Kirkwood is one of six young rookies in IndyCar this season. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The NTT IndyCar Series is in the midst of a two-week break between races, the third such break since the season began in late February.
The slow start to the season is a feature of the modern IndyCar schedule, with organizers attempting to reduce the already lengthy offseason by bringing the first few races of the year forward into early spring.
Without adding more races to the 17-round schedule, and giving teams more travel and operating costs in the process in the process, the spaced out calendar helps the season to last nearly seven months.
This calendar arrangement has brought some criticism from fans, however, who feel like it is hard to get into a rhythm of watching races when there are more off weekends than racing in March and April.
Many veteran drivers also wish more races could be run in the early months to keep their own rhythm going, but one group of drivers is appreciating the extra recovery time between events. The rookies.
There are six rookies in IndyCar this season, and they have been thankful to have a few weeks off to digest each of the season’s first races and prepare for the next challenge as well.
Speaking to Motorsport Week, Kyle Kirkwood described exactly how the helpful the extra time between events has been in his rookie season.
“I like having that time off, to be honest,” said Kirkwood. “Allows me to reset and think over the weekend. I was pretty frustrated after Texas, even though we had such a good race. That gave me some time to calm down, relax, and just reset for the next weekend.
“It’s not a bad thing for sure. We go into May and June where we’re pretty much wide open, and it’s a race every single weekend.”
Tatiana Calderon and David Malukas expressed the same thoughts, with the latter saying, “It’s almost like they designed [the schedule] for me. I’ve been doing so much practice.
“I really like it because I did the first race and was like ‘Wow, I’m not fit enough.’ But I have so much time to get fit for the next race.”
David Malukas is one of three drivers that advanced from Indy Lights this season. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
IndyCar officials are put in a difficult situation regarding the schedule, because the early part of the year necessitates running in southern states where the weather is acceptably warm. Running later into the fall would mean fighting for TV time with the NFL, however, which is generally not good for ratings.
It seems there are pros and cons to each solution. Extending the season longer, adding more races into the gaps in the schedule, and attempting to keep costs down all pose problems in other areas.
As it is, however, the series’ newest drivers are using the extra time in this year’s schedule to gather their thoughts and put together the best attempts possible before the season kicks into high gear in the summer months when there are nine races in 11 weeks.
Keyword: IndyCar’s younger drivers prefer spaced out schedule