1. Rookies impress at Sebring test2. Hildebrand checks out half pipe and more3. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing building for team's future4. Yacaman earns top Colombian driving honor5. Of note1. Rookies impress at Sebring test: By extension, some straight talk from Sam Schmidt led to Tristan Vautier having the opportunity to test an IZOD IndyCar Series car Dec. 13. He appreciates both."I met Sam in 2010 and the first thing I did was beg him to give me a (Firestone Indy Lights) test that I couldn't afford," Vautier recalled. "He was honest and advised me to go back to Star Mazda where I had the money to hopefully win the championship and come back to see him when I had the title. I came back to see him a year later with the scholarship from Mazda."This past season, Vautier delivered a sixth Firestone Indy Lights title for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, and Vautier didn't have to beg for a test in the No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports car."Tristan had such a great year with us in Firestone Indy Lights, and he truly deserves this chance to test in an IndyCar," said Schmidt, who is seeking to add a companion car to the No. 77 driven by 2012 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Simon Pagenaud.So the 1.65-mile Sebring International Raceway circuit was Vautier's playground for the day. He didn't miss a beat from the outset. In fact, Vautier recorded the fourth-quickest lap time of the 15 driver-car combinations and logged more than 200 miles."I loved it," said Vautier, 23, of France. "It feels like a big Indy Lights car with a few things to change in the driving style. I tried to improve throughout the morning, and the engineers were very good to help me. They made quite a few changes to see how I reacted and we moved forward."I'm just happy and honored to be taking this step with the team after they brought me the Lights title this year."Team manager Rob Edwards praised Vautier's outing."What we saw was really a continuation of what we saw with Tristan in Indy Lights this year," Edwards said. "He's very professional, wasn't overwhelmed with anything he had to do and was on pace right from the start of the day. His consistency and his feedback, he just did a great job all day."(This) might give Sam a headache or a few things to think about. I talked with him and he's really thrilled that someone who has come through Sam Schmidt Motorsports has been successful in one of the big cars."Another young driver, Conor Daly was equally impressive in his IZOD IndyCar Series debut. Daly, who turns 21 on Dec. 15, tested Dec. 13 with A.J. Foyt Racing - his first seat time in an IZOD IndyCar Series car - at Sebring International Raceway. It was an audition actually, one that the Noblesville, Ind., resident hopes to develop into a long-running role."As an American, I would love to be in a red, white and blue car and I think ABC Supply would like to see an American as well, so I think that would be a good fit not maybe just next year but in the future," said Daly, who recorded the ninth-quickest lap time of 15 car-driver combinations on the 1.65-mile circuit. "They have (an unnamed) driver for next year in their main car so for me I'd like to help them as much as possible and learn because hopefully they would want to run a second car and honestly I would love to be in that second car."I've grown up around Indy cars; I love Indy cars with a passion. (A.J. Foyt Racing) really wants to get back to winning races, and that's a huge thing to be a part of and I would love to be on that road with them."He was on the road to productivity straight away."We had a great day, though it was much too short," Daly said. "It was interesting to get into the car for the first time. I thought it would be really different and would take most of the morning to really get in a competitive range, but honestly we were quite competitive early."That was pretty cool in itself. One time I was catching Helio (Castroneves) and thought, 'What is this; what am I doing?' These are guys I've looked up to and seen for years. The car is very balanced and fun to drive. When you get in a car that is stable you can immediately start pushing it and figuring out where the time differences are (on the track)."This was my birthday present."Daly, who won a Firestone Indy Lights race at Long Beach in 2011, competed in GP3 the past two seasons after winning the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear (seven victories in the 12 races). The 19-race 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season begins March 24 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., where Daly won in Star Mazda in 2010.Daly's immediate future isn't laid out, but he knows sponsorship is necessary to make his next move."We don't really know yet what we can do (for 2013)," he said. "We have had some great sponsors and supporters around us, but it will take more if we want to move up in Europe and also if we can do IndyCar. Europe has been awesome; I've learned a lot. But the financial backing is something that we don't have to move to the next level."2. Hildebrand checks out half pipe and more: JR Hildebrand will be a guest at the Dew Tour Mountain Championships this weekend in Breckenridge, Colo. Competitions include various forms of snowboarding and skiing."I've always been a huge action sports fan," he said. "Growing up in the Bay Area I raced mountain bikes and BMX and I still mountain bike. It's a cool thing to do during my off-season and to see the snow sports side it."The National Guard, primary sponsor on Hildebrand's No. 4 car for Panther Racing, is a supporter of the Dew Tour.3. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing building for team's future: Dec. 15, 2011, was an especially busy day for Sarah Fisher and Willis "Wink" Hartman. They held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing facility and unwrapped their new Dallara chassis a few miles away at their current home base.A year later finds the team principals exceptionally busy and continuing to build for the future.Fisher, who founded the team in 2008, expects furniture to roll into the 37,000-square-foot facility on Main Street in Speedway, Ind., next to Dallara Automobili's U.S. home by May 2013."To have a facility that's more than twice the size of the one we're in now allows us so many more capabilities that we're looking forward to in the long term," Fisher said at Sebring International Raceway, where on Dec. 12-13 Josef Newgarden was rolling along in the No. 67 Honda-powered car in another step of preparation for his sophomore season."There's a lot of things that we've done in 2012 that maybe sparked our interest or we saw an area of development that we wanted to explore further but didn't have time, but only having an hour and a half of practice at each venue and with our budget not having as many test days as we would have liked things stacked up through the season."Newgarden, the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights champion, had a best finish of 11th in the season opener at St. Petersburg and a high qualifying position of fourth in the season finale at Auto Club Speedway."I'm excited that he gets to go back to places," Fisher added. "At St. Pete last year was his very first pit stop. Some of the things that he's learned through this last season and have the whole off-season to digest it, I think he's going to be a whole lot stronger than he was this year."4. Yacaman earns top Colombian driving honor: Firestone Indy Lights driver Gustavo Yacamn was named Colombian Driver of the Year as part of the "Night of the Best" of the Colombian Federation of Motor Sports FCAD.This is the second time in his career that Yacamn has been given the prestigious title.The award comes after a career-best season in Firestone Indy Lights and his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the same year. He finished in third place in the championship in Firestone Indy Lights, with two victories at Detroit and Toronto, pole position at the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis, seven top five and 10 top ten finishes. At just 21-years-old, he finished third in his first-ever 24 hours of Daytona."I am very proud to receive this important distinction, it has a significant value, being the first democratic decision of the Federation which had the public vote to those who love the sport," Yacamn said. "This is recognition not only for results on the track, it is recognition to all the teamwork with my sponsors and all the support we have received from the media. To all my fans, thank you, your contribution to my career has also been recognized with this award."5. Of note: Andersen Promotions, owner and administrator of the Pro Mazda Championship, confirmed a key component of the series' infrastructure by welcoming Cooper Tires as the Official Tire and presenting sponsor. The Mazda Road to Indy series will be known as the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with a three-year agreement in place.Andretti Autosport Firestone Indy Lights driver Zach Veach is featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" on newsstands now.