PHOENIX, Oct. 6 2004 - Seventeen-year-old rookie Jonathan Klein of Long Grove, Ill. took the checkered flag in third place in the Star Mazda race Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. Unfortunately his Andersen Walko Racing entry did not pass the post-race technical inspection and was disqualified.
The problem was a simple human error. Team members mistakenly didn't install the designated oval-track sway bar required for this event, run on the only oval the series visits in 2004. Instead the usual road-course sway bar was inadvertently still in the car. Although the sway bar that was used actually made the car slower on an oval, it was not the correct one to be used here and the series officials disqualified the effort. "It was a simple human error; we made a mistake," said team co-owner Dan Andersen. "Although it didn't give Jonathan a performance advantage, it was not the correct sway bar. The series officials followed the rules; we don't fault them for having to enforce them." "We all feel badly that Jonathan did not get the podium finish which he deserved at PIR, but this is a team sport and we'll stand together as a team," he added. "We're proud of the run than Jonathan gave our entry and we're proud that we prepared a car that was definitely a contender in this race. Now we'll look ahead to the season finale at Laguna and try our best to get on the podium there." Klein has to have added confidence going into the season finale due to how well he ran at Phoenix. Although it was his first oval track race ever, he handled both the traffic and a slipping clutch with the expertise of a seasoned veteran. "Right at the start of the event my clutch started slipping, so when I stepped on the throttle I had no drive from the rear wheels," Klein explained. "Restarts were difficult and I lost a position to [Daniel] DiLeo on the second restart, but the car worked well and I was able to negotiate traffic and work my way back around him." Michael McDowell led every lap of the 75-lap race, which was presented by Goodyear. Klein's entry is sponsored by Kalfact Plastics; Fettes, Love and Sieben; Nexus Distribution Corp.; Midwest Steel & Services; Ironclad and ProStar. Klein qualified sixth with a lap in 26.365 seconds for an average speed of 136.545. He was second in the warm-up session Saturday morning with a 26.313 (136.815 mph), second only to McDowell. The season finale will be held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. on Oct. 16. "With running second at Road Atlanta prior to a tire failure and running third at Phoenix before the problem in tech, we know we'll be strong at Laguna Seca and even more so for the entire 2005 season," Klein said. "Even with the wrong sway bar and the handling being worse than everyone else's, Eric [Langbein] and John [team co-owner John Walko] set the car up well enough to finish third. On to Laguna!" The recent Road Atlanta race will be televised on SPEED at noon Eastern time on Oct. 10. Saturday's race from Phoenix will be broadcast on SPEED on Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. Eastern time
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FAIRFIELD, N.J., Sept. 22 - Andersen Walko Racing, which topped the team point standings for 2004 in the Formula Ford Zetec championship, will field two Star Mazda cars in the latter series' race Friday as a support event to the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta Motorsports Park in Braselton, Ga.
