Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
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Winners of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award, first awarded in 1952. No award was given from 1911-1951, even though at least one rookie starter has been present in every running of the Indianapolis 500. The award is voted on by members of the media the night of, or the morning after, the race, and does not necessarily go to the highest finishing rookie. Noteworthy accomplishments during qualifying, regardless of the respective race result, have frequently been a factor in voting. Years in which two drivers are listed indicate co-winners, due to a tie in the final voting.
Note that in 1979, Howdy Holmes was the lone rookie in the field, and was poised to win the award regardless of his race performance. In 1983, Teo Fabi won the pole position, which helped earn him the award, even though he dropped out on race day and finished 26th. In 2000 and 2001, Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves won the race and the award respectively, becoming the first drivers to do so.
In 2007, only two rookies were in the field (Phil Giebler and Milka Duno). Both drivers crashed during the race in separate incidents, and Giebler won the award finishing 29th, the lowest finishing position for any rookie of the year.
| Year | Driver | Start | Qualifying Speed (mph / km/h) |
Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 |  Art Cross |
20 | 134.288 / 216.116 | 5 |
| 1953 | Jimmy Daywalt |
21 | 135.747 / 218.464 | 6 |
| 1954 | Larry Crockett |
25 | 139.557 / 224.595 | 9 |
| 1955 | Al Herman |
16 | 139.811 / 225.004 | 7 |
| 1956 | Bob Veith |
23 | 142.535 / 229.388 | 7 |
| 1957 | Don Edmunds |
27 | 140.449 / 226.031 | 19 |
| 1958 | George Amick |
25 | 142.710 / 229.669 | 2 |
| 1959 | Bobby Grim |
5 | 144.225 / 232.108 | 26 |
| 1960 | Jim Hurtubise |
23 | 149.056 / 239.882 | 18 |
| 1961 | Bobby Marshman |
33 | 144.293 / 232.217 | 7 |
| Parnelli Jones |
5 | 146.080 / 235.093 | 12 | |
| 1962 | Jim McElreath |
7 | 149.025 / 239.832 | 6 |
| 1963 |  Jim Clark |
5 | 149.750 / 240.999 | 2 |
| 1964 | Johnny White |
21 | 150.893 / 242.839 | 4 |
| 1965 | [1] Mario Andretti |
4 | 158.849 / 255.643 | 3 |
| 1966 | Jackie Stewart[2] |
11 | 159.972 / 257.450 | 6 |
| 1967 |  Denis Hulme |
24 | 163.376 / 262.928 | 4 |
| 1968 | Bill Vukovich II |
23 | 163.510 / 263.144 | 7 |
| 1969 | Mark Donohue |
4 | 168.903 / 271.823 | 7 |
| 1970 | Donnie Allison |
23 | 165.662 / 266.607 | 4 |
| 1971 | Denny Zimmerman |
28 | 169.755 / 273.194 | 8 |
| 1972 | Mike Hiss |
25 | 179.015 / 288.097 | 7 |
| 1973 | Graham McRae |
13 | 192.031 / 309.044 | 16 |
| 1974 | Pancho Carter |
21 | 180.605 / 290.656 | 7 |
| 1975 | Bill Puterbaugh |
15 | 183.833 / 295.851 | 7 |
| 1976 |  Vern Schuppan |
17 | 182.011 / 292.918 | 18 |
| 1977 | Jerry Sneva |
16 | 186.616 / 300.329 | 10 |
| 1978 | Larry Rice |
30 | 187.393 / 301.580 | 11 |
| Rick Mears |
3 | 200.078 / 321.994 | 23 | |
| 1979 | Howdy Holmes |
13 | 185.864 / 299.119 | 7 |
| 1980 | Tim Richmond |
19 | 188.334 / 303.094 | 9 |
