- Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk (born
September 21 ,1953 ) is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of theIndianapolis 500 .Born in
Sommelsdijk , 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 toFormula 3 . Success continued to elude him until he moved to theUnited States in 1984, where he immediately won the Super Vee championship.With the help of sponsor
Provimi Veal , Luyendyk ran his first fullChamp Car season in 1985, winning the rookie of the year title both for the season and the Indianapolis 500. His first win in the series came five years later in 1990, but it was at the most important race of the series. With a record average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h) that still stands to this day (as of6 May 2007 ), Luyendyk won the1990 Indianapolis 500 forDoug Shierson Racing .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 1996, he set the qualifying lap record at 237.498 mph (382.216 km/h), although he did not start on the pole since he qualified on the second day of time trials. He won the
1997 Indianapolis 500 from the pole over Treadway Racing teammateScott Goodyear . Luyendyk also was selected to participate in the 1992, 1993, and 1998 editions of theInternational Race of Champions . He retired from racing after the 1999 season, but returned to the 500 in 2001 and 2002.Other Luyendyk victories include the
24 Hours of Daytona and the12 Hours of Sebring . His son, Arie Jr., is currently also a racer.The last corner of the Zandvoort track in
the Netherlands carries his name.CART career results
External links
* [http://www.arieluyendyk.com/Site/Arie_Luyendyk_Sr..html Official Website]
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