Those drivers will get an extra 30 to 45 minutes of practice at most of the IndyCar venues before the tracks are opened to all participants. The extra sessions will begin with a 30-minute practice on April 17 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the second event on the schedule.
"We're trying things that help encourage new drivers in the series, in particular drivers advancing from Firestone Indy Lights," said Brian Barnhart, president of competition. "With the economy the way it is and limited testing, one of the byproducts is that teams can't afford to -- or through rules -- can't test very often, which makes an owner less inclined to take a chance on an unproven driver or rookie.
"So, you respond with extra track time that doesn't cost anything (because) it's at a race event. If you're out of the top 10 in points, it's more of a competition issue. Instead of going testing, we're trying to give an opportunity to close the gap on the top 10 in points by giving extra track time."
At the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, all of the entries will begin the race weekend April 3 with two practices.
First-year participants in the Indianapolis 500 will go through a special rookie orientation on May 6, the day before practice begins for everyone entered in the May 24 race.
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GLITTERING LINEUP: The annual Pro/Celebrity Race that is part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will include an Oscar winner and a Golden Globe winner among its 2009 entries.
Adrien Brody, who won an Academy Award in 2002 for his role in "The Pianist," and John Ham, Golden Globe Award winning actor and Emmy nominee for "Mad Men," will lead a group of amateur racers that also includes actors Luke Wilson, Keanu Reeves, Raven-Symone, Eric Close, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Tim Daly, as well as model-actor Tyson Beckford, television game show host Alex Trebek, comedian Carlos Mencia, professional skateboarder Danny Way and Ken Baker, executive news editor of E! Entertainment.
Jamie Little, ESPN/ABC pit reporter for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, who was the overall winner of the 2008 race while competing as a celebrity, will defend her title in the Pro category. Other pros will be two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr., defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Johnny Benson and Coy Gibbs, son of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs and owner of his own JGRMX Supercross/Motocross team.
They will compete in new Toyota Scion tCs in a 10-lap race for charity on the 1.97-mile temporary circuit in the streets of downtown Long Beach.
Toyota will donate $5,000 to "Racing for Kids" in the name of each celebrity racer, and another $5,000 to the winning racer's charity of choice.
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TRADING PLACES: Cale Yarborough is in and Darrell Waltrip is out of the lineup for the "Saturday Night Special" race on March 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The first-time event will feature a field of retired NASCAR stars competing on Bristol's high-banked, half-mile oval in late model stock cars for charity.
Yarborough, a three-time series champion and nine-time Bristol winner, replaces three-time Cup champion and 12-time Bristol winner Waltrip, who had to pull out of the event because of a scheduling conflict.
"It seems crazy, but I am busier now than I was when I was a driver," Waltrip said. "I have some commitments to Fox Sports that have come up since we began talking with the folks at Bristol about this race.
"I was looking forward to getting out there with some of those guys again; and some of them for the first time. After years with Junior Johnson as my boss, I was excited about rubbing fenders with him. But, sometimes things are unavoidable."
Other drivers expected to compete in the exhibition event are Harry Gant, David Green, Jack Ingram, Johnson, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, L.D. Ottinger, Phil Parsons, David Pearson, Jimmy Spencer and Rusty Wallace.
The race will be run after the completion of the Nationwide Series race.
A total purse of $100,000 will be paid, with $25,000 donated to the charity of choice of the winner, $10,000 to the runner-up's favorite charity and $5,000 to the designated charity of each of the other entrants.
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