Arie Luyendyk was right after all. He did deserve to be in the True Value 500K winner's circle instead of A.J. Foyt.
On Sunday, Luyendyk was declared the winner of the Indy Racing League event following an all-night review of a wild race that ended Saturday with Foyt punching the Dutch driver in the head.When the race ended Saturday night, Foyt drivers Billy Boat and Davey Hamilton were listed as finishing 1-2 with Luyendyk, the winner of last month's Indianapolis 500, third.
Luyendyk was so convinced he won that he charged into victory lane. He began walking away when Foyt came up from behind and twice hit Luyendyk in the back of the head. The 62-year-old Foyt then wrapped his hands around Luyendyk's head, took two steps and shoved him to the ground.
Luyendyk's Treadway Racing team protested the results about an hour after they were posted. That kept U.S. Auto Club officials working through the night trying to figure out what happened.
They discovered a huge mess caused when electronic transmitters used to register laps didn't always count cars crossing the start-finish line in the pit area. Five of the 26 cars were affected, including Luyendyk's.