Indy's Orientation and the IRL's Orange Pylons

Not a big surprise to see rain hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, the second day of the track being open in preparation for the Indianapolis 500. After all, what’s the month of May at Indy without a bit of rain? Forget about “and it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summertime.” As any race fan knows, the ultimate in sarcasm is “and it don’t rain in Indianapolis in May, as every open wheel racer in the United States is desperately preparing for the biggest single race on the calendar.” A bit unwieldy for a song lyric, but the truth nonetheless. This biggest bummer of the rain is not the fact that the cars can’t hit the track, rather it’s the continued delay in getting the Rookie Orientation program done and in the books. Enough of Rookie Orientation – let’s see the big boys come out and play. Weather permitting, Thursday afternoon we’ll see the veterans – and the IRL’s absolute best – run the oval for the first time all month. Rookie Orientation is a long-standing tradition at the Speedway. It was, and in many respects still is, a necessary evil. The Indy 500 is the sport’s biggest race, on its biggest track. Some orientation for newbies is needed. In April! Why the first couple of days of the month of May is devoted to the rookies, I don’t understand. The fans don’t want it, and the race teams don’t want it. Does it save a bit of budget for the teams? Maybe – and that’s a big maybe. One could argue the degree of savings, especially for the Indianapolis-based teams, is relatively negligible. No real upside financially. If the weather is not so hot the first week – uh, like this year and seemingly every year - it’s a big downside for those trying to get their car ready for the show. The real beef I have with Rookie Orientation is the built in arrogance of the whole thing. You’ve never raced at Indy? Well, you have to go through Rookie Orientation. What if you’ve raced in the pinnacle of motor sport, Formula 1? Too bad. It’s not IRL and it’s not Indy – direct to Orientation, without passing “Go.” I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. Or, rather, you’re not completely right. So, maybe Robert Doornbos, despite his extensive experience in open wheel race cars, can benefit from Rookie Orientation (completing his test in one day and topping the speed charts at 221.735 suggests he passed with flying colors). His very participation not only helps him, but it ostensibly helps every car and driver in the field. After all, a driver has to “learn how to race the ovals.” Safety first. But, what about the oval “masters” who are nothing more than glorified orange traffic cones whenever the IRL visits a street or road course. Yes, A.J. Foy IV and Ed Carpenter, I’m writing of you. Why don’t they have to speed an “orientation day” at every track that features right turns to go along with the lefts. It’s a helluva lot more difficult to pick up road racing than it is to pick up oval racing – we’ve seen it time and time again, in open wheel and stock cars. Does Alex Tagliani need Indy’s Rookie Orientation? Hmmm. Probably. After all, it can’t hurt. That being said, if that’s the case, let’s standardize the whole thing, and make Foyt, Carpenter, Marty Roth, et. al. spend a little extra time on the road courses. Geez, for a couple of grand, maybe take a Jim Russell or Skip Barber course. Tweet me up on Twitter @RayHartjen