Pep Boys Indy Racing League Media Tour

Inside the Castle of the Reigning King of Indy
Arie Luyendyk, two-time winner and defending champion of the Indianapolis 500, has been asked so often how his life has been changed by capturing the world's most important automobile race that he has developed two answers: the quick one and the real one. The quick one comes with a smile: "You seem to get recognized a lot more." The real one is spoken slowly, softly, from the heart: "It's like putting the icing on the cake for any driver. Even though you may have already accomplished a lot in racing, winning that race means that now you have done the ultimate. People seem to respect you more, they put you on a pedestal." But even that answer does not go deep enough. Luyendyk, who left his native Holland in 1981 to further his racing career in the United States, says: "It's really kind of hard for me to explain what being an Indy winner has meant. When I came to the States, the Indianapolis 500 was the race. Then I ended up winning it, not once but twice. Now it's like I'm part of the history of this race I've always heard about and always thought about. That's something I'm very proud of." Will this be the year that Luyendyk makes it three wins? "Treadway Racing will give me the best equipment it can and that and my experience on this track should put us in a position to repeat history."

Two of the media tour members get a close up of a car "bucket" under constuction in the Treadway Racing Shop. The team has had two crashes this year and is busy rebuilding cars.

This "bucket" is being fitted with a seat for Luyendyk using polyurthane. Note the white foam in the cockpit of the car. It will be an exact, albeit tight fit for the driver.

Treadway Racing personnel explained one of the finer points to building a Pep Boys Indy Racing League racer.

This is a complete racer that is in the final assembly stage. Treadway Racing was busy building several cars to replace the two that had been wrecked at Phoenix and and in practice at Indy.

The Treadway Racing Number 5 Sprint PCS/Radio Shack/Oualcomm racer is prepared for an afternoon of practice during the open sessions at Indy.

The current "King of Indy" catches a ride to the track for an afternoon practice session. Lyuyendyk is the first driver to win over $5 million in his career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

© photographs by Kiki Ege, Jackson Thames and Ashton Brown

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	Two of the media tour members get a close up of a car "bucket" under constuction in the Treadway Racing Shop. The team has had two crashes this year and is busy rebuilding cars.
	This "bucket" is being fitted with a seat for Luyendyk using polyurthane. Note the white foam in the cockpit of the car. It will be an exact, albeit tight fit for the driver.
	Treadway Racing personnel explained one of the finer points to building a Pep Boys Indy Racing League racer.
	This is a complete racer that is in the final assembly stage. Treadway Racing was busy building several cars to replace the two that had been wrecked at Phoenix and and in practice at Indy.

	The Treadway Racing Number 5 Sprint PCS/Radio Shack/Oualcomm racer is prepared for an afternoon of practice during the open sessions at Indy.
	The current "King of Indy" catches a ride to the track for an afternoon practice session. Lyuyendyk is the first driver to win over $5 million in his career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.