MOTOR SPORTS : LUYENDYK IS RECORD-FAST, BUT LATE.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency.Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The record-smashing qualifying run that Arie Luyendyk Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk (born September 21, 1953) is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500. Born in Sommelsdijk, Luyendyk started racing in the early 1970s, winning a number of Dutch national titles. hoped for came Sunday, a day too late to win the pole for the 80th Indianapolis 500. On Saturday, the first of four days of qualifications for the May 26 race, Luyendyk, the 1990 Indy winner, rode an emotional roller coaster. He narrowly missed becoming entangled en·tan·gle tr.v. en·tan·gled, en·tan·gling, en·tan·gles 1. To twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; snarl. 2. To complicate; confuse. 3. To involve in or as if in a tangle. in another driver's crash, had two engines fail, was forced to switch to his slower backup car and appeared to win the pole. Then he saw Scott Brayton beat him out with a dramatic late-session run and, finally, watched in frustration as the U.S. Auto Club disallowed his qualifying run because his car was seven pounds underweight Underweight An situation where a portfolio does not hold a sufficient amount of securities to satisfy the accepted benchmark of the portfolio's asset allocation strategy. Notes: . ``It's the first time I've qualified twice in one weekend,'' Luyendyk said Sunday after taking out his emotions on the asphalt oval, raising the single-lap track record on each of his four trips around the 2-1/2-mile oval and blowing away Brayton's day-old marks. ``Yesterday was a bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. day for us, and today the sun is shining on us,'' said Luyendyk, whose Friday practice lap of 239.620 mph is the fastest unofficial lap in Indy's history. ``The car was working really good, the way this car has been working all week, really. ``We hardly took any practice today, and just put it out there and ran fast. I just said to the guys, `Let's try for a record. Let's just go for it.' '' Records may be set only in qualifying and during the race. Driving the Menard-powered Lola he had hoped to qualify on Saturday, Luyendyk began with a record lap of 236.239. He followed with consecutive laps of 236.948, 237.260 and 237.498 for a four-lap average of 236.986. That placed him 20 positions behind Brayton, who on Saturday set qualifying standards of 233.851 for one lap and 233.718 for four laps. ``It was unfortunate yesterday we had problems with this car and had to qualify the other one, because the other one was not as fast as this car. And the damn thing was too light as well,'' Luyendyk said. ``It was just an oversight on our part. We made a mistake somewhere. But that was yesterday, and we're looking forward to May 26. That's still the most important day of the month for us, and we're going to try to win the first 500 for this new team owned by Fred Treadway and Jonathan Byrd
Jonathan Byrd (born 1970 Fayetteville, NC) is an American singer-songwriter based in Carrboro, North Carolina. .'' Brayton's run was a dramatic one. It came in the final 15 minutes of the session, after team owner John Menard - hoping to knock Luyendyk off the pole - withdrew the car Brayton qualified earlier in the day at 231.535 to win his second straight Indy 500 pole. Twenty-six drivers qualified on the first weekend - six on Sunday - with the rest of the 33-car field to be determined in time trials next weekend. Also qualifying Sunday were Scott Sharp Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is an American race car driver in the Indy Racing League. He is the son of SCCA multiple champion Bob Sharp. Early in his career he was 1991 Trans-Am champion, also taking 7 poles the next season. and Marco Greco
Marco Greco (Born December 1, 1963 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League from 1996-1999. , both driving for A.J. Foyt, and rookies Robbie Buhl Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963 in Detroit) is a former IndyCar Series competitor. He won the 1992 Indy Lights championship and caught the eye of John Menard in 1996, running as team mate to Tony Stewart for two seasons. , Paul Durant and Racin Gardner. Sharp qualified at 231.201 and Greco at 228.840, joining Foyt teammate Davey Hamilton, a rookie who qualified on Saturday. Buhl, Durant and Gardner raised the number of first-year Indy entries in the lineup to 12 with qualifying speeds of 226.217, 225.404 and 224.453. That is the largest contingent of rookie drivers since 12 started the race in 1932. The race will have direct competition this year from the inaugural U.S. 500 at Brooklyn, Mich., a race being staged by CART organizers upset over a block of spots in the Indy 500 field being reserved for members of the rival Indy Racing League The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series . Honda power: Japanese engines. American, Brazilian, Mexican and Italian drivers. A rebel auto race. Sounds like the makings of a good mystery. And, indeed, it is. Pay attention. The top two qualifiers, and four of the top six, for the inaugural U.S. 500 in Brooklyn, Mich., will be powered by Honda engines. They have been hard to beat this season. Jimmy Vasser won his second pole of the season with a lap around Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile (3.22 km), moderate-banked, D shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,400 acres [1] near Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. of 232.025 mph in a Reynard-Honda owned by Target-Chip Ganassi. It is Honda's fourth pole in six races so far this year. Vasser has won three of the five Indy-car races already run this season. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Arie Luyendyk, with wife Mieke, had a record practice lap wiped out because his car was underweight. Associated Press |
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