Hunter-Reay new to series, not to Mile

He wasn't at the Milwaukee Mile last year; he didn't join until nearly two months later. He was the highest finishing rookie Sunday and was named rookie of the year in the Indianapolis 500.

You don't get more rookie than that, do you?

Hunter-Reay on the grid at Indy last Sunday. He went on to win Rookie of the Year

Gail Miller/AutoRacing1

So there's an hour of track time set aside today for IndyCar Series newcomers to practice at the Milwaukee Mile. Hunter-Reay is entitled to participate, right? His team, Rahal Letterman Racing, thought so. That's what its officials told Brian Barnhart, the president of the Indy Racing League's competition division.

Makes sense, doesn't it? Please?

"Yeah," Barnhart said, rolling his eyes. "He won Milwaukee.

"Those guys will try anything they can."

Hunter-Reay didn't just win Milwaukee in 2004, he dominated Milwaukee. He turned winners into back-markers. He frustrated the heck out of Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais and Patrick Carpentier when he started from the pole and set an unbeatable Champ Car record by leading all 250 laps.

Different car, yes. Different competition for the most part, yes. But the track hasn't changed, and the 27-year-old Hunter-Reay should be able to locate the corners just fine once full-field IndyCar Series practice opens Saturday in preparation for the ABC Supply / A.J. Foyt 225.

Some experiences are simply unforgettable.

"It was one of those weekends where we never made a change that was wrong," Hunter-Reay said recently when asked to relive that night. "I had such a good car, slicing through lapped traffic, leaving second place, leaving Paul Tracy and (Sebastien) Bourdais and those guys in the mirrors behind." More at Milwaukee Sentinel Journal