The cars will be driven by 17-year-old rookies Jonathan Klein of Long Grove, Ill. and Robbie Pecorari of Aston, Pa., the younger brother of one of AWR's Formula Ford Zetec drivers, Adam Pecorari. Klein has competed in all but one of the Star Mazda races held this year and has been doing extremely well. He is currently in ninth place in the overall point standings out of 39 drivers. To date his best finishes are a fourth at Lime Rock Park and a fifth at Mosport. Pecorari will be making his first start ever in the Star Mazda series this weekend. In July he stepped into an AWR entry in a Formula SCCA doubleheader at Lime Rock, and although he'd never been in one of those races either he finished second in the first race and won the second one. The Star Mazda car that Pecorari will drive at Road Atlanta is owned by Doug Prendeville, another one of AWR's Zetec drivers and the brother of the AWR driver who finished second in the Zetec championship this year, Andrew Prendeville. "I've never raced in the Star Mazda series before, but the cars are some of the best cars out there for the price and Road Atlanta is definitely a fun track," said Robbie Pecorari, a senior at Garnet Valley High School in Concord, Pa. "It's a driver's track; it'll take a good driver to win there. I enjoy racing with Andersen Walko. We'll just try our best and see how it goes." The 45-minute race, which will be taped for broadcast on SPEED at noon Eastern time on Oct. 10, is one of three remaining events on the 2004 Star Mazda schedule. It is scheduled to get the green flag at 1:35 p.m. Eastern time on Friday. After Road Atlanta the series, which is presented by Goodyear, travels to Phoenix for a race on the oval at Phoenix Int'l Raceway Oct. 2 and then on to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. for the season finale on Oct. 16. Klein, who is sponsored by Kalfact Plastics; Fettes, Love and Sieben; Nexus Distribution Corp.; Midwest Steel & Services; Ironclad and ProStar, recently participated in a two-day test on the Phoenix oval in his Star Mazda car. "There were 11 cars testing there, including mine," Klein reported. "We were second-quickest throughout the two days. "We had some gearbox problems on the first day and we had some engine overheating problems and broke a half-shaft on the second day," he continued. "Luckily that happened when I was coming out of the pits and wasn't up to full speed. "Unfortunately the second day I did end the day with a crash in turn one when one of my tires failed," he continued. "We weren't on Goodyears, and the tire went down and I went into the wall." Although the right side of Klein's car was damaged, luckily he wasn't hurt. "It was the biggest oval I've ever been on," Klein added. "John [Walko, team co-owner and chief engineer] and Eric [Langbein, an engineer] did a great job setting up the car. To post the second-fastest time before we made any changes whatsoever shows how good our team is." This weekend's Star Mazda schedule shows practice today at 10 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. Tomorrow (Thursday) practice is slated for 9:15 a.m. followed by qualifying at 4:25 p.m. The race time is 1:35 p.m. Friday. Andersen Walko Racing's office is in Fairfield, N.J. and its shop is in North Versailles, Pa. 2004 Star Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear - Round 3 at Lime Rock7/3/2004 American Le Mans at Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park - Lakeville, CT July 2 - 3, 2004 LEXINGTON, OHIO (June 27, 2004) - Adam Pecorari, of Aston, Pa., won Round Ten of the Formula Ford Zetec Championship, part of the Cooper Tires Championship Series, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Completing the top-three is Andrew Prendeville, of Monroeville, Pa. and Steve Welk of Franklin, Wisc. Winning the American Continental Championship is Ron Thomas, of Galena Ohio.
Commencing early in the morning, the Zetec Championship car rolled onto the 2.258-mile road course under sunny, but cool conditions. At the drop of the green flag, the field went three-wide into the esses, with race one winner Prendeville maintaining the lead. Getting a great start Ian Lacy and Pecorari moved into second and third respectively. Running-nose-to-tail on the opening lap, Pecorari applied heavy pressure to Lacy. On lap two, Pecorari got to the inside under braking and made the pass for position. Once past, Pecorari immediately began to close on Prendeville, in the No. 25 Racelink/Roos Racing School Andersen Walko Racing Van Diemen Ford. Within three laps, Pecorari was right behind Prendeville, while Lacy came under attack from Wade Cunningham. Racing side-by-side into the esses, Pecorari passed his Andersen Walko Racing teammate to take the lead. As Pecorari began to pull away, Lacy and Cunningham made contact with one another while battling for third place. Able to continue, both drivers rejoined back in the field. Having gotten a great start and repeatedly held off challenges from Bobby Wilson, Welk, in the No. 57 Sportscar Revolution/Briggs & Stratton Aiken Racing Van Diemen Ford, moved into third place. While several drivers enjoyed some good battles for position, the top-five stayed constant the remainder of the race. At the checkered flag, Pecorari, in the No. 28 SAI Hydraulics Andersen Walko Racing Van Diemen Ford, had scored his first career Zetec Championship win by 4.416 seconds. "It's fantastic to be here," said Pecorari, who set fastest lap of the race. "I haven't won any race for two years, so it's great to be back on top of the podium. The team gave me a great car. