Arie Luyendyk Jr. Pre-California 100 Release
ARIE LUYENDYK, JR. PRE-RACE REPORT For Immediate Release Monday, September 15, 2003 INDY RACING LEAGUE INFINITI PRO SERIES CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, FONTANA, CALIFORNIA "CALIFORNIA 100" 11th race out of 12-race season PRE-RACE REPORT DRIVER: ARIE LUYENDYK, JR. #5 SINDEN RACING SERVICE DALLARA/INFINITI/FIRESTONE IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series' Most Popular Driver, Arie Luyendyk, Jr., Looking Forward To First Win At California Speedway "CALIFORNIA 100" FAST FACTS Date and Time: Saturday, September 20, 2003, 3:30 pm (PDT) Track: California Speedway (Fontana, CA) 2-mile, asphalt D-shaped oval Race Distance: 50 laps/100 miles Cars/Engines/Tires: Dallara chassis; Infiniti Q45 engines; Firestone tires "CALIFORNIA 100" PRE-RACE QUOTES FROM ARIE LUYENDYK, JR.: (Take us on a lap of California Speedway): "It's just flat out for us. You leave the pits, turn left and it's flat out. It's pretty much identical to Michigan. Your car is pretty much trimmed out - you have no drag in the car at all, as far as the Pro Series is concerned. You want to try to concentrate on driving on the bottom of the race track. You need to make sure your car is aerodynamically clean through the air, be flat out all the way around, and be smooth with the steering wheel. It's a very smooth track - there's only like one or two bumps. Just make sure your car is good in traffic because it will be a huge drafting race." (About potential to win at California Speedway): "The track is pretty much the same as Michigan. We got the pole last year at Michigan, we got the pole this year at Michigan, so I'm hoping we can get the pole and pull out a win in California. We do have a different engineer (than the team had in Michigan) so the car will be set up differently. We won't have the setup from Michigan, so we can't use it, but I'm sure Mark Moore (engineer) will figure out something good there." (How has your Pro Series year gone so far in 2003): "The year has not gone that well, but we've learned a lot. Going into the year, I was probably the hopeful to win the championship. I was second overall last year, and A.J. (Foyt IV) moved up to the IndyCar series. The light was really shining on me to do well. We started off pretty good in the first race, ran second the whole race, but slipped back to fourth at the end, so that wasn't too bad. Any time you can finish in the top five it is a good race. Then the second race, I qualified third, but then that is when things kind of started going downhill. I crashed in the warmup, and then we had to start last because the car was not ready in time. That was kind of the beginning of the bad streak of races we had. After that, in Indianapolis, the car broke - we had a fire after qualifying fifth. Then we kind of bounced back and finished third at Pikes Peak after starting last or second last. The car was great, so that spurred some hope. Then there was Nashville, Michigan and Kansas where we just had a string of bad luck - a crash or a really bad handling car. It's been kind of an up-and-down roller coaster of a ride season because every time we think we've got some momentum going, we get kind of knocked down and finish on the bottom somehow. This is really the only time of the season where we've got a little rhythm going by finishing third, then fourth, then fourth again at Chicagoland last week. We've been up there with the leaders the last few races, so we need to keep that up and just move up a couple of spots." (Regarding 2004 plans): "We are definitely working towards running in the IRL next year. I hope to get a ride with a good IRL team, that's the most important thing right now. Hopefully we can raise the sponsorship dollars it takes. Rookie seasons are important, because that's your first impression within the League. I hope to do well and I hope to find a home with a good (IRL) team. That would be the ideal situation. If I don't find a ride in the IRL, I'm not sure what we'll do - we'll probably find ourselves in the Pro Series again. But we're really, really working hard to get a ride in the IRL. If we can't get a full season put together, then hopefully we can do at least a partial season. We'll see how it goes. My expectations are that if I do have a full-season ride, to net a whole bunch of top-10 