Arie Luyendyk Jr. Partners With Pocket Choppers
(Scottsdale, AZ) January 4, 2004 - Arie Luyendyk Jr., a veteran Indy Racing League competitor and the 2003 Infiniti Pro Series' "Most Popular Driver Award" winner, has partnered with Pocket Choppers, Inc. from Belding, MI, for the 2004 racing season. Pocket Choppers is a company that produces and distributes miniature motorized bikes that look and sound just like their bigger counterparts - full-sized motorcycles! "These bikes are so cool!" stated Arie Jr. after getting his first taste of riding the Pocket Chopper through the streets of Scottsdale. "They reach around 40 mph which, on a bike this small, is really fast. This is going to be the hottest pit bike in the IRL next year! I'm pretty tall, but the bike still fits me and is comfortable. We're going to have some fun with this Pocket Chopper in the next few weeks! I want to thank Joel and Rachel Golden for the opportunity they have given me to represent their product. I'm sure we'll get a lot of interest in the Pocket Chopper from the racing community." Kicking off their association, both Pocket Choppers and Arie Luyendyk Jr. will be appearing at the 2004 O'Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, OK. Pocket Choppers will be exhibiting in a trade show booth for the duration of the event lasting January 7-10, 2004, while Arie Jr. will sign autographs and meet with the fans both Thursday and Friday, January 8-9, in the Pocket Choppers booth. 'We are ecstatic to be teamed up with Arie," said Pocket Choppers CEO Joel Golden. "We think that this is a great opportunity for people to see our little chopper. This is also a great opportunity for Arie to make his presence felt as he rumbles by everyone in the pits! We wish him the best of luck in his first year of Indy Car racing!" Pocket Choppers are built with a Tecumseh 4-stroke engines, Comet Torq-A-Verter, #40 chain, 14-gauge frame tubing, straight pipe exhaust for a big bike sound, an 8-inch front wheel and a 6.5-inch rear wheel, custom-made show quality seat and aluminum triple clamps. They have ergonomically designed peg and handle bar positions for riders up to and over 6' and 300 pounds, and they come in red, blue or black, although custom colors are also available (check out Tony Stewart's new "Home Depot Orange" bike at the Chili Bowl). For more information about Pocket Choppers, please visit their website at www.PocketChoppers.com. Call Joel Golden at (616) 794-3000 or email Joel@pocketchoppers.com for sales or dealer inquiries. For more information about Arie Luyendyk Jr., check out his website at www.ArieLuyendykJr.com, call Janie Vogel at (440) 808-1813 or e-mail ilikeracing@comcast.net. About Arie Luyendyk Jr. Age: 22 Residence: Scottsdale, AZ Birthplace: Den-Bosch, Netherlands Height / Weight: 6' 2", 175 lbs. Marital Status: Single Website: www.ArieLuyendykJr.com Racing Lineage: Son of two-time Indy 500 winner, Arie Luyendyk (1990, 1997); Future: Will attempt to run in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, in 2004; Awards: Named IRL Crew's "Most Popular Driver Award" winner for the IRL Infiniti Pro Series in 2003; 2003 Major Media Appearances: Italian Vogue: Feature article and full-page, color photo (July); Abercrombie & Fitch Fall catalog; Feature article and full-page color photo (current); USA Today; Autosport; Racer Magazine; RPM2Nite (ESPN2) television show; Spike TV - "Super2nr"; Stuff Magazine (November shoot); ABC Sports Radio; Other Job: Currently signed by the world-renowned Ford Modeling Agencies in both Scottsdale and Los Angeles; Hobbies: Enjoys listening to music, working out, practicing yoga, traveling, cooking and snowboarding; Racing Stats: 2003 - Final 2003 Indy Racing League Infiniti Pro Series Point Standings: 7th - 2nd in IPS laps completed - 5 top-5 finishes - Tied with Ed Carpenter for IPS all-time consecutive starts with 19 - Most consecutive IPS top-10 finishes with 11 - Won Pole Position during the recent "dreamerscandles.com 100" at Texas Motor Speedway, and also the "Michigan 100" at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway in August (the second year in a row for this accomplishment) Other - 2nd in Indy Racing League Infiniti Pro Series standings in 2002 - Won the SCCA F2000 SoPAC National Championships on the strength of 4 victories in 2001 - Finished third at the FF1800 Marlboro Masters event in front of home crowd in Zandvoort, Netherlands, in 2001 - Wins in SCCA Regional and National races - Wins in Skip Barber Formula Dodge Series - Top-5 finishes in US FF2000 Series - Wins in SCCA FF2000 National Series - 5th in US FF2000 Oval Crown Championship (2001) - 3rd in SCCA FF2000 Valvoline Runoffs (2001) - Began racing karts in 1992