Gefeliciteerd Arie Luijendijk

Today we congratulate Arie Luijendijk on his 58th birthday. I can remember as clear as yesterday watching him in awe and amazement win the Indy 500. I must admit I was proud to be Dutch too!

Arie at F.O.S. in 2007 (photo own collection)

He started his racing career in the the early 1970s and won a couple of Dutch national titles and by 1977 he won the European Super Vee title. Hereafter he switched to Formula 3 but did not have much success. In 1984 he crossed the pond and right away won the Super Vee championship. His good fortune let him to befriend his long time sponsor Provini Veal and with their help Arie ran his first full season of Champ Car season in 1985, winning rookie of the year title both for the season as for the Indy 500. Although he often came close, his first win came in 1990 when he set a blistering pace and won the Indianapolis 500. Arie continued to perform well at Indy, scoring pole positions in 1993, 1997 and 1999, and retiring from the race while leading on three occasions. In 1997 he won his second Indy 500.


He retired from racing after the 1999 season, and had a stint as a commentator for ABC Sports. Over the course of his career Arie also won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, both endurance races. The last corner of Zandvoort carries his name. He really lived up to his nickname: "the Flying Dutchman".

Photo credit: own files