Up for auction "Grand Prix" Hand Signed 3X5 Card. This item is
certified authentic by Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate
of Authenticity. ES-8155 Arie Luijendijk (anglicised
as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953) is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Motorsports
Hall of Fame of America in 2014. He is also known as "The
Flying Dutchman". Luyendyk won a total of seven Indy car races,
including three in the CART series, all of them on ovals. 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.
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
185.981 mph (299.307 km/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 187.433 mph
(301.644 km/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 237.498 mph (382.216 km/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.
Luyendyk
also was selected to participate in the 1992, 1993, and 1998 editions of
the International Race of
Champions. 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. Other
Luyendyk victories include the 24 Hours of Daytona and
the 12 Hours of Sebring. His
son, Arie Jr., is an off-road
and Indy Lights racer. 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. |