Arie Luyendyk Jr - Kansas weekend blog

Arie Luyendyk Jr. Blog: Indy Lights Kansas 100

Well I finally can catch my breath after an exciting weekend of racing. I'm on a plane bound for London just a few hours after the finish of the Indy Lights race in Kansas. In Kansas practice went really well the AFS/Andretti Green Racing car rolled off the truck aggressive for the 1.5 mile oval and we found ourselves first and second (my teammate just got me) after the first day of practice. Qualifying was to be held on Sunday morning but it was so cold we could not safely take to the track. Time wore thin and we started based off of points.

So I rolled of six for the start but as soon as the green flag dropped I was on my way to the front. I think I was in third by the fourth corner, the car was great on cold tires. I settled in after the opening laps and moved past point leader Richard Antinucci and into second spot. The car was on the loose side but leader J.R. Hildebrand (Dutch name but not Dutch) and I pulled a good gap on the rest of the field. I tried to get around on lap 26 and took the lead for a brief moment side by side but it was not enough to get around. As the race progressed there were a few safety car periods, which I think in the end hurt us because our car was better on the long runs. On the last restart with under ten to go I made a move for the lead but almost lost the back end and had to collect it up, making me loose some momentum sliding me to third. The last few laps the top 5 were all together and it was a fight until the last corner, I was able to hold on to finish 3rd. A podium finish and top five in the championship, a good weekend for me and my crew, I was definitely disappointed we couldn't walk away with the win but am proud of my teams choice on race set-up, who knows maybe that win will come at our next event in Indianapolis. I distinctly remember another Dutchmen getting his first win there.

Well I'm off to the next event for A1GP to celebrate with my teammate and seat holder, all three of us (Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jam Lammers and I) finished on the podium this weekend in our different races. Jeroen had a superb drive to advance one position in the Porsche Supercup Series race in Barcelona to finish second. Jan Lammers shared the podium with his two teammates to claim third in the LMP2 class in the Le Mans Series' 1000 Kilometers of Monza . Hopefully Team Netherlands can keep the ball rolling in Brand Hatch this weekend. I take to the track for the rookie sessions on Friday and then Jeroen takes over for the rest of the weekend. A win in the season finale in front of many Dutch fans making the trip over from Holland would be a great way to end the year, wish us luck! Hup Holland!

    Arie

-credit: arie luyendyk jr