WHO ARE THESE : Masked Men?

Rookies are always a matter of concern as they approach their first adventure of racing 220 mph into the first turn at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And then doing it 199 more times.

This year the anxiety has been heightened by the unusual number of newcomers, 17, in Sunday’s Indy 500 field. Only twice in 80 years, when there were 19 in 1930 and 1919, have there been more.

The range in experience is of more concern than the fact that the 17 are here for the first time. At Indianapolis, a rookie is anyone who has never raced in the 500, no matter their experience elsewhere. Thus, Formula One champion Nigel Mansell was a rookie when he raced here three years ago.

A rookie will lead the field this year for the first time since Teo Fabi in 1983, but that is not what concerns 500 followers as they contemplate what might happen during more than three hours of racing.

After all, Tony Stewart is the fastest rookie qualifier in history at 233.100 mph, and he may be the most qualified to reach the Speedway since Michael Andretti in 1984 and Al Unser Jr. in 1983--not counting Mansell.

“Tony Stewart is the finest rookie driver I have ever seen here,” said Johnny Rutherford, a three-time winner of the 500 and the tutor of this year’s rookie crop.

Last year, Stewart drove in 106 races and says he can’t remember how many he won. But he won enough to become the first U.S. Auto Club driver to win the midget, sprint car and Silver Crown championships in a single season.

“Having Tony on the pole with all the responsibility of getting the race started properly does not concern me at all,” said veteran driver Eddie Cheever, who will start directly behind Stewart on the inside of the second row.

“He’s been racing hard, in pressure situations, so he knows how to handle them. He has remarkable poise for one so young. It’s been a pleasure to watch him all month.”

Stewart turned 25 on Monday. Cheever, 38, has been Stewart’s teammate with Team Menard.

“The problem [race day] won’t be with guys like Stewart and Buzz Calkins and Richie Hearn, guys who have been racing a lot, but with the guys who haven’t been racing at all,” said Rodger Ward, a two-time 500 winner.

Veterans who are racing with the rookies and, in many ways depend on them, have been giving the less-experienced drivers plenty of counsel on handling that first turn and all of the turns to follow.

They have told us “be patient and cautious and keep your eye on the mirrors,” Hearn said. “And we need to be aware of turbulence in Turn One. Give yourselves options out [of difficult situations]. Keep your distance from the car in front of you [at the start]. It’s 500 miles, so take the race one segment at a time and get your car set so you can sprint the last 50 miles.”

On Thursday, there was more advice, which may be wearing.

“They showed us every start since 1990, and they were terrible, [but] usually because of one or two of the veterans,” rookie Davey Hamilton said. “So they told us what not to do on the start. They should probably show those films to the veterans as well as the rookies.”

But the concern is still about the rookies, especially the “less-experienced” rookies, such as:

--Brad Murphey, 40, a former rodeo bronco buster who has not been in a race since 1988, when he crashed at Riverside International Raceway during a Corvette Challenge race.

--Johnny Unser, 37, who has championship family lineage but whose major accomplishments have been winning the Los Angeles Grand Prix in the American IndyCar Series at Willow Springs and twice winning the Alcan 5,000, a rally that travels 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Unser hit the wall during Carburetion Day practice Thursday but is expected to be ready Sunday.

--Racin Gardner, 24, a land-speed record driver whose experience is limited to the Bonneville Salt Flats and SCORE High Desert Racing Assn. off-road races. According to his press releases, he once drove the Green Monster 500 mph at Bonneville.

--Paul Durant, 36, a super-modified and midget-car driver whose career has been little more than races at Madera Speedway in Central California.

--Joe Gosek, 40, another supermodified veteran who is something of a legend at the Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway, where he has won 24 races and is the International Supermodified Assn. all-time points leader.

--Jim Guthrie, 34, an Albuquerque mechanic up from the Sports Car Club of America’s Formula Ford class.

--Scott Harrington, 32, a product of the Shelby Can Am Pro Series, whose racing last year was mostly limited to SCCA Showroom Stock events.

The exaggerated number of rookies is the result of Indy Racing League founder Tony George’s desire to open up participation in the Indy 500 to “young American oval track drivers who have been shut out by the increased number of foreign drivers.”

He only partly succeeded. Seven of the 17 are older than 35, and three of them--Michel Jourdain Jr. of Mexico, Michele Alboreto of Italy and Fermin Velez of Spain--are foreigners.

What is distressing to Indy car followers is that, to make room for many of these almost totally unknown drivers, George forced out familiar names such as Al Unser Jr., Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi. They, along with 20 or more other Championship Auto Racing Teams drivers, are in Brooklyn, Mich., today preparing for the first U.S. 500 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Rookies are there too. Eight in the 26-car U.S. 500 field have never driven in the Indy 500.

The drivers at Michigan may be missed by the fans, but not by the newcomers who are here. Almost to a man the group has lauded the Indy Racing League for creating an opportunity that had been missing.

“I’ve run less than 150 laps all month and the fastest laps of those 150 were during qualifying,” Guthrie said. “Because of Tony George and the IRL, guys like me have a chance to run here. It’s awesome. It’s really cool.”

But how cool is it to have two rookies starting side-by-side in each of the last four rows?

