Arie Luyendyk Jr. Surpasses Expectations in Phoenix :: 03.20.2005
It’s been a rough start of the season for Arie Luyendyk Jr. After missing the Miami 100 Arie was left a step behind. Yet, proving once again, at the Phoenix 100 he surpassed expectations by finishing this spectacular race. Starting 8th, and running in the mix with 9 rookie drivers out of the 15 was proof alone that it takes more than just a fast car to finish. One would say that Arie Jr. was on the defense in this spectacular race. The rust from the long off season was knocked off quickly by magnificently avoiding a spin from #20 Jay Drake in the first corner. With 4 out of the 5 accidents caused by rookie drivers, any spectator would admit that it was at most an exciting race to watch. Luyendyk fiercely dodged all 5 of these unexpected crashes involving 7 drivers. Incidentally, on lap 27 closely behind #33 Wade Cunningham, Arie kissed the outside wall of turn two. “I was following Wade into turn one and I picked up a push, as I put in more steering input the car started to go loose, by the time I caught it I was up in the grey. I had to come completely out of the throttle, but I still hit the wall with my right rear tire. The car was really good on the restarts but lost a lot of grip on the long runs. After I touched the wall, it may have changed the rear toe making the car loose,” stated Arie Jr. The AFS crew brought Arie into the pits for a quick check during a yellow flag. Fortunately, he didn’t cause any damage to the suspension allowing him to finish the race. Although battling with a loose car, it was quite an accomplishment finishing in 4th place. Team owner Gary Peterson and all his crew shouted and cheered Aries’ safe return. It was a nail biter to watch these amazing maneuvers and quick thinking by Arie. After hitting the wall and dodging all five crashes with nothing but mere split seconds in claiming himself safe, he proved to all that talent and experience must go hand in hand. “I just want to say thanks to Gary Peterson for giving me the opportunity to drive here. Although it wasn’t the result we were looking for we finished the race. My new engineer Mark did a great job.” Thanks to Arie, he’ll be keeping us all talking until the next race, which we hope will be the Indy 500.
