Luyendyk keeps coming back to Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS -- A short-lived retirement two years ago made it clear to Arie Luyendyk that he still needed to race in the Indianapolis 500.

The two-time winner stepped out of the cockpit, supposedly for good, following the 1999 season, and spent the next year working as a consultant to longtime car-owner Fred Treadway and a racing analyst for ABC Sports.

Watching the buildup to the 2000 race was agonizing.

"I just kept thinking I was in the wrong place, that I was supposed to be on the track, not up in a TV booth," he said.

He decided to return to driving, but only for the Memorial Day weekend event. Now Luyendyk figures he'll keep racing here until he no longer has the urge or can't get a competitive ride.

The Flying Dutchman, who won in 1990 and 1997, will be making his 17th Indy start Sunday and, at 48, will be the oldest driver in the 33-car field for the second straight time.

"That doesn't bother me," Luyendyk said. "Age doesn't mean that much if you can still do the job."

Luyendyk proved he could still do it, spending most of last May with a smile on his face as he qualified sixth and drove to a 13-place finish in the race. He said only a bad clutch, causing him to stall twice in the pits, kept him from running with the leaders.

Even as he drove past the checkered flag, Luyendyk was already thinking about coming back this year.

"This is a race you can do one-off because you get so much time on the track," Luyendyk said. "You get into a rhythm and then slowly find that groove that you have when you're racing the whole year."

Luyendyk, who qualified at 228.848 mph and will start 24th on Sunday, is considered one of the favorites in the Indy field.

Elsewhere

RUDD RECORD:Ricky Rudd will break the NASCAR Winston Cup record for consecutive starts Sunday when he takes the green flag for the Coca-Cola Racing Family 600.

The 45-year-old Virginia driver made his 655th straight start two weeks ago in Richmond, Va., to tie the mark set by Terry Labonte from 1979-00.

Rudd, who began the streak Jan. 11, 1981, at Riverside International Raceway, has 22 career victories.

NADEAU SUBS: Jerry Nadeau, fired by Hendrick Motorsports, will replace the injured Johnny Benson for the second straight weekend in the No. 10 Pontiac.

Benson, who broke a rib three weeks ago in the Busch Series race in Richmond, Va., said he hopes to return in two weeks for the Pocono 500.

-- From wire reports