Andersen Racing's Mechanics Repair Miller's Car and He Qualifies 13th For Long Beach's Firestone Indy Lights Race

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 17 - Andersen Racing's mechanics worked non-stop to repair or replace components of the Andersen Racing/Mockett/Allied No. 5 and get it ready for qualifications after Joel Miller crashed in the Firestone Indy Lights practice session Saturday morning at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Their expertise and hard work paid off when Miller was 13th-fastest in the series' qualifying session a few hours later on the temporary street circuit adjacent to the Long Beach Convention Center.

Joel Miller Credit: ROn MCQueeny/Indy Lights

Miller, who is making his first series start, was not injured in the morning practice crash, which occurred in Turn 1 of the 1.968-mile, 11-turn track. He hit a tire wall just off the unforgiving circuit and came to a stop in a precarious position, and then was hit by another driver who couldn't avoid him. The other competitor was able to drive away but Miller's car came back to the paddock via a wrecker with right-side and right-front damage.

The Andersen Racing mechanics then took center stage as they fixed the car on the floor of the Convention Center while a crowd of onlookers watched. They achieved their goal and Miller was able to run the entire qualifying session a few hours later.

That qualifying session was slowed numerous times by yellow flags, however, which made it hard for the drivers to manage the heat in their Firestone Firehawk tires and the traffic in order to record a fast lap. Miller, of Hesperia, Calif., used the session more as a practice session than a traditional qualifying effort due to the crash, but he still was able to post the 13th-fastest time with a lap in 1:16.7151 for an average speed of 92.352 miles per hour. His best lap was the 15th of 21 he ran in the session.

Miller's appearance at this race is being supported by many local businesses and individuals, including Doug Mockett of Mockett and Co., John Wilkins of Rancho Motor Co., Seers Lumber Co., Joe Phillips, Vance Mitchell and family, Greg Ewald and family, Mark Willhide, Carlo and Stacy Berro of Dreamcars, Don and Karen Shackelford, Jack and Jamie Miller, Terry Fowler of Sunset Paint and Body, and Eric Schroder.

The other Andersen Racing driver here, rookie Carmen Jorda of Alcoy, Spain, will start 16th in the Andersen Racing No. 4, which is sponsored by ASAP Sports, NTGS.es, iHOLA!, Air Europa, pepetravel.com and Allied Building Products Corp. Her qualifying time was 1:18.4485 for an average speed of 90.311 mph. Her best lap came on the 26th of 28 laps she ran in the session.

The 45-minute race will begin at 10:40 a.m. Pacific time Sunday. It is part of the longest-running major street race in North America.

Andersen Racing's Web site is at andersenracingteam.com. More information on Jorda is available on line at carmenjorda.com. More information on Miller can be found at joelmillerracing.com. He also has another Web site at JMillerIndy.com where fans can make donations to help him compete in the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 28.

The series' Web site is at indycar.com. It will have live timing and scoring and video coverage of the race at Long Beach, and all the other Firestone Indy Lights races.

Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied Building Products Corp., competes in karting, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights. A sister company, Andersen Promotions, administers the newly revived USF2000 National Championship, which is presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda.

Joel Miller: "We were having some braking issues in practice and I hit the tire wall. Another driver couldn't avoid me. I think it was Junior Strous, but I'm not sure. Whoever it was, he was able to drive away.

"The team did a fantastic job to get the car ready for qualifying after the crash. I really want to thank them for all their hard work.

"We used qualifying as a test session to see what we had after the accident. But there were four yellows in qualifying, which didn't help. You just did three- or four-lap runs. On the last two times when they called a yellow, I was working on a fast lap that ended up not counting.

"But we're getting closer. This is my first Firestone Indy Lights race and I'm definitely on a mission to learn as much as possible. These cars are a lot different to drive than a Star Mazda car. You have to let the car roll and do what it wants to do. You can't be as aggressive with this car as you can with a Star Mazda car.

"But I think without the problem in practice, we would have been in the top 10 for sure. We'll try our best to stay clean in the race and see what we can come up with."

Carmen Jorda: "I have gone off twice so far; in Turn 5 and in Turn 6. I didn't hit anything; I just touched the wall.

"It was a strange qualifying session because of all the yellow flags. We put new tires on but then there was a yellow. We put new tires on another time but again, the yellow came out. I never got enough heat in my tires. I did my best lap on the last lap, but it didn't count because another yellow came out.

"This is only my second time on a street course. It's easy in some ways but it's hard to put everything together for one really good lap.

"I just have to keep pushing."

The stats so far:


First practice (Friday, 12:15 p.m.):
1.  Sebastian Saavedra, 1:15.1732, 94.246 mph
15. Joel Miller,        1:17.8519, 91.004 mph
16. Carmen Jorda,       1:18.9741, 89.710 mph


Second practice (Saturday, 8 a.m.):
1.  James Hinchcliffe, 1:15.0108, 94.450 mph
16. Joel Miller,       1:17.0115, 91.997 mph
17. Carmen Jorda,      1:17.7358, 91.139 mph


Combined results of practice sessions:
1. James Hinchcliffe, 1:15.0108, 94.450 mph
16. Joel Miller, 1:17.0115, 91.997 mph
17. Carmen Jorda, 1:17.7358, 91.139 mph


Qualifications (Saturday, 12:55 p.m.):
1.  James Hinchcliffe, 1:14.6261, 94.937 mph
13. Joel Miller,       1:16.7151, 92.352 mph
16. Carmen Jorda,      1:18.4485, 90.311 mph

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