IRL Practice crash

Will Powers, Nelson Philippe and E.J. Viso all sustained damage in a practice crash at Infineon Raceway. Philippe first spun and then was collected by the other two drivers. Powers and Philippe were hospitalized after the crash, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View On the heels of the vicious Cup crash at Watkins Glen International a few weeks back, this underscores the danger of road courses.

More IRL newsbreakers

IRL: Philippe crashes

Add Nelson Philippe to the list of drivers who have crashed at Indy. He destroyed his primary car.

Our View: Philippe does not have a backup at the track today, so he will not get a chance to qualify in the top third of the field.

IRL: Rain cancels practice

Persistent rain has canceled practice at Indianapolis. Weather permitting, the track will re-open Thursday at 9:30 am.

Our View: In the big scheme of things, this won't matter much since there is plenty of time to get on the track in the month of May, but it could be crucial for rookie Stanton Barrett. He has not yet completed his Rookie Orientation Program, although Nelson Philippe did manage to finish phase four.

IRL: Four rookies complete orientation

Four rookie contenders, Robert Doornbos, Raphael Matos, Alex Tagliani and Mike Conway, completed all four stages of the Rookie Orientation Program for the Indy 500 and are ready to begin practicing and attempt to qualify for the biggest race of their careers, according to IndyCar.com. Nelson Philippe completed three of four phases and Stanton Barrett got through two before the track closed; they will have from 9 am to 2 pm on May 6 to complete the remainder.

Our View: Rookie orientation is designed to insure that these drivers can manage their car in increasingly difficult conditions. They go progressively faster and maintain more tightly controlled lines in order to test their abilities before they find themselves in heavy traffic at 220 mph.