For Arie Luyendyk Jr., life and his celebrity status changed when he starred on “The Bachelorette.” But racing fans will instantly recognize him as the son of the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, and a one-time starter in the race in his own career.
Luyendyk’s back to racing full-time in 2013 for the first time in five years. The all-time starts leader in Indy Lights (the current, 2002-2013 iteration) has now done a racing career 180, as he races in one of the Stadium Super Trucks in Robby Gordon’s new series.
“I think the SST is so fun and unique, compared to what I’m normally used to with IndyCar,” Luyendyk told MotorSports Talk at Long Beach. “As a driver, it’s been a lot to get used to. Our first event in Phoenix was insane. There’s so much support for series – it is new and fresh – but happy to be a part of it at the ground level because I think this thing is going to get big.”
Corralling a truck and racing it indoors is something he didn’t expect to be doing, but he described that sensation.
“You have these 600hp trucks that are doing big jumps, and on TV it looks great,” he said. “Our first broadcast on NBC went really well. In the stadium, you have the noise reverberating, the huge jumps, the pyrotechnics. It’s like a Supercross race with trucks. And I feel like you can race these a lot harder than the bikes. I’m having a blast doing it.”
It’s an adaption for Luyendyk to this style of racing, but he did well in his debut, finishing fourth.
“It’s a lot like driving in the rain,” he explained. “The dirt does change a lot through the race so you’re adapting in the moment. It’s actually very technical; it might not look that way on TV. But it’s how you read a jump, read the terrain, what you have to do to preload before a jump.
“A lot of these off-road guys have a jump on me – pun intended – but it was really cool to come so close to a podium in my first race. Robby got me at the end. Basically to have never done anything like it before, and finish fourth after racing with Robby, Rob Mac, and P.J. Jones was really fun.”