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going and win more races this year and get back into the championship fight." "It was tough race," said Prendeville, who now leads the Zetec Championship standings by four points (231-227) over Wilson. "My tires went away real early and once Adam [Pecorari] got past he was to fast for me to catch. The important thing is we leave with the points lead." "I'm so happy right now," said Welk, who captured his first career podium finish. "The whole team has been working real hard and we've been getting quicker every time we are on the track." Completing the top-five is Wilson, of Dousman, Wisc., in the No. 3 Citrus Systems Cape Motorsports Van Diemen Ford, who has finished in the top-five at every race and Ian Baas, of Indianapolis, Ind., in the No. 4 Blossom Chevrolet Cape Motorsports Van Diemen Ford, who tied his career best finish. 2004 Star Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear - Round 2 at Mid Ohio6/26/2004 American Le Mans at Mid Ohio The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio June 24 - 26, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FAIRFIELD, N.J., May 3 - 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. 2004 Star Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear - Round 1 Sebring3/19/2004 THE 52nd ANNUAL MOBIL1 12 HOURS OF SEBRING PRESENTED BY DODGE Sebring International Raceway / Sebring, Florida March 15-19, 2004 FAIRFIELD, N.J., Feb. 20 - Andersen Walko Racing (AWR), one of the most successful formula car prep shops in North America, has become a dealer for Pi Research data acquisition products.
AWR will use that company's systems in all three of its cars competing in the Formula Ford 2000 Zetec championship in 2004. Andrew Prendeville, Adam Pecorari and Mike Andersen are the drivers. Dan Abbale, Jonathan Klein and Chris Meredith drive for AWR in the Formula SCCA series. Scott Willard's Formula Continental car is prepped by AWR, as is Tim Dunn's Formula Ford. The team is currently installing Pi's new Delta Lite system with "X Sport" dashes and Toolbox Lite software into many of its cars. "We've had a long-term working relationship with members of AWR," explained Jason Knuteson, SCCA Club Racing sales manager for Pi Research, USA, which is based in Indianapolis. "AWR is one of our premier teams in SCCA Club Racing, and we're excited to have them on board. All of their team cars are on Pi systems." "We chose PiXpress because its new dash display is excellent and it offers a new 'qualifying mode,' which gives drivers instant feedback," said Andersen, who in addition to being one of the team's drivers is also its data acquisitions expert. "In addition to using Pi systems, we will carry their products and accessories for sale to other teams," added his father, team co-owner Dan Andersen. The new X Sport from PiXpress was developed directly from the steering wheel-mounted instrumentation used in the cockpits of Indy car and Formula 1 race cars. It allows drivers to see the data when they want to, and neatly replaces gauges or other bulkhead-mounted instrumentation in a small, lightweight package mounted directly on the steering wheel. Among the things it keeps track of are lap times and lap numbers completed; the driver's current lap position against the fastest lap of the day; real-time speed and RPMs; minimum corner and maximum straight speeds; gear numbers; and high-intensity gear changes in order to protect the engine. Logged data includes lap times, maximum speed and RPMs, and maximum and minimum sensor values for each lap. Data can be downloaded to a PC laptop to discuss in driver debriefings, hopefully resulting in better lines and faster speeds. For more information on Pi, see www.piXpress.com and www.piResearch.com. AWR has offices in Fairfield, N.J. while its race cars are housed in a shop in North Versailles, Pa. For more information call (973) 244-1900 and see the team's Web site at www.andersenwalko.com. -lm- FAIRFIELD, N.J., Jan. 21 - Andersen Walko Racing (AWR), one of the most successful formula-car prep shops in North America, announced today that Andrew and Doug Prendeville, Adam Pecorari and three-time and reigning SCCA Formula Continental National Champion Mike Andersen will compete in AWR entries this year in the Formula Ford Zetec Championship (FF2000), which is part of the Cooper Tires Championship Series.
