Oriol Servia .... a rookie?

Question

Why is Oriol Servia NOT listed as a rookie on the Indycar.com Rookie points page? He made 11 starts last year for Forsythe in CCWS and his INDY career stats show only his ten starts this year.

Why is he not on the rookie list?

http://www.indycar.com/stats/rookie_of_the_year.php?year=2008

Answer 1

Servia and Junqueria are not listed as IndyCar "rookies" because they have significant experience in oval racing.  However, Servia *was* designated as an Indianapolis 500 Rookie-Of-The-Year candidate, losing out to R.H.R.

In any regards, Oriol is doing fantastic as a transition driver, and he's taken Will Power under his wing as teammate, and he's getting better.  Make no mistake - KVRT is improving quickly.  I do expect one of them in Victory Lane by year's end.  Quick prediction:  Infineon or Belle Isle.  And wouldn't it be a hoot if Surfer's Paradise came down to Dixon, Briscoe, & Power?  Down Under would go nuts!

Answer 2

Its probably because he raced in CART from 99-03 before it became CCWS and he won a Indy Lights championship, which means he has a ton of oval experience something the other "rookies" don't have.

Answer 3

I don't know what the limit on the number of starts that a driver can make, and still be considered for rookie of the year, In Nascar, its six starts. I think Servia has run in the 500 a couple of times, so maybe that is it. Maybe, he lost his rookie status.

Answer 4

Maybe the merger disqualifies him from rookie status Dan.   What do yah think?  Is everyone on the list a true rookie this year regardless of what series they ran last year?

You're just not getting it Dan.

Answer 5

I don't know.  It might just be a technical error cause he is defiantly a rookie.

Answer 6

IDK, I can't see any of the guys like Servia, Power, Wilson, being rookies they all have done so good in open wheel, its hard to call them rookies...Gonna be interesting if they do a rookie of the yr award  & how they actually calculate it..

Go Helio (congrats on the pole)