to take. In that
scenario he's up by eight points over Wilson. When the raw points are
tabulated he's down two points to Wilson.
Prendeville's teammate, polesitter and new track record
holder Adam Pecorari of Aston, Pa., was running fourth when he was hit in the
rear by the fifth-place runner, Ian Lacy, who was dealing with a brake failure.
The accident occurred on lap 13 in the keyhole. Neither driver was hurt
but the crash caused extensive rear-end damage to Pecorari's SAI
Hydraulics/Andersen Walko Racing Van Diemen #28. His official order of
finish was 17th.
Fortunately the starting grid for tomorrow morning's race
will be determined by the fastest race laps recorded in Saturday's event rather
than by finishing positions from the first half of a doubleheader, which has
been the practice
for this Cooper Tires series. Prendeville will start on the pole tomorrow
since he set the fastest race lap Saturday, with Cunningham beside him.
Lacy and Wilson will share row two. Pecorari will start fifth beside Jason
Byers in
row three.
Prendeville started second Saturday and he and Pecorari ran
one-two for the first six laps, sometimes side-by-side and sometimes with a
1-second gap between them. There was a full-course yellow when Ian Bass
went off course on lap four. Pecorari didn't get a good restart when the
action resumed with six laps down, and he slipped from second to fourth.
Pecorari was able to close the gap numerous times on the
third-place runner, Wilson, and that battle allowed Prendeville and Cunningham
to pull away from the field slightly. Cunningham tried his best but
Prendeville was able to withstand all of his challenges, and the AWR driver
always had at least a 1-second lead.
Back in fourth, Pecorari needed a yellow but not one that he
was involved in. Unfortunately that didn't happen and he had the incident
with Lacy on lap 13 instead, spoiling his hopes for a podium finish.
The top-five order didn't change after that in the
20-lap/30-minute race.
Cunningham was fined $1,000 and docked five points for unsportsmanlike
conduct for contact prior to the green and at the start.
Pecorari was the victim of that contact too.
Driver quotes follow:
Prendeville:
"He [Wade Cunningham] closed in a little on me at times. It was real
slick off line. He was definitely putting pressure on me. There was some bump
drafting going on even before the green came out. [Ian] Lacy went off
[course] at the beginning; we were side by side and he just went off."
Any problems with the rear like you were feeling in
qualifying?
"No; the front roll bar was broken; they found it and
fixed it last night."
Pecorari:
"At the start Wade [Cunningham] pushed me - his paint is on the rear of my
car - but that wasn't a big deal. Then on the restart for that yellow I
just didn't get a good start. There wasn't any contact then. I tried
[to pass Bobby] Wilson a bunch of times, but I just couldn't get by him.
"What took me out was [Ian] Lacy ran into the back of me
at the keyhole. He said his brakes failed. It was a shame for the
Andersen Walko team because we had the best two cars here. Now mine is
pretty bad. But we'll see if we can get it fixed and we'll try again
tomorrow."
Tomorrow's race starts at
9:20 a.m. After that the series will travel to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma,
Calif. on July 18 before returning to Mid-Ohio Aug. 8. Events at Road
America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. on Aug. 22 and in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Oct. 10
round out the schedule.
AWR is based in Fairfield, N.J. and North Versailles, Pa.
For more information see www.andersenwalko.com,
www.prendy.net and
www.adampecorari.com.
Pecorari Sets New
Track Record at Mid-Ohio;
His AWR Teammate, Prendeville, Is Second
Lexington, Ohio - June 25, 2004
Adam
Pecorari set a new track record and his
teammate, Andrew Prendeville, qualified second to give Andersen Walko Racing
(AWR) a one-two punch in SCCA Formula Ford Zetec qualifications Friday at the
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Pecorari's first pole ever in this division was .332 of a
second better than the old mark. Bryan Sellers took 1:22.702 to get around
the 2.258-mile road course in 2002 to establish that one.
Pecorari, of Aston, Pa., earned the new record in the SAI
Hydraulics-sponsored Van Diemen #28 with a 1:22.370.
Prendeville, of Monroeville, Pa., was right behind his
teammate with a lap in 1:22.80 with his Racelink/Roos Racing School Van Diemen
#25. The AWR teammates were followed by New Zealand's Wade Cunningham, who
was third with a 1:23.030.
