For media information:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
IZOD to Sponsor Luyendyk's
Andersen Racing No. 5
In Friday's Firestone Freedom 100
At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS, May 26 - The title sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Series will be
the primary sponsor of the No. 5 that Andersen Racing has entered in
Friday's Firestone Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway for driver Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Luyendyk and team co-owner Dan Andersen made the announcement Wednesday
afternoon at a press conference at the Speedway.
Luyendyk, the 28-year-old son of two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk Sr.
and the most popular driver in Firestone Indy Lights history, also
announced that Mo'sGold Advantage car wax will be an associate sponsor of the effort.
"We are proud to support Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Andersen Racing's Firestone
Indy Lights team," said Mike Kelly, executive vice president of marketing
for PVH. "This is a unique opportunity to align the IZOD brand with a
talented young gun who comes from one of the most famous racing families in
history."
"Arie is an easy fit into the IZOD lifestyle," said Brian Marks, president
of TopSpeed Management, which represents Luyendyk. "He is tied into the
fashion scene with his own clothing line called Anti-Celeb, which will also be
represented on the car.
"This is an exceptional week for the IZOD IndyCar Series, and with IZOD
extending its brand presence into the Firestone Freedom 100, it's a great
addition to the weekend," Marks added.
IZOD offers updated, classic clothing for the entire family. It embodies a
youthful, energetic spirit with a sports-inspired lifestyle that's seen in
its embrace of bold colors and clean designs. Its products are available at
department stores nationwide.
Mo'sGold returns to Firestone Indy Lights with its associate sponsorship of
Luyendyk's effort. He has a long relationship with the company, and is a
distributor of its products through his karting activities.
"Arie is a wonderful young man and a heck of a driver," said Joe Mobley,
president of Mo'sGold. "The entire Mo'sGold racing family looks forward to
watching Arie drive to the front in the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway on Friday."
Luyendyk said that long-time IndyCar supporter Joan Hubbard will also
support his appearance in Friday's race, which gets the green flag at 12:30 p.m.
Eastern time.
Dave and Andrea Robertson of Robertson Racing, who field a Ford GT in the
American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron, will provide similar
backing.
Luyendyk, who also serves as an expert racing analyst for VERSUS, has more
starts than any other driver in the history of Firestone Indy Lights with 62
and more laps completed than anyone else with 3,487. He is third on the
list of career top-five finishes with 24 and he tops the chart for top-10
finishes with 47.
He has been voted the series' "Most Popular Driver" multiple times.
Luyendyk is slated to participate in two 45-minute practice sessions at 9
a.m. and 11:45 a.m. tomorrow before time trials are held at 3 p.m. that
afternoon. The pre-race activities begin at 12:15 p.m. on Friday.
The race will be broadcast live on VERSUS beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern. The
IMS Radio Network's live coverage of the day's activities is slated for
noon to 3 p.m. on indycar.com, XM Channel 145 and Sirius Channel 211.
All times are Eastern.
Indycar.com also features live timing and scoring of all the Firestone Indy
Lights and the IZOD IndyCar Series races.
Luyendyk's Web site is located at arieluyendyk.com.
Andersen Racing, based in Palmetto, Fla., is sponsored by Allied Building
Products Corp. and has a presence on the Internet at andersenracingteam.com.