Arie Luyendyk, Jr. Post-Texas Report
ARIE LUYENDYK, JR.
RACE REPORT
For Immediate Release
October 11, 2003
IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series' Most Popular Driver,
Arie Luyendyk, Jr., Concludes 2003 With An
Exciting Weekend In Wild, Wild Texas
-- fast practices, a pole position and a race-winning performance get interrupted by spectacular crash --
INDY RACING LEAGUE INFINITI PRO SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, FT. WORTH, TEXAS
"dreamerscandles.com 100"
RACE REPORT
ARIE LUYENDYK, JR.
#5 SINDEN RACING SERVICE
DALLARA/INFINITI/FIRESTONE
"dreamerscandles.com 100" FAST FACTS:
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2003
Track: Texas Motor Speedway (Ft. Worth, TX)
Race Distance: 67 laps/100 miles
ARIE LUYENDYK, JR. RACE WEEKEND RESULTS:
Qualified: Pole Position / 1st (28.1186 sec., 186.282 mph)
NOTE: This was Arie's 3rd pole of his Pro Series career, the previous two
Being earned at the Michigan International Speedway in both 2002 and 2003.
Finished: 13th (accident on lap 39, after leading laps 1-38).
Race Winner: Thiago Medeiros
ARIE LUYENDYK, JR. ACCIDENT DETAILS:
Arie Luyendyk led laps 1-38 (from the pole) of the "dreamerscandles.com 100" with a pack of cars one to two car lengths behind him racing two- and three-wide, only inches apart. After being passed for the lead on lap 39 by Aaron Fike, Luyendyk was attempting to re-pass Fike and take over the lead again when Luyendyk and Mark Taylor made contact on the backstretch on lap 39 of the race. Luyendyk's right rear of his car came in contact with Taylor's left front, turning Luyendyk sideways in front of Taylor. That angle and the speed they were traveling at the time caused Luyendyk's car to turn upside down briefly, then roll back the same way it came, landing on Taylor's machine and doing a 360-degree pirouette over the car of Taylor. Both cars made contact with the outside retaining wall. Taylor's car slid along the outside retaining wall with Luyendyk's car on top of the nose of the car. The cars came to rest apart from each other in Turn 3. Both drivers climbed from their cars without assistance. After a thorough check up at the HCA Infield Care Center, both drivers were released and cleared to drive.
QUOTES FROM ARIE LUYENDYK, JR.:
"First, I want to thank my crew who worked so hard all year and gave me a pole-winning car this weekend, and my sponsors for supporting me. The car was great - probably the strongest on the track all weekend. Unfortunately, we did not get the positive results we wanted in the race. I am thankful, though, that Mark (Taylor) and I were not hurt, as checking on Mark was my first priority after the accident. Winning races doesn't mean much if someone gets injured. It's a good thing he'd already wrapped up the championship so I didn't mess up his year.
"Although ultimately the crash was my fault, I really thought I was clear of Mark's car. I had a big run going on Aaron (Fike), who had just passed me for the lead earlier in that lap. Because of the rain that we all thought was coming, I didn't think I wanted to waste any time trying to get back around him - if it was going to start raining, they would have to stop the race right away, and I wanted to resume my place at the front. So, when I got the momentum I thought I needed to get around him on the outside, I checked my mirrors knowing Mark was close by as I knew he was looking high, and didn't see him but wanted to be sure, so I gave him a little warning move to make sure he knew I was coming around, and then went high to make my pass. I really thought that even if he was that close he'd move a little bit up the track knowing I had a huge run on Aaron - more than he did, I thought. But he didn't, and, of course, we crashed pretty hard. I am thankful we both walked away from the accident, but really sorry that we had to load up two really torn up race cars. That's not the way I was hoping to end this year. It's just a shame we couldn't have finished up front where we started."
PREVIOUS TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY EXPERIENCE:
Arie Luyendyk, Jr. raced in the final race of the 2002 IRL Infiniti Pro Series at TMS, qualifying 3rd and finishing 7th.
2003 STATISTICS (after the conclusion of the "dreamerscandles.com 100" at TMS)
v Final 2003 Indy Racing League Menards Infiniti Pro Series Point
Standings: 7th
*2002 Final Point Standings: 2nd (4 second-place finishes in 7 events);
v Leader in IPS laps completed;
v 5 top-5 finishes;
v Tied with Ed Carpenter for IPS all-time consecutive starts with 18;
v Most consecutive IPS Top-10 finishes with 10;
v Won Pole Position at Texas this weekend, his third of his IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series career, claiming the top spot in qualifying at Michigan International Speedway in both 2002 and 2003.
"dreamerscancles.com 100" ON TELEVISION
See Arie race in the "dreamerscandles.com 100" IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series race (tape delayed highlights) on Thursday, October 16, at 3:00 pm (EDT) on ESPN2.
Many thanks to the Sinden Racing Service Team's 2003 Supporters:
Average Joe's · Bosch · Coca-Cola · DeCosta Co. · Evolution Eyes
Holiday Inn North Conference · Hubbards · Meijer · Molina Jewelers
Momo · Print Express · RE/MAX · Widmaier Chiropractic
Smith & Wesson · Thermos Grill-2-Go
For more information about Arie Luyendyk, Jr.
please visit his website at: www.ArieLuyendykJr.com
Contact: Janie Vogel (440) 808-1813, jvogel@iquest.net
