Practice 2 and QUALIFYING RESULTS - ROAD AMERICA

ROAD AMERICA, August 8, 2006.

PRACTICE SESSION 2 (morning) (top 10)
On as perfect a morning for motor racing as you'll ever see at Road America, a trio of fast guys traded top laps throughout the Friday morning Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear practice session. Two red flags for trips into the gravel were the only, and relatively minor, incidents, and when the tire smoke cleared, it was John Edwards in the #7 AIM Autosport Mazda who pulled out a few extra tenths to set the fastest lap on the final lap of the session, a 2:05.275 (116.326 mph) around the 4.048-mile natural-terrain road circuit through the forests of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Edwards is the only double-race winner so far this season, with victories (from the pole) in his debut race at Miller Motorsports Park and again in Race 2/Round 5 at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland.

Setting the second-fastest time in the session, just 0.253 back, was Charles Hall, who won Round Three at Watkins Glen. Racing the #77 #77 Andersen Racing / Blimpie / AccentBanking.com/ Allied Building Products Mazda, he turned a time of 2:05.528 ( 116.092 mph). Rounding out the top-3 was 17 year-old Tom Gladdis, winner of Race 1/Round 4 at Portland. He turned a lap of 2:05.739 (115.897 mph) in the #5 Andersen Racing / Marrache & Co. / Allied Building Products Mazda.

Also in the top 5 but not members of the '05' club were Alex Ardoin, who won the final race of the 2007 Star Mazda Championship season. His lap of 2:06.085 (115.579 mph) was good for 4th on the time sheet, while MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder scholarship winner Joel Miller (who also won the season opener at Sebring and is the current championship points leader) was 5th with a 2:06.161 (115.510 mph) in the #20 JDC Motorsports / Mazda / K&N Air Filters Mazda.

Qualifying for the race takes place from 4:05 to 4:50 pm, Friday, August 8 with the 45-minute Star Mazda championship event scheduled to take the green flag at 2:25 pm Saturday, August 8. The race will be broadcast on SPEED TV on August 23 at 12:00 pm (ET).


PRACTICE SESSION 2 RESULTS (top 10)

QUALIFYING RESULTS (top 10)
Three Andersen Racing Drivers Are in Top Five In Star Mazda Quals Friday at Road America; Dempsey and Gladdis to Start Second and Third.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 8 - Three Andersen Racing drivers qualified in the top five in Star Mazda action Friday afternoon at Road America, and the fourth one was only 0.130 of a second out of making the top 10.

Peter Dempsey led the way for the Palmetto, Fla.-based team, qualifying second with a time of 2:05.540 for an average speed of 116.081 miles per hour for the 4.048-mile road course. That was just 0.227 of a second longer than John Edwards took to win the pole. Dempsey, of Ashbourne, Country Meath, Ireland, drives the No. 21 that advertises LotusWorks, Center Jewellers.ie, Quayside.ie, Allied Interior Products and Trojan Complete IT Solutions. He missed the last practice session while the team changed his car's engine, but he made quick work of qualifying with excellent results.

Qualifying just 0.288 of a second behind Dempsey was one of his teammates, Tom Gladdis of the Isle of Wight and Gibraltar. His Marrache & Co. No. 5 had a qualifying time of 2:05.828 (115.815 mph) for the race, the sixth round of a 12-race series that is presented by Goodyear.

Joel Miller qualified fourth, but Andersen Racing's Charles Hall was fifth with a time of 2:06.250 (115.428 mph) with his No. 77. Hall, of Sheffield, England, is sponsored by Blimpie, AccentBanking.com, Pardoes Solicitors and Allied Interior Products.

Making her first start with Andersen Racing, Natalia Kowalska qualified 11th with a time of 2:07.424 (114.365 mph). A native of Biesiekierz, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, her No. 33 is sponsored by Natan Developers.

Four of the five Andersen Racing drivers posted their fastest qualifying lap during their fourth circuit in that session. Hall's best lap was his fifth one.