INDIANAPOLIS — For decades, one of the more unique traditions annually for the Indianapolis 500 is for rookie drivers to have to pass an on-track test in order to be eligible to qualify for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. While the format has changed some over the years, the recent edition is to pass three phases in order to gradually get you up to speed.

Phase 1 is 10 laps of 205-210 mph. Phase 2 is 15 laps of 210-215 mph. The final phase is 15 laps over 215 mph.

On Wednesday, three drivers were given the opportunity to knockout their phases ahead of time so when they show up to the open test next spring, they’re like the other veteran drivers who are eligible to practice for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

Tom Blomqvist of Meyer Shank Racing as well as Chip Ganassi Racing teammates of Marcus Armstrong and Linus Lundqvist took to the famed 2.5-mile oval on Wednesday in order to pass their orientation.

On a relatively quiet day, all three ran through their phases with ease.

“I think I enjoyed it a whole lot more than I expected,” Armstrong said after turning a top speed on the day of 219.252 mph. “Not saying that I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but I think the intensity of it is it’s pretty special.

“I felt pretty comfortable straightaway. I would say here as soon as I could like phase three, for example. As soon as I could go flat. I was flat and it wasn’t necessarily difficult. And I had a ton of confidence as well but that’s also because of how rock solid this car is around here.”

All three drivers were able to complete orientation before the lunch break. It was a pressure packed situation because they all only had three sets of Firestone tires to work with. But, they accomplished their goal so when the four-hour afternoon session got started, the on-track time was limited with each having just 1 set laying to use.

Still, it was a productive day at IMS which is a good day to have.

“I mean, it’s so special because it’s a place where so many years you sit on the sidelines watching this race dreaming about driving around it,” Lundqvist said. “So now to finally be able to do it together with, you know, making my first outing for Chip Ganassi Racing it’s very, very special. And yeah, I feel very fortunate to be in this position and I thoroughly enjoyed today.

“I can tell you at the end when you finish all the phases and you know, they kind of let you run, burn whatever tires you have left, that’s probably the most fun I’ve had in a very, very long time. So excited to be back here in May.”

Lundqvist admitted to me that he had a series of emotions when he woke up this morning. From happiness to drive here on the oval. To nervous to actually drive here on the oval.

“Not gonna lie. It was a little bit nervous,” he told me. “But now it’s just happy. Because it’s very, very cool. It’s gonna take a long, long time for you know, my smile and happiness to leave. But it’s been a very, very cool day. And like I said, it was difficult to know what to expect but definitely leaving here a little bit more confident coming May.”

For Armstrong, he said that watching onboard videos and even on TV is one thing, but to actually feel how the car moves and how the wind affects the car is another.

“The tiny, tiny details of this place and Texas has, you know, given me so much enjoyment and since I first drove it,” Armstrong continued. “I’ve been pretty fascinated by watching old videos. Just because now I sort of know what to expect in a way so I’ve enjoyed it. A lot.”

One thing he didn’t necessarily enjoy was how difficult it was to drive this car slower. That’s because when you’re doing the first couple of phases, it’s actually quite hard to drive a car slow that’s not supposed to be going at those slower laps.

Armstrong found out exactly what others felt about it.

“I thought it was actually quite difficult in the early phase.,” he said. “Because having to predict the lap speed is not easy, especially when I didn’t really have a reference of what’s fast or slow. So I thought it was actually difficult to stay at that pace initially. And then as we progressively got faster, yeah, I had good confidence right from the beginning. So obviously a very good car, an we had tons of stability in the car. And it gave me a lot of confidence. And I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the split at the other day.”

When the speeds will be considerably higher when they come back next May, Armstrong said he didn’t really think about that yet and not letting that daunting task creep into his brain.

“Honestly, it’s just it’s my job to drive a car as fast as it can go,” he said. “And you know today was reasonably easy. Let’s say it was flat out. The conditions are suitable. We weren’t taking any risks on error level or anything. But when the time comes and when we’re looking for, you know, the ultimate lap time, I’m ready for it. And I’m just going to maximize what I have.”

His teammate was a little more honest about it.

“I don’t want to imagine that honestly at the moment,” Lundqvist joked. “Because I thought Turn 1 felt tight right now. But yeah, it’s one of those where you just have to build it up and it made it over 200. And that felt like Damn, I can’t really go much faster. And then at the end of the day, you end up with 220 and I’m looking forward to that. It’s gonna be fun, but mostly I’m looking forward to the race itself. I mean, that’s, that’s where most of the fun comes out.

“I didn’t really know what to expect one when I did Texas, and then I did Texas, and it felt just fast. So that was kind of my anticipation for this as well. But it feels fast in a different way because you have longer straight and a little bit more rest time. And sometimes a little bit too much time to actually think about what’s going on in the car. But that’s what makes this place so special as well because you go into the finite of details that makes a huge difference. That’s one of the fun things that we got into at least a little bit now towards the end is that introduced a couple of settings that you wouldn’t really have felt anywhere else.”

All three drivers have a talented supporting cast on hand to help. Blomqvist had four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves. The Ganassi duo had three-time Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti.

“Don’t crash,” Lundqvist told me on what the best advise he got for here. “That’s the most important advice anybody can give a racing driver I think but apart from that, it’s just like take your time build up and that’s what the ROP is for as well not to stress or, you know, trying to make the speed come on that one. It’s just take your time get comfortable because when things goes wrong, this this place bites.”

Luckily, it bit no one today.

“There’s a bit of a relief, but I still anticipated it being something I would get through,” Blomqvist said. “It shouldn’t be that much of a challenge, and at the end of the day I’m coming here to try and compete for victories in the future. But it’s all part of the process, and I’ve also read this is something of a tradition, which has been around for a long, long time.

“But it’s definitely rewarding to know that you can do it, to know that it is possible because you’re going so fast around here. I’m so fascinated by how your body and how your mind processes everything and slows things down. At some point you don’t feel the speeds that you’re doing. I keep saying that it’s one thing driving around by yourself, right? Come May it’s a steady 32 other cars that you have to navigate your way through and manage with traffic and all the racecraft, so that’s another thing. Just baby steps.”