The team's drivers line-up for its Formula SCCA (FSCCA) and SCCA national programs will be released soon. Several of the drivers are in the middle of an extensive winter testing schedule organized by the company, which has offices in Fairfield, N.J. and a 7,500-square-foot race shop in North Versailles, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Andrew Prendeville and Adam Pecorari plan to contest all of the FF2000 Zetec events, while Doug Prendeville and Andersen will run in selected events. "Our goal is a one-two championship finish, nothing less, and with these two talented pilots running the entire schedule we can accomplish that goal," said team co-owner Dan Andersen. Andrew Prendeville, 22, of Monroeville, Pa., finished fifth in the FF2000 Zetec championship last year running with AWR after earning the SCCA Formula Continental National Championship at the prestigious SCCA Valvoline Runoffs in 2002. "I'm definitely going for the championship this year," he said. "I think we can do much better than we did last year. This year I want to be on top. I think the competition is going to be just as tough as last year, but I think my experience last year will really help going into this year's events." Pecorari, of Ashton, Pa., ran in the FF2000 Zetec championship for the team last year too, scoring one podium finish and three top-five finishes and finishing eighth in points for the year. The 19-year-old was named the series' "Rising Star" at last year's awards banquet. Prior to moving into formula cars he captured two International Karting Federation (IKF) Grand National championships and was a finalist at the world-famous Monaco Cup in Monte Carlo. "My goal is to be on the podium at every race," Pecorari said. "As far as the championship goes, we'll have to see. I believe that I have a good chance of winning the title, but Andrew is going to be one of the drivers who will be my toughest competition. It's going to be a good season." Pecorari added that he's pleased to be a member of the AWR squad. "They're really a professional team and their cars are good," he said. "They're really nice guys too." Doug Prendeville plans to compete in the first two races (Sebring, Fla. in March and Road Atlanta in April), while Mike Andersen's 2004 season is scheduled to begin at the Road Atlanta race. He plans to compete in approximately four events, and is especially looking forward to the two races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Although Andersen has run only a limited schedule of SCCA Formula Continental events since 1998, the 30-year-old Green Pond, N.J.-based driver has accumulated a dozen SCCA national victories, 17 SCCA national poles, four SCCA Runoffs poles and five SCCA track records in addition to his three SCCA national Formula Continental championships. He took a break from competition from 1996 through 1997, but before that he was a star of the pro Formula Ford 2000 series, finishing fourth in 1992, second in 1993 and third in 1994. "I'm not planning to defend my Formula Continental championship; we sold that car," he explained. "Once they finalize the FF2000 Zetec schedule I'll decide how many race I'll do. I usually do four or five races a year." Can he beat his two teammates who will be running the entire schedule? "Well, I'll try!" he said with a smile. "I've beaten Andrew before but I've never raced against Adam." Doug Prendeville, Andrew's older brother by three years, lives in Morristown, N.J. He got started in the sport through local go-kart events and the Bertil Roos School. He won the Bertil Roos Hard-Charger Award in 2001. He competed in SCCA Formula Continental events in 2002, finishing third in the Northeast division point standing and nabbing a second place at the Valvoline Runoffs. He ran the entire FF2000 Zetec series last year with AWR, finishing 13th in points and gaining a great deal of experience which will help him in 2004. AWR was formed in November 2002 with the merger of two-time SCCA national champions Andersen/Kish Racing and John Walko Racing. The team finished third overall in its first season together on the FF2000 Zetec trail. The team is led by Dan Andersen, co-owner, team president and Mike's father, and John Walko, co-owner, team manager and chief engineer. Dan Andersen, one of the most influential men in the junior open-wheel formula car ranks in North America for over a decade, organized the U.S. Formula 2000 national championship series with partner Mike Foschi in the early nineties and ran it successfully through 2001. He has also owned and operated his own successful race team with his son for many years. Walko is recognized as one of top engineers in Formula Ford, Formula Continental and Formula Ford 2000 racing today, with multiple SCCA national championships and runner-up finishes. He was chosen as "Engineer of the Year" for 2003 in the FF2000 Zetec series. He also ran the factory Carbir team in the U.S. F2000 series. -awr/lm- Here's how our drivers performed in 2003:
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