Luyendyk Jr.

It's been three weeks since our last Infiniti Pro Series event, the inaugural Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but I've been keeping busy. In fact, I just returned from Atlanta, where I made an appearance for my sponsor, Grill 2 Go. It is just a great product to get behind. I'm not much of a cook, but even I can grill on the Grill 2 Go. I got to attend an awards ceremony for their sales people, which was great.

I like to do the sponsor events because without sponsor support, there would be no racing. First and foremost are the fans and sponsors. I like doing things to support my sponsors, and it's important to keep those people happy because they support you throughout your career. Thanks to them, I get to live my dream of racing professionally, and I can never forget that. Unfortunately, I think some drivers get to a point, after a while, where they don't really appreciate what is given to them.

You have to remember who the people are that let us do what we do. I try to do everything I can in terms of media and sponsor events. I try to do all of the autograph sessions. I really like seeing the faces on the little kids. For me, that's one of the best parts of the job. Racing is definitely the focus, but the stuff that goes along with racing is great, too.

I try to help my sponsors as much as I can, so I have been on the road for a while now. I was in Indy for the Month of May for the Freedom 100 and the Indianapolis 500, and then I went straight to Los Angeles. I enjoyed hanging out in L.A. and meeting some interesting people. To me, the entertainment business looks like a lot of fun. Should an opportunity arise in entertainment, I would probably consider it. But while I like being in front of the camera, racing is definitely my passion. I need to go fast. If I'm lucky, it will be what I will do until I'm old and gray.

When I'm not at the track or traveling, my daily routine is pretty relaxed. When I'm out of town, I am working all the time, so when I come home, I sleep in, lie out in the sun and work out. I like to train, which is good, because it's obviously very important in auto racing to stay fit. I enjoy going to the gym, but I also like to do a lot of my training outdoors.

My outdoor routine includes hiking, biking and running. I have a road-racing bike, and I typically like to cycle 25 to 30 miles. Also, Camelback Mountain is really close to where I live, so I climb that a lot. I'm not going to say that I enjoy camping -- I like a nice bed -- but I definitely enjoy outdoor activities. I like the warm weather, I love being in the sun, and in Arizona, I can be outside all of the time. Sometimes I joke that I could be a professional sun-tanner. Should Hawaiian Tropic ever contact me about sponsorship, that would definitely be a go!

Now that you're thinking I'm a total slacker, let's get back to the motivation behind my training: to win the Infiniti Pro Series championship. Unfortunately, we had some bad luck at the Freedom 100 in May, but we are putting that behind us and focusing on the rest of the season. The upcoming race at Pikes Peak should be interesting. I hope we can turn our luck around.

The entire season has been a little unlucky for me. After four second-place finishes last year, I was expecting to win races, and so far all we have had is one DNF, one crash in warmup and one top-five finish. We have qualified well for every event, but our results have been pretty mediocre. I need to win the next race. Last season, I finished second in points, and we really need to step it up if we are going to contend for the championship this year.

Still, I have to get past being frustrated. There are nine races left in the championship, and a lot can happen. The points race in the Infiniti Pro Series is very close. I'm pretty good at forgetting about everything that happened in the past and just starting with a new piece of paper, so to speak. It helps that I am doing a lot of physical training. I think working out really clears your head. It gives you time to think about what you need to do.

I turn to training to relax so I can get the absolute maximum out of myself and the car. Sure, some weekends are good, some weekends are bad, but you just have to try your best. It may sound cheesy, but it's the truth. I just hope our best is better than everyone else's this weekend at the Pikes Peak 100.

Infiniti Pro Series driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. is be providing a diary to ESPN.com throughout the 2003 season. Luyendyk's Web site can be found at www.arieluyendyk.com. The official Infiniti Pro Series Web site is www.indyproseries.com. The IRL Infiniti Pro Series Pikes Peak 100 is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET June 14 at Pikes Peak (Colorado) International Raceway. The race will be broadcast at 12:30 p.m. ET June 28 on ESPN2.