Meh. Track stuff just doesn't change that fast and it's entirely possible to do just fine on 20 year old equipment. It's the motor. Downtube shifters? People used them for thousands of years before STI was invented, and did pack rides on them just fine. Even crits. Is STI nice? Sure. Can you live without it? Absolutely.

And don't knock the hipster kids so much- there's a lot of them (at least around here), they're already into riding track bikes, and it's often easier to nudge them into racing on the track (and staying on the track) than it is to convert experienced roadies. Some of them even get pretty good at it.

And learning to ride at the local track will make him a better pack rider faster than riding group road rides will make him a better track rider. Way more people paying attention and correcting mistakes than on most group rides.