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Saturday, March 9
Updated: March 10, 2:17 PM ET

Cheever: Rating the Rookies
By Eddie Cheever Jr.
Special to ESPN.com

Eddie Cheever Jr.
Cheever
Ah, rookies. Can't live with 'em, can't hit the wall without 'em.

Much has been made of my early exit from Saturday's Grand Prix of Miami. Allow me to explain. Yes, that was another language you heard over the airwaves after my rookie teammate, Tomas Scheckter, punted me into the wall on the third lap. No, I did not fire him. Yes, he made a mistake. Yes, I had a few choice words for him afterward. And yes, he made one blistering drive to finish sixth.

And yes, he's one heck of a rookie in the Indy Racing League. The best out there.

The bottom line is this: If we can hone his talent -- if we can help him to ride that fine line between fast and insane -- Tomas Scheckter has the potential to win races. Perhaps even contend for the IRL championship.

That's the trick with rookies -- getting them under control. Most are fast, especially alone on the track. When it comes to racing among other cars, it's another project altogether. The most difficult obstacle in working with a rookie is getting them to grasp the idea that there is no room for error.

That being said, the current crop of IRL rookies appears to have unlimited potential. Let's take a look:

Eddie Cheever Jr. (L) & Tomas Scheckter
Tomas Schecker, right, got a little too close for comfort with boss Eddie Cheever, left, in the season-opener.

Scheckter: So good, it's scary. Part of the growing pains for Tomas will be making the transition from European road racing to ovals. In road racing, there's a lot of room to make a mistake. You can spin or go into the sand traps or go over a curb. There are a lot of things you can do before you actually pay the debt of running into something solid. The mentality of a road racer isn't just to push the limit, but to go past it. The hardest thing to teach a rookie coming from road racing to ovals is that there's an infinitesimal difference between being very fast and having a great race - or a great lap or a great corner - and losing control and destroying the car. If we can get him to believe that, and perhaps increase my deductible, the future is bright.

Anthony Lazarro: I was very impressed. It's difficult to judge, because I don't know how good his equipment is. I learned a lot by watching in the pits Saturday, and he had one segment where he was doing very well. I can judge Tomas very well because I know his equipment. It's hard to judge someone whose equipment you don't know.

George Mack: He showed a lot of humility during the weekend. He got stuck at 197 mph during practice. He came down to see me and sat down and said, "I'm stuck. I don't know how to get through turn one." I couldn't really tell him how to get through turn one, but I tried to explain that he had to get the car to do what's necessary to get through the turn. His entire thought process of working through that particular issue impressed me. It's a big step toward being successful.

Laurent Redon: A rookie at Homestead, but he ran with us last year at Texas. One of our fellow Infiniti drivers, Laurent has very limited oval experience. I can't think of a worse place to race for the first time than Miami-Homestead on a windy day. It's a daunting experience, especially if your car isn't working as well as it should. But, as we say in the business, he has cast iron.

John de Vries: I did not run with him, but I've heard good things. I like the process the IRL has of putting drivers through rookie tests. Johnny Rutherford or Al Unser or someone of that stature watches to see if you can do it. That assures safety. He might need a little more racing to compete at the level he's asking himself to.

Hedeki Noda: It's good to see Japanese drivers in the series. Part of the concept behind the IRL is to provide opportunity for American drivers, but I feel our series has the strength of diversity. Motor racing is huge in Japan, and the Japanese are great race fans. Once Toyota comes into our series next year, two-thirds of the engines used in the IRL will come from Japanese manufacturers. It's important that we branch out and embrace the foreign audiences.

Rick Treadway: The son of IRL car owner Fred Treadway, Rick is very determined. He did well last year in Texas and qualified very well at Homestead. Driving fast for one lap or a handful of laps is one thing. Learning to handle one of these cars at a place like Homestead with all those other cars around you is a very difficult and daunting task, indeed. At the rate he's progressing, though, he has the potential to be very good.

So there it is -- a few kind words about rookies. One of the most difficult things for a rookie is acceptance. Let's be honest; some of the veterans -- present company excluded -- can be hard on rookies. Some of us old guys can be belligerent toward them and move them around. If we don't do that, then we take the other tack and stay far away from them because we think they're dangerous.

That doesn't mean rookies are bad. In fact, the insurgence of new talent is what maintains any form of racing. We hate to admit it sometimes, but veterans need rookies. The positive thing about having a rookie as a teammate -- especially if they're as brave and talented and technically prepared as Tomas is -- is that they are willing to go places with the car where other people are not. As a team, Red Bull Cheever Racing can learn from Tomas because he pushes the limit.

It's like painting a picture on a completely blank canvas with very bright colors and a vivid imagination. Rookies can do things that you wouldn't imagine possible. As long as they stay within the confines of the canvas.

Sometimes, though, they spill all the paint on the floor.

As long as Tomas and the other IRL rookies continue to hit the canvas, as they did for most of Saturday's race, I promise to speak only English next weekend at Phoenix.

IRL driver Eddie Cheever Jr. owns and drives the No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Infiniti car. He will be providing a diary to ESPN.com throughout the season.

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