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Arie Luyendyk

b. 1953

Dutch racing driver

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About Arie Luyendyk

Born 1953. Arie Luyendyk is a Dutch racing automobile driver.

Arie Luijendijk (anglicized as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," 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.

Luyendyk won a total of seven Indy car races, including three in the CART series, all of them on ovals.

Career Arie driving his fathers car at Zandvoort after his father, Jaap, won the European Formula Vee championship in 1972. Luyendyk's Lola-Chevrolet which won the 1990 Indianapolis 500 for Doug Shierson Racing.

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 thirty 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, Luyendyk 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.

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 20,000 and 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.

Luyendyk also was selected to participate in the 1992, 1993, and 1998 editions of the International Race of Champions.

After his terrific run in 1997, Luyendyk only won one race in the following season 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.

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.

Motorsports career results

Complete European F5000 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pts 1973 Tony Trimmer McLaren M18 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH MAL SIL SNE BRH OUL MAL MIS MAL MON SIL BRH OUL JYL ZAN SNE BRH 31st 1 1974 Anglo-American Racing Team Chevron B24 Chevrolet 5.0 V8 BRH MAL SIL OUL BRH ZOL THR ZAN MUG MNZ MAL MON THR BRH OUL SNE MAL BRH NC 0

Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts RAM Autoracing Chevron B48 BMW SIL HOC THR NÜR VAL MUG PAU HOC ZAN PER MIS DON NC 0

Complete European Formula 3 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC pts 1978 Racing Team Holland Toyota ZAN NÜR ÖST ZOL IMO NÜR DIJ MNZ PER MAG KNU KAR DON KAS JAR VLL 12th 9 1979 Racing Team Holland Toyota VLL ÖST ZOL MAG DON ZAN PER MNZ KNU KIN JAR KAS 6th 13 1980 Racing Team Holland Toyota NÜR ÖST ZOL MAG ZAN LAC MUG MNZ MIS KNU SIL JAR KAS ZOL NC 0

American open-wheel racing (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Formula Super Vee Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 1984 Provimi Veal Ralt RT5/84 VW Brabham LBH2 PHXRet MIL1 POR3 MEA3 CLE1 ROA2 WGI1 CTR1 MCH2 LSRet CPL2 1st 172

CART PPG World Series

IndyCar Series 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.

Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 1985 Lola Cosworth 20 7 Provimi Veal Racing 1986 Lola Cosworth 19 15 Provimi Veal Racing 1987 March Cosworth 7 18 Hemelgarn Racing 1988 Lola Cosworth 6 10 Dick Simon Racing 1989 Lola Cosworth 15 21 Dick Simon Racing 1990 Lola Chevrolet 3 1 Doug Shierson Racing 1991 Lola Chevrolet 14 3 Vince Granatelli Racing 1992 Lola Ford-Cosworth 4 15 Chip Ganassi Racing 1993 Lola Ford-Cosworth 1 2 Chip Ganassi Racing 1994 Lola Ilmor 8 18 Indy Regency Racing 1995 Lola Menard 2 7 Team Menard 1996 Reynard Ford-Cosworth 20 16 Byrd-Treadway Racing 1997 G-Force Oldsmobile 1 1 Treadway Racing 1998 G-Force Oldsmobile 28 20 Treadway Racing 1999 G-Force Oldsmobile 1 22 Treadway Racing 2001 G-Force Oldsmobile 6 13 Treadway-Hubbard Racing 2002 G-Force Chevrolet 24 14 Treadway Racing 2003 G-Force Toyota Wth Mo Nunn Racing

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1989 Nissan Motorsport Geoff Brabham Chip Robinson Nissan R89C C1 250 DNF DNF

International Race of Champions (key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.) International Race of Champions results Year Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points Ref 1992 Dodge DAY TAL MCH MCH 12th 21 1993 DAY DAR TAL MCH 11th 24.5 1998 Pontiac DAY CAL MCH IND 12th 26

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Important facts

Birth century
Awards
Sagamore of the Wabash
Also known as
Arie Luijendijk

People in Arie Luyendyk's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Arie Luyendyk's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Arie Luyendyk?

Dutch racing driver

When was Arie Luyendyk born?

Arie Luyendyk was born on 21 September 1953 in Goeree-Overflakkee, Sommelsdijk.

What is Arie Luyendyk's occupation?

Arie Luyendyk is a racing automobile driver.

What nationality is Arie Luyendyk?

Arie Luyendyk is Dutch.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Arie Luyendyk

· Wikidata: Q262437

· DBpedia: Arie Luyendyk

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Arie Luyendyk. https://biography.guide/arie-luyendyk/

MLA: "Arie Luyendyk." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/arie-luyendyk/.

Chicago: "Arie Luyendyk." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/arie-luyendyk/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-23 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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