Luyendyk Jr. Wins First-Career Firestone Indy Lights Race; 

Matos Claims Championship with Third-Place Finish

JOLIET, Ill. (Sept. 7, 2008) – Arie Luyendyk Jr. took advantage of a late restart to charge around

teammate Raphael Matos and grab his first career Firestone Indy Lights win Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. And, while Luyendyk Jr. celebrated his landmark race victory, Matos laid claim to his first-ever Firestone Indy Lights championship.

Matos started from the pole and Luyendyk Jr. started in third, but the two teammates hooked up

immediately on the opening lap and ran 1-2 for the first 66 laps of the 67-lap race. When Matos’ championship rival, Richard Antinucci, crashed on lap 26, the championship was his and he was able to race his teammate for fun the rest of the way.

Luyendyk Jr., who ended the season ranked fourth in the standings, was content behind his teammate until the final restart with one to go and then he took his shot. He turned down underneath Matos on the restart, made the pass stick and then held off a charging Ana Beatriz to get win No. 1 in his 62nd career series start.

 

Arie Luyendyk Jr., #26 Targus/Andretti Green Racing/AFS Racing Dallara/Firestone:

“It was perfect. This is a dream scenario – me winning the race and Rafa winning the championship. It’s more than words can describe. Green, white, checkered is always nerve-wracking. We got a good restart,

thank God, and Rafa and I worked beautifully today. Ana (Beatriz) was definitely a tough competitor. My Firestone tires held up beautifully, it was amazing. The car was so consistent from lap one to the end. AGR, AFS, Targus, my sponsor, everyone helped out. It was just a beautiful weekend.”

Raphael Matos, #27 AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing Dallara/Firestone:

"It was the best third-place finish of my life. We had a plan today for me to win the championship and Arie to win the race. He really deserved to win a race this year, and it worked perfectly for us. I'm very happy for him and I'm really happy for the AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing team. They deserve this championship as much as I do."

Gary Peterson, owner, AFS Racing:

“This has been a long time coming. It’s been a lot of hard work from a great team The owners of AGR and our crew have just been fantastic. We’ve just had great cars all year and the drivers have done a great job. Everybody came together. It’s a real team and it’s been just awesome to be involved in it.”

Michael Andretti, co-owner, Andretti Green Racing:

“The combination of AFS and AGR has really worked well together. Rafa just never let us down and Arie has been such a good teammate. Gary has been such a great partner. We’ve spent a couple years together now and we’re hoping it will go for many, many years to come.”

2008 SunRichGourmet 100 Race Results

Pos. Name Laps Pos. Name Laps

1 Arie Luyendyk Jr. 67

2 Ana Beatriz 67

3 Raphael Matos 67

4 Bobby Wilson 67

5 James Davison 67

6 Jonathan Klein 67

7 Robbie Pecorari 67

8 Logan Gomez 67

9 Mike Potekhen 67

10 Daniel Herrington 67 

11 Jonny Reid 67 

12 Micky Gilbert 67 

13 Pablo Donoso 67

14 Cyndie Allemann 67

15 Brandon Wagner 67

16 Christina Orr 66

17 Sean Guthrie 66

18 Tom Wieringa 66

19 Brent Sherman 66

20 Tom Dyer 63

21 Richard Antinucci 25

22 J.R. Hildebrand 7

23 Dillon Battistini 0

24 Wade Cunningham 0