Originally posted by TMichaels:

If they think like that then they do not have the success of the team in mind, but only their ego. If the freshman is the fastest member of the team, then he/she should be driving at comp. Letting every team member drive is a good motivation, but it should be done after comp.

That certainly depends on the situation of your team. If you are in the Top3 of the event with only Autocross and Endurance left, the stress is much higher as if you are competing for a spot outside of the Top10, because everything depends on you (being the driver). A single cone kicked or not can make a big difference.

I don't know any successful team (reaching a Top5 position) where the drivers were not chosen based on how fast they are. If that still leads to the president/team leader driving the car then it was just coincidence.
The point of the cut off is to get the entire team to agree on what they want to happen so everyone is on board. If everyone is fine with anyone stepping in the car then they can have at it. We require one semester so we can keep the flakey people out and it keeps everyone happy. This means that a freshman that has been around consistently gets a go at the car. Sure it would be nice if anyone from a car club could show up, take a spin, and we find the fastest person on campus but then certain people would feel like their hard work (the car) was being mistreated.

It could be a personal thing but driving is not stressful for me. I know what I am capable of and I know stressing won't make me any faster. Focusing will. Same goes for anything really, if you are stressed it means you didn't prepare well enough.