SPARTA, Ky. (August 2004) –As IndyCar Racing Series
fans settle into their seats for the “Belterra Casino
Indy 300,” they may begin to wonder the same question:
“Where’s Sarah?”
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Two years ago at this event, Sarah Fisher of Commercial
Point, Ohio, became the first woman in IRL history to capture
a pole position by winning the top spot at Kentucky. In
doing so, she set a track speed record of 221.390 mph. She
led the first 26 laps – also an IRL first – and
finished the race in eighth place.
Last year, she started the race in ninth place and finished
14th, two laps off the leaders. She spent the better part
of the morning signing autographs in the Kentucky Speedway
infield as part of the IRL’s fan session. Her lines
were noticeably longer than the others lining up for driver
autographs. But at the end of the season, she lost her ride
after finishing in 18th place in overall points.
In 2000, her rookie year, Fisher placed third at Kentucky,
a place to which she had grown fond, considering her experiences
here. That year, she also became only the third woman in
history to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
Despite her average success behind the wheel, the 23-year-old
continues to earn the second-highest number of votes –
just five votes behind Sam Hornish in the latest tally – among
fans as the most popular driver. That, despite only entering
one event this season – the Indianapolis 500,
where she started on the inside of Row 7 and finished 21st
for Kelley Racing. The popularity rating is an honor she
also maintained throughout the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons.
Fisher led the popularity standings until July 2004, however,
award rules require a driver compete in a minimum of three
IndyCar Series races in order to be eligible for the award.
In five years of IndyCar racing, Fisher’s best career
finish was second in 2001 at Homestead-Miami – another
first for open-wheel female drivers. Last year, her season-best
finish of eighth came at Phoenix.
So what is she doing now?
According to reports in late July, she is just enjoying
herself and keeping her skills sharp should she be offered
“the right” opportunity to get behind the wheel.
To sharpen her skills, she has been driving one of the IRL’s
Experience two-seater cars, which allows fans to feel the
action up close.
“I’d rather be racing obviously, but it’s
fun to see the joy that people get from riding in these
cars,” Fisher told the Associated Press in late July
in Nashville, Tenn., where she was giving rides in the Menards/Johns
Manville car. “That experience with them is pretty
cool.”
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Photo
courtesy of the IRL
Sarah
Fisher hauls in a marlin.
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Fisher lives in Indianapolis and has had offers, but she
says she is choosy after being criticized for moving up
too quickly.
“I don’t want to go to a scenario where they’re
having motor problems, or they don’t have the right
crew chief or right cars, or they would sign a sponsor if
I signed on,” Fisher said. “I’ve heard that
I don’t know how many times.”
Meanwhile, Fisher is enjoying other sports, such as fishing.
Recently, she was invited aboard an Oceanic Conservation
Organization’s research vessel to help catch, tag and
release blue marlins. She retrieved a 350-pound marlin off
the coast of the British Virgin Islands, then helped attach
a satellite tag before releasing it.
“It was kind of like being strapped into the driver’s
seat of my IndyCar Series car, and I wasn’t getting
out until that fish was beside the boats,” she said
of the experience.
