Guthrie to Join RLR/Andersen Racing
Guthrie, 21, will join Mario Romancini of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Miami as the drivers for the Palmetto, Fla.-based team's two-car effort.
Car Crafters, IZOD, Andersen Racing and Andersen RacePark will sponsor his car. Car Crafters has been providing top-quality collision and mechanical repairs, service and glass replacement to the Albuquerque market since 1982.
Guthrie, who has 41 Firestone Indy Lights starts dating back to 2006, is returning to the series following a suspension after an incident during the April 23 race at Kansas Speedway. He has three career top-five finishes and 13 top 10s in the very competitive series. He was running at the finish in 32 of his 41 starts.
"We have known and liked the Guthrie family for many years, and we're pleased to be able to help Sean return to the series," said team co-owner John Andersen. "He is a good driver and he's very anxious to get his racing career back on track. Hopefully he'll be able to have a good weekend and then build on that for 2010."
"The first word that comes to mind is 'Wow!' said Guthrie. "I was vacuuming glass out of a car at my dad's body shop on Wednesday when I got a call from my dad. He said 'Do you want to drive for Andersen at Homestead?'
"After a short conversation and a few hours to wrap my head around the idea, the decision was made. I'm extremely excited to be back in the car and can't wait to work with the great Andersen Racing crew. I have raced against Andersen Racing in both the Star Mazda series and Firestone Indy Lights, and they have always had a tremendous team."
Guthrie has two previous starts in Firestone Indy Lights at Homestead. He finished 19th there in 2007 and 11th in 2008.
"Returning to Homestead is something I had been looking very forward to after my disappointing race last year, where I went a lap down due to an issue during the warm-up lap, and then had to pass the leader to get my lap back. I eventually finish 11th," Guthrie added. "It was by far the best car I had in 2008, and it was a race that I should have won.
"I'm excited to meet Mario too," Guthrie continued. "I have never met him but have heard good things about him. I'm sure that we can learn things from each other and work as a team to put an exclamation mark on 2009 for Andersen Racing."
Live coverage of the 67-lap Homestead finale is planned for VERSUS and indycar.com at 6 p.m. Eastern.
For more information on Andersen Racing, which is sponsored by Allied Interior Products and Lafarge North America and offers programs in karting and Star Mazda in addition to Firestone Indy Lights, see its Web site at andersenracingteam.com. For more information on its 1-mile road course test track in Palmetto, Fla., see andersenracepark.com. Its karting team's new Web site is located at andersenkarting.com.
Guthrie's Web site is at seanguthrie.com, while Car Crafters' is at carcrafters.com.