Class is in session

On Sunday May 4th, the rookie class for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 will take to the track, and make their first laps around the 2.5-mile speedway for the Rookie Orientation Program, a set of four phases of 10 laps each at increasing speeds.

This years diverse class is made up of 13 rookies (the most since 1997) who have varying degrees of experience on the fabled track, from Indy Light's graduates (Jaime Camara, Jay Howard, Alex Lloyd and Hideki Mutoh), to former F1 drivers with experience on the road course (Enrique Bernoldi and Justin Wilson), to those who will be experiencing the venue for the first time.

“It’s obviously something I’ve been looking forward for a long time,” said Jay Howard, who finished 2nd in the 2006 Freedom 100. “The first 500 I went to, I was sitting in the grandstands. The hair stands up on your arms, you get goose pimples. You can’t explain to anyone what it’s like, and I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like actually sitting in the car racing. It’s definitely going to be a nice, new experience for me.”

Justin Wilson, one of the drivers who made the jump from Champ Car to IndyCar earlier this season, competed on the road course with Formula One, which used portions of the oval, however driving in the opposite direction.

“There was a great deal of anticipation of going there and seeing the place,” said Wilson, who finished eighth in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2003. “You’ve heard so many things about it, you want to go and see it for yourself. You don’t realize how big everything is until you get there. That pit complex, the size of the grandstands – it’s like two walls on either side of the track. It was interesting to see it."

The rookies class, along with three drivers taking refresher courses, will have two full days of practice to learn the intricacies of the track before it is opened up to all of the participating drivers on May 6.

Only eight rookies have ever won the Indianapolis 500. One of these young drivers is hoping to be the ninth.

Indianapolis 500 Rookies
Oriol Servia – KV Racing Technology
Will Power – KV Racing Technology
Alex Lloyd – Rahal Letterman Racing
Ryan Hunter-Reay – Rahal Letterman Racing
Mario Moraes – Dale Coyne Racing
Jay Howard – Roth Racing
Hideki Mutoh – Andretti Green Racing
E.J. Viso – HVM Racing
Jaime Camara – Conquest Racing
Enrique Bernoldi – Conquest Racing
Mario Dominguez – Pacific Coast Motorsports
Justin Wilson – Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Graham Rahal – Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

Rookie Orientation kicks off Sunday, May 4th as part of Indianapolis Star Opening Day. The full day (track opens at 9am) includes opening ceremonies, an honorary lap with Al Unser & Al Unser Jr. and an Unser family question-and-answer session and family autograph session with Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Al Unser III, Robby Unser and Johnny Unser. The rookies will be on track from noon - 5pm on Sunday and noon - 5pm on Monday.