INDIANAPOLIS — “Don’t crash.” That’s what Linus Lundqvist told me on the best advice he was given about testing an NTT INDYCAR SERIES machine around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

“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.”

That’s why drivers are given the unique situation of having to build up to speed around this dauting 2.5-mile oval. It’s a program that started decades ago and one that’s lasted for the test of time. No one can just show up and qualify for this race. There’s a reason it’s dubbed the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The speeds here are higher than any NASCAR, INDYCAR or F1 piece of machinery will reach all year. Drivers are pushing trap speeds of over 240 mph when they are here in May. For a driver to have never reached those speeds before, you have to build up to 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.”

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.

“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.”

Lundqvist knocked out all three of his phases before lunch. After lunch, he was able to play without the training wheels. Unfortunately, each driver was given three sets of Firestone tires and they all used two of them this morning. So, with one set left for use this afternoon, they used them wisely.

“At the end of the day, you end up with 220 and I’m looking forward to that,” said Lundqvist. “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.”