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 185.981mph (299.307km/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 187.433mph (301.644km/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.
In 1996, he set the qualifying lap record at 237.498mph (382.216km/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]
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.
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.)
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.
↑ "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.
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