The new track record holder discovered that it might be best
if he never knows how fast he's actually going.
"I haven't been qualifying as well in cars as I used to
do in karts, so I was thinking maybe the timer is messing me up," Pecorari
said of his on-board data system. "I taped up my timer for the first
time today. Now I think I should probably do that all the time."
Pecorari had the AWR crew in stitches a few seconds after he
ran his best lap when he meekly inquired over the radio, "How far back am
I?"
"Hey, the car felt good, but not that good,"
Pecorari said with a smile to defend himself back at the transporter.
"We ran well here in the test, and the car is really
good," he said. "During practice here yesterday and today I didn't
push it; I wanted to keep the tire life up. I just wanted to get laps in and
hang close.
"We're starting one-two tomorrow; now hopefully we'll
still be one-two at the finish," he added.
Prendeville is all for that idea.
"I got beaten by the only person I can accept being
beaten by," he said of his teammate. "Andersen Walko is one-two,
which says a lot for the team.
"My car is fast," he added. "We're
having a small issue with the rear end. It doesn't feel right, but there
doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Hopefully it's nothing. Now we'll
just have to try our best tomorrow."
The first of two FF Zetec races scheduled for this weekend is
set to get the green flag at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.
In a new procedure, the starting line-up for the second race
will be established by each driver's fastest lap during Saturday's race.
The second 30-minute race is slated for 9:20 a.m. Sunday.
AWR, which is based in Fairfield, N.J. and North Versailles,
Pa., also has two Star Mazda cars in action here this weekend. They're
being driven by Jonathan Klein of Long Grove, Ill. and Mike Andersen of Green
Pond, N.J., who are both competing in this series for the first time here this
weekend. Both the drivers and the team are still learning about these cars,
which they have had for only a short period of time.
Andersen was 15th in the Friday afternoon session for that
series, while Klein was 20th. A total of 41 cars took time.
"We're getting there," Klein said.
"We'll be OK."
The 45-minute Star Mazda race is scheduled for 3:35 p.m.
Saturday.
For more information see www.andersenwalko.com.
AWR's Klein to Compete in
Star Mazda Series
Fairfield, New Jersey - May 3, 2004
As if fielding
multiple cars in the Formula Ford Zetec series and the Formula SCCA series
weren't enough, Andersen Walko Racing (AWR) announced today that it will also
enter the Star Mazda pro series starting with the next race, which is slated for
June 26 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Although he missed the season opener, Jonathan Klein of Long
Grove, Ill. will switch from the FSCCA series and represent AWR in the nine
remaining Star Mazda events on that series' 2004 schedule.
The team's other two FSCCA drivers, Chris Meredith of
Potomac, Md. and Danny Abbale of Northport, N.Y., will continue to compete in
the FSCCA series.
Klein cited the Pro Mazda series' attractive TV schedule,
stable schedule and its proven car package for his change of plans. His new Star
Mazda car is scheduled to arrive in AWR's shops in North Versailles, Pa. later
this month.
Prior to that, the team will take delivery on another Star
Mazda race car that will be driven by a variety of the team's Formula Ford Zetec
drivers. Adam Pecorari of Aston, Pa.; Doug Prendeville of Morristown, N.J. and
Mike Andersen of Green Pond, N.J. all plan to drive it in one to three Star
Mazda races this year as their FF Zetec schedules permit.
The Star Mazda series is sanctioned by the International
Motor Sports Association (IMSA), and most of its events are run as companion
races to American Le Mans Series (ALMS) events.
"We're excited about adding this terrific pro
championship into our schedule, and we plan an aggressive testing program in May
and June to prepare for the end-of-June ALMS weekend at Mid-Ohio," said Dan
Andersen, the team's co-owner. "They have a great TV package, purse
and schedule, and we will have at least one driver in all the remaining races
this year."
The Pro Mazda races are broadcast on the SPEED Channel in the
United States and on the Sky Sports World Motorsports program internationally.
The series, which is presented by Goodyear, carries a total
prize package of approximately $500,000.
The cars use a Mazda rotary engine called the Renesis that is
also used in the Mazda RX-8 sports car.
Nexus Distribution Corp, Midwest Steel & Services,
Ironclad Performance Wear, ProStar Group, Kalfact Plastics and Fettes, Love
& Sieben will sponsor Klein's Star Mazda.
