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Arie Luyendyk named as one of three new IndyCar race stewards

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk has been named as one of three new race stewards for the coming IndyCar season

The 58-year-old Dutchman will form a race control team with former Champ Car competitions chief Gary Barnard and ex-racer Johnny Unser, all reporting to race director Beaux Barfield.

Luyendyk, who won at the Brickyard in 1990 and '97, will also act as a driver mentor and coach, to ensure on-track standards are kept up.

"I wished I would have had that kind of help at Indy in '85, [his rookie season]" Luyendyk said. "I had to find my way around, and the only advice I ever got was from Mario Andretti who said 'Watch out for this place because it can bite you in a hurry.'

"We don't have to really coach those guys on how to drive. We have to coach them on how to go about dealing with certain situations and keeping calm. It's more mental coaching than driving coaching. We're going to follow Beaux's lead and we'll be another set of eyes looking at the race and trying to keep it safe for everybody."

Barfield, who assumed his current role earlier this year, said that the appointments of Luyendyk, Unser and Barnard would allow him to focus on broader issues surrounding IndyCar.

"A steward is kind of an overseer of an event who understands a driver, the product, the officiating, and has a broader sense of everything that goes into making a great event," said Barfield. "By being a safety net to me, it leaves us in a better place moving forward. It also leaves someone in that role to serve as a driver coach.

"Arie and Johnny bring vast knowledge and experience to driver-related issues, and more importantly as driver coaches to some of the drivers who need help. Putting together a race control team is a big task, and I'm very proud of the team assembled and confident in the collective abilities to officiate effectively."

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