“There are a few we might question [on experience], but they did take a race car, get out there and qualify it,” Rutherford said. “They all handled themselves properly. Now we’ll see how they do when pressed into action. We lecture them, especially about the turbulence running in traffic. We tell them what to do and hope they’ll do it.”

Eliseo Salazar, who also starts on the front row and finished fourth as a rookie last year, has perhaps the best description of what the drivers will face in the traffic.

“It’s like the new movie ‘Twister,’ and that’s just what it’s like: a small tornado in the middle of the pack,” he said.

And Rutherford talks positively about what he has seen from the rookies over the past weeks at Indianapolis.

“On the plus side, it’s indicative of how much talent is out there that has been overlooked,” he said. “I think Tony’s turning the corner, like turning the page in a book and starting a new chapter. It’s like a whole new beginning.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Indianapolis 17

The 17 rookies who will start in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. All cars 1995 models unless noted otherwise.

ROW 1

Pos.Driver: 1. Tony Stewart

Hometown/Country: Rushville, Ind.

Car No.: No. 20

Chassis/Engine: Lola-Menard

MPH: 233.100

*

ROW 3

Pos.Driver: 8. Michel Jourdain Jr.

Hometown/Country: Mexico

Car No.: No. 22

Chassis/Engine: Lola-Ford

MPH: 229.380

*

ROW 3

Pos.Driver: 9. Buzz Calkins

Hometown/Country: Denver

Car No.No. 12

Chassis/Engine: Reynard-Ford

MPH: 229.013

*

ROW 4

Pos.Driver: 10. Davey Hamilton

Hometown/Country: Boise, Idaho

Car No.: No. 14

Chassis/Engine: Lola-Ford

MPH: 228.887

*

ROW 4

Pos.Driver: 12. Michele Alboreto

Hometown/Country: Italy

Car No.: No. 33

Chassis/Engine: Reynard-Ford

MPH: 228.229

*

ROW 5

Pos.Driver: 14. Mark Dismore

Hometown/Country: Greenfield, Ind.

Car No.: No. 30

Chassis/Engine: Lola-Menard

MPH: 227.260

*

ROW 5

Pos.Driver: 15. Richie Hearn

Hometown/Country: Canyon Country

Car No.: No. 4

Chassis/Engine: Reynard-Ford

MPH: 226.521

*

ROW 6

Pos.Driver: 16. Johnny Unser

Hometown/Country: Sun Valley, Idaho

Car No.: No. 64

Chassis/Engine: Reynard-Ford

MPH: 226.115

*

ROW 7

Pos.Driver: 19. Jim Guthrie

Hometown/Country: Albuquerque

Car No.: No. 27

Chassis/Engine: 1993 Lola-Menard

MPH: 222.394

*

ROW 8

Pos.Driver: 23. Robbie Buhl

Hometown/Country: Grosse Pointe, Mich.

Car No.: No. 54

Chassis/Engine: 1994 Lola-Ford

MPH: 226.217

*

ROW 8

Pos.Driver: 24. Paul Durant

Hometown/Country: Manteca, Calif.

Car No.: No. 96

Chassis/Engine: 1992 Lola-Buick

MPH: 225.404

*

ROW 9

Pos.Driver: 25. Racin Gardner

Hometown/Country: Buellton, Calif.

Car No.: No. 90

Chassis/Engine: 1994 Lola-Ford

MPH: 224.453

*

ROW 9

Pos.Driver: 26. Brad Murphey

Hometown/Country: Tucson

Car No.: No. 10

Chassis/Engine: 1994 Reynard-Ford

MPH: 226.053

*

ROW 10

Pos.Driver: 28. Fermin Velez

Hometown/Country: Spain

Car No.: No. 34

Chassis/Engine: Lola-Ford

MPH: 222.487

*

ROW 10

Pos.Driver: 29. Johnny O’Connell

Hometown/Country: Chandler, Ariz.

Car No.: No. 75

Chassis/Engine: Reynard-Ford

MPH: 222.361

*

ROW 11

Pos.Driver: 31. Joe Gosek

Hometown/Country: Oswego, N.Y.

Car No.: No. 43

Chassis/Engine: 1994 Lola-Ford

MPH: 222.793

*

ROW 11

Pos.Driver: 32. Scott Harrington

Hometown/Country: Indianapolis

Car No.: No. 44

Chassis/Engine: Reynard-Ford

MPH: 222.185

Rookies in the Field

There will be 17 rookies starting in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 , the third-highest number in the history of the race. A look at the years with the largest numbers of rookies, plus the highest rookie finish and notable others.

*--*

No. Year Rookie, Finish 19 1919 Ira Vail, 8th 1930 Shorty Cantlon, 2nd 15 1914 Arthur Duray, 2nd Barney Oldfield, 5th 14 1929 Carl Marchese, 4th 13 1915 Dario Resta, 2nd 1927 George Souders, 1st 12 1926 Frank Lockhart, 1st 1928 Louie Meyer, 1st Lou Moore, 2nd 12 1931 Myron Stevens, 4th 1932 Howdy Wilcox II, 2nd 1951 Mike Nazaruk, 2nd Rodger Ward, 27th Bill Vukovich, 29th 11 1922 Harry Hartz, 2nd Peter DePaolo, 20th 1949 Johnnie Parsons, 2nd 1965 Mario Andretti, 3rd Gordon Johncock, 5th Al Unser, 9th

*--*