The month of May gets started this week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk will oversee the annual "head start" program for first-time drivers at the Speedway, alonside KV Racing Technology's Tony Kanaan. The Dutchman says the Rookie Orientation Program has evolved far beyond what was available to him for his rookie run 27 years ago.

"We had only a little bit of insight from some guys," Luyendyk recalls. "Mario (Andretti) said don't rush into anything because the track will bite you before you know it. It says a lot in a few words. You have to have a methodical approach about the place."

On May 10, the will relay that information and ample amounts more during the Rookie Orientation Program at the Speedway. The 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. session, which also will include a refresher course for competitors, is free and open to the public to watch from the South Terrace Grandstands adjacent to Gate 2. Opening Day for all-cars practice is May 12. Confirmed entrants include:

  • Katherine Legge, No. 6 Dragon Racing
  • Rubens Barrichello, No. 8 KV Racing Technology
  • James Jakes, No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing
  • Bryan Clauson, No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
  • Wade Cunningham, No. 41 A.J. Foyt Racing
  • Josef Newgarden, No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
  • Simon Pagenaud, No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports

Luyendyk was the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year (he started 20th and finished seventh) in a class that included Raul Boesel, Jim Crawford, John Paul Jr., Ed Pimm and Rich Vogler. Insight about how to approach the 2.5-mile racetrack and the mental aspects of how to approach Race Day will be prominent in the lead-up to on-track activity.

"I'll take them around in a pace car and show them the general line," says Luyendyk, who also serves as an IZOD IndyCar Series race steward and driver coach. "And I'll point out things to them like keep your eye on the wind sock on a windy day, because you can adjust your position as you turn into Turn 1 or Turn 3. I'll tell them where all the trucks are stationed so if they have a problem they can try to pull off nearby. When you come out of the pits on the backstraight, don't think the track's your own because the guy coming up behind you is a lot quicker.

"As I go around with the pace car, I keep remembering things and I'll share. Some of them are personal preferences like the way I was seated in the car or the way I wanted to have the steering wheel (level).

"Then there's the mental approach to the race. If you're on the radio with a guy, you can mentally coach him at certain times through the race. Like if he has a certain set of tires and all of a sudden the car is not handling well and he's going 5mph than before, you need to step in and say, 'OK, this is bad news but you have to hang on. Don't get frustrated. Other guys will have it happen to them.' You have to reassure them that it's going to be OK, even if it's not.

"A lot of guys get on a roll, they're running well, and one stint in their mind is destroying their race. You don't want them to get frustrated and crash."

Luyendyk, who made 17 consecutive starts in the "500," winning in 1990 and '97, also holds the track four-lap (236.986 mph in 1996) and one-lap (237.498 mph) qualifying records. The past two years at Indianapolis, he's coached Mike Conway and Charlie Kimball.

"Having Arie there – not just for ROP but the whole month – made a difference because Indianapolis is one of those places where the second you stop paying attention you end up doing something that gets you into trouble," says Kimball, driver of the No. 83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing car. "The first time you go there the safe thing is to lift early and turn in early, and then when you're starting to go flat if you turn in early you get yourself in trouble on race day. So having Arie there to say, 'Look, here's how it's going to play out if you keep doing this.'"

Adds Luyendyk with a chuckle: "Turn 1 is a corner where most guys have a tendency to turn in too early – and they keep turning in early. I went on the radio and said, 'Do you want me to remind you every lap that you're turning in too early or every other lap?' I think he got it then..."