"I had my mind made up that I was going to drive at Indy for Fred (Treadway) and I wanted to do it until Sam's crash," Luyendyk said from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. "But what happened to Sam just turned me off. So I'll stay retired."

Luyendyk and Schmidt, who was paralyzed from the chest down in the Jan. 6 accident during an Indy Racing League test at Orlando, Fla., were teammates for Treadway last May. Schmidt was transferred from Orlando to a rehabilitation facility in St. Louis on Tuesday.

"I was brushing my teeth this morning and I was thinking, 'Sam can't do this,'" Luyendyk said. "Then I started playing with my 6-year-old twins and I thought about Sam's two little kids and how he'll never be able to run around the house with them. It's very sad and it hit home with me.

"His age (35), his family life ... I've been thinking a lot about those things," the 46-year-old Luyendyk told The Indianapolis Star. "If I didn't have any responsibilities, I'd try it again, absolutely. But I've got four kids and a wife and I kept thinking about what would happen to them if I got hurt like Sam.

"I love racing at Indy and driving into the first turn right on the edge. But it's always been about me and I decided it's time to grow up and think about them."

The Indy 500 was Luyendyk's only race last year. He started from the pole position and was leading when he lost control and crashed trying to lap Tyce Carlson. He said he started getting an itch to race again a few weeks ago when he saw Al Unser Jr. testing in Phoenix.

"Those new IRL cars are so awesome and I got psyched up again," he said. "You know, I've never done drugs but racing must be like that because it's so in my blood."

Driving sports cars is a possibility, but for now Luyendyk plans to help his 19-year-old son in Formula 2000 and continue to do TV commentary.