finishes would be my goal. I want to set realistic goals because I know the competition is really strong out there. If I do get with one of the better teams, then of course I'll have to do better than top-10 finishes - we'll need some wins." PREVIOUS CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY EXPERIENCE The 2003 "California 100" is the inaugural event for the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series at the California Speedway. ARIE LUYENDYK, JR. 2003 STATISTICS * Current Indy Racing League Menards Infiniti Pro Series Point Standings: 7th *2002 Final Point Standings: 2nd (4 second-place finishes in 7 events); * Leader in IPS laps completed; * 5 top-5 finishes; * Tied with Ed Carpenter for IPS all-time consecutive starts with 17; * Most consecutive IPS Top-10 finishes with 10; * Tied with Jeff Simmons for races consecutively running at the finish with 9; * Won Pole Position during the recent "Michigan 100" at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway in August (the second year in a row for this accomplishment). "CALIFORNIA 100" ON TELEVISION The "California 100" will be tape delayed on ESPN2, at 2:30 p.m. (EDT), on September. 25, 2003 NEXT RACE: Texas Motor Speedway, Saturday, October 11, 2003. (* Televised Oct. 16, 3:00 p.m. (EDT), ESPN2) "CALIFORNIA 100" RACE WEEKEND SCHEDULE (all times local): Friday, Sept. 19 7 a.m. - IndyCar Series and Menards Infiniti Pro Series garages opens 8:15-8:45 a.m. - Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice 9-10:30 a.m. - IndyCar Series practice (two groups) 12:45-1:15 p.m. - Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice 1:30-3 p.m. - IndyCar Series practice 4:30 p.m. - Menards Infiniti Pro Series qualifying Saturday, Sept. 20 7 a.m. - IndyCar Series and Menards Infiniti Pro Series garages open 9-10 a.m. - IndyCar Series practice 10:20-10:35 p.m. - Final Menards Infiniti Pro Series practice 11 a.m. - IndyCar Series MBNA Pole Qualifying 3:30 p.m. - California 100 (50 laps/100 miles), ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. (EDT), Sept. 25 4:45-5:15 p.m. - Final IndyCar Series practice 5:30 p.m. - Autograph session Sunday, Sept. 21 8 a.m. - IndyCar Series garage opens 12:30 p.m. - Toyota Indy 400 (200 laps/400 miles), ABC-TV & IMS Radio Network (live) TRACK INFORMATION - CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY: 2-mile paved oval Front straightaway: 3,100 feet Back straightaway: 2,500 feet Width: 75 feet Banking: Frontstraight: 11 degrees Backstraight: 3 degrees Turns: 14 degrees California Speedway opened in 1997 and has a seating capacity of 92,109. One of the most modern tracks in the country, the Speedway has on-site Metrolink train service during race weekends. The facility also includes 28 skyboxes and 71 pit lane deluxe corporate suites. Along the main straightaway, there is a four-sided, 146-foot scoring pylon. Thirteen message boards are also located throughout the grounds. The track also includes a 1.3-mile infield road course. In addition to the Indy Racing League, the speedway also plays host to NASCAR, CART and AMA events. NOTES Happy Birthday, Arie: The Sinden Racing Service team is hoping to celebrate Arie's 22nd birthday, which is Thursday, September 18th, with a win in the "California 100" on Saturday! Arie a Favorite both On and Off the Track in California: He's been close, but Arie has yet to visit the Winner's Circle in 2003. However, California Speedway could very well break that streak of bad luck. A new engineering team (veterans Mark Moore and Gilbert Lage) and a focused attitude may land him that coveted 1st-place trophy before the weekend is done. Combine the fact that Arie has claimed the pole position the last two times the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series has visited 2-mile ovals (Michigan Speedway in 2002 and 2003), with his love for high-speed venues and heavy right foot, and Arie is surely a favorite to lead the field to the checkers on Saturday. A Model Driver: Arie has had an exciting week since he left the Chicagoland Speedway, as he signed a contract with the world-famous Ford Robert Black Modeling Agency in Scottsdale, AZ. Look for Arie's pretty face on a billboard near you... Popular Arie: Arie led the IRL Crew's "Most Popular Driver Award" polling once again at Chicagoland Speedway, making him the leader in this prestigious award category for every IPS race of 2003 (he currently has four times the votes of second place Aaron Fike). If he continues at this pace during polling at the California Speedway and the season-ending race in Texas, Arie will be honored for winning the "Most Popular Driver Award" at the IRL Crew's yearly banquet in Indianapolis on November 8th. The annual IRL Crew "Salute to the IRL" will take place at the Brickyard Crossing, and is for members only. