Luyendyk Proves He is Still the "King of Indy" in Open Test Round 3 of the 1998 IRL Championship-The Indianapolis Motor Speedway The 1998 Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis, IN-In the final few moments of open testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday, Arie Luyendyk decided it was time to stop messing around and promptly pulled a lap speed of 222.657 mph out of his sleeve to wow the crowd and once again, set the "record" straight.

The two-time defending Indy champ was up to his usual speed antics at the Speedway and is rapidly working on another set of speed records. Once again Luyendyk has turned the fastest lap ever at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the new-formula IRL car.

Despite cold temperatures and strong headwinds, the #5 Sprint PCS/RadioShack/Qualcomm entry fielded by Treadway Racing ran well during the test and enabled Luyendyk to test the limits of the car. "You have to have the right mindset to go fast on a day like today," said Luyendyk. "The weather was a bit chilly and windy and that affected things. It wasn't what I would call a perfect day!"

"I think we have a really good baseline for May. We didn't do much to alter the car. It was mainly the small stuff: suspension, wing angles, ride heights etc. We ran a 222 average which is good, but its not qualifying yet!"

While the Treadway Racing team begins preparations for the opening week of May, Luyendyk will be "switching gears" and preparing for the upcoming IROC race in California on May 2nd.

The overall results from last week's Open Test are as follows:

Car No. Driver C/E/T Laps Top Speed (Day) 5 Arie Luyendyk G/A/F 149 222.657 (Friday) 8 Scott Sharp D/A/G 110 222.310 (Friday) 99 Sam Schmidt D/A/F 147 221.893 (Friday) 51 Eddie Cheever Jr. D/A/G 86 221.228 (Friday) 3 Tony Stewart D/A/F 112* 220.550 (Friday) 4 Scott Goodyear G/A/G 154 220.146 (Friday) 6 Davey Hamilton G/A/G 88 219.346 (Friday) 28 Mark Dismore D/A/G 159 218.118 (Friday) 77 Stephan Gregoire G/A/G 33 218.092 (Friday) 10 Mike Groff G/A/F 124 217.881 (Friday) 15 Eliseo Salazar R/A/G 86 217.553 (Friday) 91 Buddy Lazier D/A/G 85 215.791 (Friday) 21T Roberto Guerrero G/A/G 70 214.972 (Friday) 1 Tony Stewart G/A/F 35 214.761 (Thursday) 97 Greg Ray D/A/F 56 214.235 (Friday) 21 Roberto Guerrero G/A/G 30 213.129 (Thursday) 40T Dr. Jack Miller D/I/F 21 211.894 (Thursday) 55 J. Ward/J. Guthrie G/A/G 87 211.516 (Thursday) 52 Eddie Cheever Jr. D/A/G 32 210.956 (Thursday) 35 Jeff Ward G/A/G 10 210.743 (Friday) 20 Tyce Carlson D/A/G 11 210.182 (Thursday) 30 Raul Boesel G/I/G 47 207.617 (Friday) 52 Robby Unser D/A/G 14 206.911 (Thursday) 17 Brian Tyler D/A/G 58 206.740 (Thursday) 40 Dr. Jack Miller D/I/F 9 206.555 (Thursday) 33 Billy Roe D/A/G 10 206.318 (Friday) 19 Stan Wattles R/A/G 31 199.791 (Thursday) * -- Robbie Buhl also drove the #3 car Thursday Key: D-Dallara; G-G Force; R-Riley & Scott; A-Aurora; I-Infiniti; F-Firestone; G-Goodyear

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