---
title: "Meet Arie Luyendyk, Race Car Driver, and the next Bachelor"
description: "The next Bachelor is on track to get the hearts racing for 30 lucky ladies."
date: "2017-11-30"
modified: "2017-11-30"
authors:
  - name: "Hayley Lind"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/hayley-lind"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/16573/meet-arie-luyendyk-race-car-driver-and-the-next-bachelor"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "abc"
  - "Driver"
  - "Racecar"
  - "the bachelor"
---

# Meet Arie Luyendyk, Race Car Driver, and the next Bachelor

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/11/arie.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

On Dec. 11, ABC will air *The Bachelor: Countdown to Arie,* a preview of the *Bachelor* franchise’s 22nd season, starring race car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr.

He is the son of Arie Luyendyk Sr., a famed Dutch-born Formula 1 driver who won the Indy 500 in 1990 and 1997.

Luyendyk, who was announced as the *Bachelor* in September, has been racing since he was 11-years-old. The Scottsdale, Arizona-bred driver has raced in multiple [Indy](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/14521/indycars-2017-season-what-the-series-needed-to-take-on-the-world>) Lights races, the Indy 500 and the A1 Grand Prix, and was named the Infinite Pro Series’ “Most Popular Driver” from 2003 to 2006.

Luyendyk, 36, is one of the oldest *Bachelor*s, but this is not his first time on the show.

The blue-eyed heartthrob appeared on Emily Maynard’s season of *The Bachelorette* in 2012 and made it to the final two, where he faced what he says is his most recent heartbreak. Unlike other *Bachelor* contestants, who have appeared on spinoffs like *Bachelor Pad* and *Bachelor in Paradise,* Luyendyk stayed out of the limelight after his first experience. He still recalls Maynard as his [“last true love.”](<https://www.wbay.com/content/news/ABC-offers-one-hour-The-Bachelor-preview-Dec-11-458893723.html>)

*Countdown to Arie* will address Luyendyk’s recuperation from this breakup, along with successful *Bachelor* couples and a sneak peek at this season’s cast. Several other teasers have already aired for the show, which started filming in September.

A [recent trailer](<https://www.tmz.com/2017/09/25/bachelor-arie-luyendyk-jr-motorcycle-date/>) showed Arie driving a lucky brunette on a motorcycle for their date.

There is no word on whether or not there will be a race car date. Perhaps [Arizona-based](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/16475/a-look-at-the-arizona-international-auto-show>) Luyendyk will take some lucky ladies to the [Phoenix International Raceway](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/7266/phoenix-raceway-to-undergo-178-million-renovation>), where his father championed the Indy 500.

The new season will air on January 1, 2018, at 8 p.m. EST.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/HaylToTheLind>)