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., with awards scheduled to be given at 7:30 p.m., there will be a Q&A session with special guest Tom Carnegie at 8:00 p.m., and then there will be dancing to a live band at 9:00 p.m.. Tickets are $20 each per member (send check or money order to: IRL Crew, PO Box 241157, Speedway, IN 46224). For more information about the IRL Crew or their banquet, check out their website at: www.IRLCrew.com. Cataloging Arie's Career: 21-year-old Arie is featured in the Fall "Back To School" issue of the widely read Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, with a full page Q&A interview accompanied by a stunning full-page, full-color photograph. To view a portion of the A & F layout, visit Arie's website at www.arieluyendykjr.com, and click on the "media" link; ; European Flair: Scottsdale resident Arie is making waves in Europe, as the Italian version of Vogue Magazine tapped this rising star to feature in their recent July issue. To view a portion of the Vogue layout, visit Arie's website at www.arieluyendykjr.com, and click on the "media" link; Running For A Cause: Fitness-minded Arie is taking his training routine a step further, and will be running for a cause in 2004, as he has partnered with "Team In Training" as a spokesperson for their affiliation with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Arie will start training immediately with a group of people who are all dedicated to raising funds and awareness to cure the devastation that Leukemia and Lymphoma cause in millions of people every year. Arie will act as a spokesperson for "Team In Training" while raising funds through activities such as running in a Mini-Marathon, which will be held January 11th in the Phoenix area, where Arie resides. Arie also plans on running in the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon for the second time in 2004. For more information on how you can support Arie's efforts, please e-mail Janie Vogel at jvogel@iquest.net or check out the "Team In Training" website at www.TeamInTraining.org. New Title for Infiniti Pro Series: It was announced at the Chicagoland Speedway last weekend that Menards, Inc., with owner John Menard, a long-time IndyRacing car owner, will be the new title sponsor of the Infiniti Pro Series. The new name of the Indy Racing League's support series will now be the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series; Closest Finish: The "Chicagoland 100" held last weekend was the closest finish in IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series history, with Mark Taylor finishing a mere .0170 seconds in front of Ed Carpenter; 2004 Series Schedule Announced: It was announced last weekend at the Chicagoland Speedway that the newly-named IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series will have a 12- race slate in 2004, with six of the events being held on the same day as IRL IndyCar races. The races will take place in Miami (2/29), Phoenix (3/20), Indianapolis (5/22), Kansas (7/4), Nashville (7/17), Milwaukee (7/25), Michigan (8/1), Kentucky (8/14), Pikes Peak (8/22), Chicagoland (9/11), California (10/2) and Texas (10/16). California Home: The Sinden Racing Service team would like to welcome a new partner for the "California 100" race, as they will be making their home at the Best Western Heritage Inn in nearby Rancho Cucamonga, CA. It is the closest hotel to the California Speedway, so if you are headed to the 2004 "Test in the West" at that track, check out the great service they'll offer you. Call Nancy at the Best Western Heritage Inn at (800) 682-7829 and let her know you support Arie Luyendyk, Jr. Many thanks to the Sinden Racing Service Team's 2003 supporters: Average Joe's Best Western Heritage Inn Bosch Coca-Cola DeCosta Co. Evolutionize Meijer Molina Jewelers Momo RE/MAX Widmaier Chiropractic Smith & Wesson Thermos Grill-2-Go