| 1981 |  Josele Garza |
6 | 195.101 / 313.985 | 23 |
| 1982 | Jim Hickman |
24 | 196.217 / 315.781 | 7 |
| 1983 |  Teo Fabi |
1 | 207.395 / 333.770 | 26 |
| 1984 |  Roberto Guerrero [3] |
7 | 205.707 / 331.053 | 2 |
| Michael Andretti |
4 | 207.805 / 334.430 | 5 | |
| 1985 |  Arie Luyendyk |
20 | 206.004 / 331.531 | 7 |
| 1986 | Randy Lanier |
13 | 209.964 / 337.904 | 10 |
| 1987 | Fabrizio Barbazza |
17 | 208.038 / 334.805 | 3 |
| 1988 | Bill Vukovich III |
23 | 208.545 / 335.621 | 14 |
| 1989 | Bernard Jourdain |
20 | 213.105 / 342.959 | 9 |
| Scott Pruett |
17 | 213.995 / 344.327 | 10 | |
| 1990 | Eddie Cheever |
14 | 217.926 / 350.718 | 8 |
| 1991 | Jeff Andretti |
11 | 217.632 / 350.245 | 15 |
| 1992 | Lyn St. James |
27 | 220.150 / 354.297 | 11 |
| 1993 | Nigel Mansell |
8 | 220.255 / 354.466 | 3 |
| 1994 |  Jacques Villeneuve |
4 | 226.259 / 364.129 | 2 |
| 1995 |  Christian Fittipaldi |
27 | 226.375 / 364.315 | 2 |
| 1996 | Tony Stewart |
1[4] | 233.100 / 375.138 | 24 |
| 1997 | Jeff Ward |
7 | 214.517 / 345.232 | 3 |
| 1998 | Steve Knapp |
23 | 216.445 / 348.334 | 3 |
| 1999 | Robby McGehee |
27 | 220.139 / 354.279 | 5 |
| 2000 | Juan Pablo Montoya |
2 | 223.372 / 359.482 | 1 |
| 2001 | Hélio Castroneves |
11 | 224.142 / 360.722 | 1 |
| 2002 | Alex Barron |
26 | 228.580 / 367.864 | 4 |
 Tomas Scheckter |
10 | 229.210 / 368.878 | 26 | |
| 2003 |  Tora Takagi |
7 | 229.358 / 369.116 | 5 |
| 2004 | Kosuke Matsuura |
9 | 220.740 / 355.247 | 11 |
| 2005 | Danica Patrick |
4 | 227.004 / 365.328 | 4 |
| 2006 | Marco Andretti |
9 | 224.918 / 361.970 | 2 |
| 2007 | Phil Giebler |
33 | 219.637 / 353.472 | 29 |
| 2008 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
20 [5] | 221.579 / 356.597 | 6 |
- ^ Andretti was Italian-born.
- ^ Rookie Graham Hill won the 1966 race, but Stewart won the rookie of the year award. After leading the race by over one lap over Hill with 8 laps remaining, Stewart slowed and finally stopped his car, retiring from the race, due to a loss of oil pressure.
- ^ Guerrero was naturalised as a citizen in 1989.
- ^ Tony Stewart qualified second but started the race on the pole position after pole winner Scott Brayton was killed in a practice session accident.
- ^ Hunter-Reay is the first veteran driver (second year) to win the Indianapolis 500 rookie award. He had won the 2007 IRL Rookie of the Year award, but did not attempt this race and therefore was a race rookie and eligible for this award in 2008. [1]
[edit] Drivers to win award and race (chronologically)
| Driver | Rookie of the Year | Race Victories |
|---|---|---|
| Parnelli Jones |
1961 | 1 1963 |
| Jim Clark |
1963 | 1 1965 |
| Mario Andretti |
1965 | 1 1969 |
| Mark Donohue |
1969 | 1 1972 |
| Rick Mears |
1978 | 4 1979, 1984, 1988, 1991 |
| Arie Luyendyk |
1985 | 2 1990, 1997 |
| Eddie Cheever |
1990 | 1 1998 |
| Jacques Villeneuve |
1994 | 1 1995 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya |
2000 | 1 2000 |
| Hélio Castroneves |
2001 | 2 2001, 2002 |
[edit] References
2006 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Program