After round two at Mid-Ohio, the Star Mazda pro series moves
to Lime Rock Park in Lime Rock, Conn. on July 3; Infineon Raceway in Sonoma,
Calif. on July 17; Portland (Ore.) Int'l Raceway on July 24 and Mosport Int'l
Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario on Aug. 7. The circuit appears at Road
America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. on Aug. 21; Road Atlanta on Sept. 24; on the oval
at Phoenix Int'l Raceway Oct. 2 and at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey,
Calif. on Oct. 26.
For more information on the Star Mazda series, see www.starmazda.com,
Or on AWR can be found at www.andersenwalko.com.
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications
]AWR's
Prendeville Gets on the Podium,
Pecorari Brothers Are in Top 10 Saturday
Monterey,
California - May 1, 2004
A few hours after a Pennsylvania Thoroughbred galloped into history by
winning the 130th Kentucky Derby, three race car drivers from Pennsylvania
representing a Pennsylvania-based team all recorded top-10 finishes for the
Cooper Tires Championship Series' record books at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca here
Saturday.
Andrew Prendeville of Monroeville, Pa. finished third in the
13-lap Formula Ford Zetec race while the Pecorari brothers, Robbie and Adam of
Ashton, Pa., were fifth and tenth, respectively, driving cars based out of the
Andersen Walko Racing stable in North Versailles, Pennsylvania.
Prendeville was third in the point standings going into this
weekend's doubleheader, and after Saturday's race he's unofficially tied for
second in the point standings.
Although nobody gave him any roses or a multi-million-dollar
bonus for it, he finished where he started and he was happy to be on the podium.
"I picked up points on Jason Bowles and some on point leader Bobby
Wilson," noted the driver of the Racelink/Roos Racing School Andersen Walko
Racing Van Diemen Ford No. 25.
Ian Lacy with Wade Cunningham won the race second. Wilson was
fourth but Bowles went off course and placed 20th.
Prendeville said he was hampered at the initial start and on
the various restarts because it took about three laps for his tires to really
come in. After a false start, the front-runners were three abreast on the first
lap before Wilson and another front-runner went off course.
"I gave them room, but they went off," Prendeville
said. "By the third lap my tires started to come in, but there were a
lot of yellows, which didn't help."
Prendeville's tire situation made the event's two-lap dash to
the checkered even more of a challenge.
"Bobby Wilson tried the inside of me in turn one on the
last restart," Prendeville said afterwards. "I gave him room, but I
stayed ahead of him. Then in the exit of the last corner he tried again and we
touched. It got me loose but I still got third. Robbie Pecorari almost got
fourth because of that," he noted.
Sixteen-year-old Robbie Pecorari was making only his second
start ever with the team, which has offices in Fairfield, N.J. "John Walko
co-owner of the team along with Dan Andersen asked me if I wanted to drive Mike
Andersen's car at Laguna Seca last Sunday night," he said of his
last-minute ride.
"I started seventh, and when a couple of the cars ahead
of me went off, I got up to fourth," he related. "I hung with the
front group, but on one of the restarts Wilson went under me in the corkscrew
and I went from fourth to fifth.
"Then with two laps left we had another restart,"
he explained. "My tires cooled down, but near the end of the last lap they
warmed up and I started catching the leaders. I pulled alongside Wilson at the
checkered, and just lost fourth by about 0.003 of a second."
His older brother, Adam, has been struggling since he arrived
at the 2.238-mile road course and needs some better luck tomorrow.
"We can turn a fast lap, but we haven't had the luck
here yet," he said. "I didn't get much practice. In one session a
suspension piece broke. In the first qualifying session I was third after three
laps, but then something broke in the transmission.”
"I started 11th in the race, and I was up to seventh by
the end of the first lap," he continued. "Then I had contact with Ron
White in the corkscrew, and I got my nose cut off. It was bent in and hurting me
aerodynamically and it was also blocking my radiator, so the car was getting
hot. I got tenth, but I hope we can do better tomorrow."
The schedule has been a little fluid this weekend. There is
now a qualifying session slated for Sunday morning to set the field for Sunday
afternoon's race.
For more information see www.andersenwalko.com
and www.cooperseries.com
Linda
Mansfield
Restart Communications