stringtranslate.com

Arie Luyendyk

Arie Luijendijk (anglicized as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2014.[1][2]

Luyendyk won a total of seven Indy car races, including three in the CART series, all of them on ovals.

Career

Arie driving his fathers car at Zandvoort after his father, Jaap, won the European Formula Vee championship in 1972.
Luyendyk's Lola-Chevrolet which won the 1990 Indianapolis 500 for Doug Shierson Racing.
Luyendyk in 1991, driving for Vince Granatelli.

Luyendyk started racing in the early 1970s, winning a number of Dutch national titles. In 1977, he won the European Super Vee championship, and switched to Formula Three. Further success eluded him until he moved to the United States in 1984, where he immediately won the Super Vee championship.[3]

With the help of sponsor Provimi Veal, Luyendyk ran his first full Champ Car season in 1985, winning the rookie of the year title both for the season and the Indianapolis 500. Gaining additional sponsorship from Domino's Pizza (and changing his racing number to 30, as at the time Domino's guaranteed customers that delivery orders would arrive in 30 minutes or less), his first win in the series came five years later in 1990, at the most important race in the series, with a record average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h). Luyendyk won the 1990 Indianapolis 500 for Doug Shierson Racing. His average speed record, which stood for 23 years, was finally broken in the 2013 97th Indianapolis 500 by Tony Kanaan with an average speed of 187.433 mph (301.644 km/h).

Luyendyk continued to perform well at Indianapolis, scoring pole positions in 1993, 1997 and 1999, and retiring from the race while leading on three occasions. In 1995, Luyendyk controlled the race early until an incident with Scott Sharp put him several laps down. For the rest of the race, Luyendyk was able to make up all his laps and barely beat eventual winner Jacques Villeneuve at the stripe to get his final lap back and finish on the lead lap.

Luyendyk's track record setting Reynard 94I.

In 1996, he set the qualifying lap record at 237.498 mph (382.216 km/h), although he did not start on the pole because he qualified on the second day of time trials. He won the 1997 Indianapolis 500 from the pole over Treadway Racing teammate Scott Goodyear. The race ended in controversy when on the final restart the white and green flag waved to end a caution but the yellow lights stayed on with Luyendyk pulling away to the win while the other competitors were confused. A similar finish involving a similar mistake almost took away a win from Luyendyk two weeks later.[4]

At the 1997 True Value 500 at Texas, a scoring error by the USAC resulted in Billy Boat being declared the race winner. Luyendyk protested in front of victory lane, only to be slapped by Boat's team owner A. J. Foyt. Following the incident, Foyt and Luyendyk were fined US$20,000 and US$14,000 respectively, for unsportsmanlike behaviour. IndyCar officials reviewed the race tape and discovered that Luyendyk had actually finished on a lap by himself and completed more laps than the scheduled race distance, thus he was declared the official winner. Because Foyt refused to surrender the trophy, a duplicate was awarded to Luyendyk.[5]

Luyendyk also was selected to participate in the 1992, 1993, and 1998 editions of the International Race of Champions.

After his terrific run in 1997, Luyendyk had a washout year the following season. He only won one race, and had several races where he didn't finish the full distance. After 1998, Luyendyk decided to cut down to a part-time schedule, only racing in the 1999 Indianapolis 500 where he won the pole and dropped out because of a crash. He retired from racing after the 1999 season, and for a short time, joined ABC Sports as a color commentator. He returned to the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, he entered at Indianapolis for the final time. He suffered a crash during practice, and did not make an attempt to qualify.

Other Luyendyk victories include the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. His son, Arie Jr., is an off-road and Indy Lights racer.

The last corner of the Zandvoort track in the Netherlands carries his name. In 1999, he was presented with the Sagamore of the Wabash award, reflecting upon his Indy 500 career. In 2016, Luyendyk was selected as a chief steward for the IndyCar Series alongside fellow racer Max Papis and Dan Davis.[6]

Motorsports career results

Complete European F5000 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Formula Super Vee

CART PPG World Series

IndyCar Series

1 Luyendyk was listed as the primary entry and participated in practice; during practice, Luyendyk crashed, and decided to sit out the race due to injuries. Alex Barron replaced him in the car.
Indianapolis 500

24 Hours of Le Mans results

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

References

  1. ^ Arie Luyendyk at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  2. ^ "Arie Luyendyk, Professional Sports Figure". www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/. New Netherland Institute. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. ^ Brown, Allen. "US Formula Super Vee 1984". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ Pruett, Marshall (9 June 2017). "PRUETT: The IRL's coming of age in Texas, 1997". Racer.com.
  5. ^ Herbst, Alex (12 June 2016). "RaceDay Rewind - 1997 IndyCar True Value 500". Beyond the Flag. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  6. ^ "INDYCAR NAMES VETERAN MOTORSPORTS TRIO AS RACE STEWARDS FOR 2016 SEASON". IndyCar Series. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Arie Luyendyk Racing Highlights". driverdb.com. Driver Data Base. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ "1984 SCCA Robert Bosch Formula Super Vee Championship Arie Luyendyk - Champion". champcarstats.com. Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  9. ^ "US Formula Super Vee 1984". oldracingcars.com. Old Racing Cars. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021. Such was the increased profile of SCCA Super Vee Championship, it started to attract some international participation with the arrival of Dutchman Arie Luyendijk, who changed the spelling of his surname to Luyendyk to help the US press. In his Ralt RT5, run by Lee Hagen and financed by fellow Dutchman Aat Groenevelt's Provimi Veal business, Luyendyk won four races and took four second places, as well as four pole positions and four fastest laps. His closest competitor was Chip Robinson, one of the finds of 1983, who won three races in 1984 and had taken three second places up to the penultimate round, at Laguna Seca in October. Here he was leading comfortably on the last lap and poised to take the championship lead when a stub axle sheared and pitched his Cateret Savings Ralt into the barrier. That loss of 20 points would prove conclusive, and the Dutchman was crowned as champion.
  10. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1988 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1989 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1997 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1996 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1997 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 2002 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  29. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  30. ^ "All Results of Arie Luyendyk". racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  31. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1992 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  32. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1993 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Arie Luyendyk – 1998 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 3 August 2023.

External links