This year four drivers (Kurt Busch, Martin Plowman, Jack Hawksworth and Mikhail Aleshin) take to the track today to go through the three phases (one change of the many changes to the month of May) to be allowed to attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 later this month. Jacques Villeneuve will participate in the refresher program later this month.
The last driver to fail rookie orientation was Scott Mayer in 2005. He also failed rookie orientation in 2003. Before that it was Russ Gamester in 2000. The year prior Troy Reiger failed to pass. Michael Greenfield failed to finish rookie orientation in 1994 due to mechanical issues.
Four drivers in twenty years have failed to pass in rookie orientation. In the same time frame 171 drivers passed rookie orientation. Out of 175 rookies in twenty years, 2.28% failed to pass.
Should we really still have a session to try and stiff out that 2.28%? Not to mention of your four rookies, three have logged plenty of miles at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the other is a former Formula Renault 3.5 champion, one of the, if not the top junior formula series in the world.
We all know times have changed. Back in the day when you had twenty to thirty drivers who had never raced on pavement, never gone above 125 MPH and never had been on a track larger than one mile, rookie orientation made all the sense in the world. You had drivers who needed to show they could hold their own during a time where drivers not walking away from an accident were a monthly occurrence.
With Indy Lights running at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, drivers already have plenty of miles under their belt. Wade Cunningham had 240 racing laps at Indianapolis before he attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 2012, not to mention countless of practice laps and three victories. Martin Plowman has made two appearances in the Freedom 100. Jack Hawksworth had his Freedom 100 cut short last year but is familiar with the Speedway.
At no other track do drivers need to prove they are good enough to compete on their own. While some will say Indianapolis is Indianapolis and turn one is difficult, we have seen time and time again (97.72% of the time in the last two decades) drivers can handle turn one and can handle the speed.
Instead of having a special session two weeks before the track opens, why not open the track an hour early for the rookies during practice week? If a driver is struggling to get up to speed or is uncomfortable in the car, as always, there are plenty of qualified drivers on the sidelines eager for another opportunity at Indianapolis.
If the day returns where 15 rookies and 25 veterans are entered for the Indianapolis 500, then a separate rookie orientation makes all the sense in the world but the times have changed to where a driver can log 500 miles in an Indy Lights car at the Speedway before even taking a spin in an IndyCar. Drivers today are more prepared than ever for the Indianapolis 500 and safety has improved more than tenfold in the last two decades let alone the last sixty years. Today, you wouldn't be in IndyCar if you couldn't hold your own.
It's time to accept that and let the rookies go toe-to-toe with the veterans with no questions asked.
