Hildebrand Puts On a Show At Indy

05.29.2008

Hildebrand Puts on A Show at Indy

Indianapolis, Ind., May 28, 2008

J.R. Hildebrand drove an astounding race on Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100. The youngster from Sausalito, California overcame a poor qualifying run and worked his way through nearly the entire field before being taken out with just 10 laps remaining, ending his hopes of scoring what very well could have been his second consecutive win.

Hildebrand and his RLR/Andersen Racing team immediately established their competitiveness in practice, setting the fastest overall time after lapping the famed circuit in 46.979 seconds at an average speed of 191.575mph. He and the team worked on both their qualifying and race setups, and were quite happy with the car both in and out of the draft. They felt that they had a realistic shot at the pole, but their hopes were dashed with mechanical trouble that never allowed the car to accelerate up to speed, relegating the Kansas Speedway winner to 21st on the starting grid.

"That was quite a blow, especially considering our pace in practice," related Hildebrand. "The car handled great but just didn't have the grunt to pull it up through the gears. It was like I had a parachute attached to the car, so I knew I had my work cut out for me in the race, particularly since we were at Indy, which is very different than the big, open 1.5-mile speedways I've driven on so far."

Hildebrand would be unfazed by his starting position, however, and put on a spectacular display as he drove though the field. Knowing that he would have to be smart but aggressive around the 2.5-mile track, he made assertive moves to pick his way through the pack. He advanced from 21st to 12th by lap 10, had moved up to eighth by the halfway point on lap 20, and was running sixth when caution came out on lap 23. Hildebrand was running all the way down to the grass at times to get into clean air to pass his competitors, adjusting for the conditions throughout the race.

Coming to the green flag on lap 26, Hildebrand got a great jump through Turns Three and Four, going from sixth to third down the front straight on the restart.

"I was determined to get to the front," said Hildebrand. "It's where we should have started, it's where I should have been the whole race, and I wasn't going to be satisfied until I had made my way there. I used the in-car adjusters to make the car pretty loose because I knew that was the only way I was going to be able to pass in traffic, and drove it down under the white line to help rotate the car through the corners so I could get a good drive off. The car was a serious handful, but it was a rocket."

Following the restart, Hildebrand and Richard Antinucci battled for the next few laps, running side by side just inches apart. Coming across the start-finish line to begin lap 30, Antinucci's teammate, James Davison, drafted up to the pair of them and forced a pass on the inside to make it three-wide through Turn One with Hildebrand in the middle. Davison made contact with Hildebrand more than once through the corner, leaving both Hildebrand and Antinucci with their hands full and little room to spare. Hildebrand, however, would not escape the situation entirely, as Davison tracked out of Turn Two directly into Hildebrand's front wing, ripping it off and cutting Hildebrand's left front tire, as well as his own right rear. Each was forced to pit, and Hildebrand's day was effectively over as he went a lap down after failing to beat the pace-car out of the pits and then being forced to speed in pitlane in a desperate attempt to stay on the lead lap.

"I couldn't believe it," Hildebrand relayed. "We looked at the in-car video afterward and it was just unbelievable. His team and spotter even came over to apologize. It was just a terrible way to end the race after working that hard for it, and I feel bad for everybody because all the guys have worked so hard for this too. We could have won the race from 21st on the grid at Indianapolis. It's a tough pill to swallow."

Hildebrand finished 24th in the final standings, though RLR/Andersen Racing team owner Dan Andersen still has high hopes for the year.

"J.R. once again showed that he is the real deal as a driver, overcoming a bad starting position resulting from engine woes and proving that, given a good racecar, he is the best driver out there competing. We are glad he is on our team and look forward to more wins and, hopefully, a championship," said Dan.

The next stop for Hildebrand, RLR/Andersen Racing and the Firestone Indy Lights Series is The Milwaukee Mile this upcoming weekend. Hildebrand now sits third in the Series points standings, behind Richard Antinucci and Dillon Battistini. He would like to thank Dan and John Andersen and the entire RLR/Andersen team for their support and hard work, as well as Doug Mockett and Company, Formotion Products and Allied Building Supplies.