IZOD to Sponsor Andersen Racing's Luyendyk in Firestone Freedom 100

INDIANAPOLIS - The title sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Series will be the primary sponsor of the No. 5 that Andersen Racing has entered in Friday's Firestone Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for driver Arie Luyendyk Jr.

IZOD Credit: IZOD

Luyendyk and team co-owner Dan Andersen made the announcement Wednesday afternoon at a press conference at the Speedway.

Luyendyk, the 28-year-old son of two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk Sr. and the most popular driver in Firestone Indy Lights history, also announced that Mo'sGold Advantage car wax will be an associate sponsor of the effort.

"We are proud to support Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Andersen Racing's Firestone Indy Lights team," said Mike Kelly, executive vice president of marketing for PVH. "This is a unique opportunity to align the IZOD brand with a talented young gun who comes from one of the most famous racing families in history."

"Arie is an easy fit into the IZOD lifestyle," said Brian Marks, president of TopSpeed Management, which represents Luyendyk. "He is tied into the fashion scene with his own clothing line called Anti-Celeb, which will also be represented on the car.

"This is an exceptional week for the IZOD IndyCar Series, and with IZOD extending its brand presence into the Firestone Freedom 100, it's a great addition to the weekend," Marks added.

IZOD offers updated, classic clothing for the entire family. It embodies a youthful, energetic spirit with a sports-inspired lifestyle that's seen in its embrace of bold colors and clean designs. Its products are available at department stores nationwide.

Mo'sGold returns to Firestone Indy Lights with its associate sponsorship of Luyendyk's effort. He has a long relationship with the company, and is a distributor of its products through his karting activities.

"Arie is a wonderful young man and a heck of a driver," said Joe Mobley, president of Mo'sGold. "The entire Mo'sGold racing family looks forward to watching Arie drive to the front in the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday."

Luyendyk said that long-time IndyCar supporter Joan Hubbard will also support his appearance in Friday's race, which gets the green flag at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Dave and Andrea Robertson of Robertson Racing, who field a Ford GT in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron, will provide similar backing.

Luyendyk, who also serves as an expert racing analyst for VERSUS, has more starts than any other driver in the history of Firestone Indy Lights with 62 and more laps completed than anyone else with 3,487. He is third on the list of career top-five finishes with 24 and he tops the chart for top-10 finishes with 47.

He has been voted the series' "Most Popular Driver" multiple times.

Luyendyk is slated to participate in two 45-minute practice sessions at 9 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. tomorrow before time trials are held at 3 p.m. that afternoon. The pre-race activities begin at 12:15 p.m. on Friday.

The race will be broadcast live on VERSUS beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern. The IMS Radio Network's live coverage of the day's activities is slated for noon to 3 p.m. on indycar.com, XM Channel 145 and Sirius Channel 211.

All times are Eastern.

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