Sarah Fisher
- Note: Sarah Fisher is also the name of a character in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American race car driver originally from Commercial Point, Ohio.
Biography/background
She was exposed to life at the track at an early age. Her parents would take young Sarah to the track to watch her father drive sprint cars. Sarah's first racing experience came as a 5 year-old when her parents fitted her for her first race car – a quarter-midget. She raced quarter-midgets and go-karts until she was a teenager, winning the 1991, 93 & 94 World Karting Association Grand National Championships, the 1993 Circleville Points Championship and the 1994 WKA Grand National Championship. By the time she was 15, Sarah was racing Winged Outlaw Sprint cars winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year. She had a very successful career racing Outlaw Sprint cars. In 1997, she was named to the 62-race All-Stars Circuit of Champions series, earning a second place finish at Eldora Speedway. In 1998, Sarah and her father and then-crew chief Dave sought out new challenges in the world of asphalt midget racing. Sarah raced in ARCA, NAMARS and USAC sanctioned events, a competitive schedule that helped prepare her for life in the IRL.
Sarah's achievement on the track are only eclipsed by her performance in the classroom. Education has always played an important role in her life. Her parents Dave and Reba both hold bachelors degrees from Ohio State University. Reba is a middle-school teacher and Dave puts his Mechanical Engineering degree to work in the family business, Fisher Fabrication. Sarah graduated seventh in her class with honors and a 4.178 grade point average from Teays High School in 1999. She attends college on a part-time basis, pursuing a business undergraduate degree in marketing.
Indy Racing League
In 1999, after a successful season competing in three different midget car series, where she picked up two track records and five feature wins, Sarah set her sights on the Indy Racing League. At the time, she was the youngest person ever to pass the Indy Racing League Rookie Test and went on to race in her first IRL IndyCar Series event later that year at Texas Motor Speedway starting 17th and finishing 25th due to a timing chain failure that ended her day at lap 66.
The following season, Sarah drove for open-wheel veteran Derrick Walker's IRL IndyCar Series team and also ran eight races in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series. In May 2000, she became just the third woman and one of the youngest drivers ever to compete in the world's greatest race – the Indianapolis 500. Later in the season, Sarah made history yet again at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the youngest person to lead laps during an IRL IndyCar event and the youngest woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish in that event. In 2001, Sarah claimed a second-place finish at the IRL's inaugural race at Homestead Miami Speedway the best result ever by a woman in Indy-style racing.
Sarah was hired by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in early 2002 to drive the #24 Purex/Aventis car in place of injured driver Robbie Buhl for the IndyCar Series contest at Nazareth Speedway, finishing fourth. Based on this finish, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing formed a second team around Sarah for the 2002 season. That May, she became the fastest woman qualifier ever for the Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average speed of 229-plus miles per hour.
A few months later, Sarah became the first woman to ever qualify fastest for a major North American open-wheel event capturing the pole and setting a new track record at Kentucky Speedway. She led the first 26 laps of the race and finished eighth. Despite competing in 10 of 15 races, Sarah tied her career best finish in the IndyCar Series Championship finishing 18th in the point standings.
Fisher raced full time in the IRL IndyCar Series through 2003. After her IRL IndyCar career ended with a 21st finish at the 2004 Indianapolis 500 driving for Kelley Racing, Fisher set her sights on a future in Stock Car Racing.
Fisher's IRL career is not considered particularly successful. Through her career, she never won a race and was not a consistent front runner. However, she was marred with, at best, mid-pack equipment. Like many female drivers, some questioned her abilities as a driver. Others felt that she was rushed up through the ranks too quickly and not given the proper chance to develop.
Regardless, Fisher was voted the series' most popular driver for three straight years from 2001 to 2003. She also set several milestones. As of 2006, her best finish of second at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001 is the highest finish ever by a woman in a major North American open-wheel race. She also holds the second-best finish by a female in Indy-style racing when she finished third at Kentucky Speedway in 2000. She also won the MBNA pole position in the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at the Kentucky Speedway on 21 August, 2002, becoming the first woman to win pole position in a major North American open-wheel race.
Fisher's achievements have since been somewhat overshadowed by Danica Patrick, who won three poles in her rookie IRL season and accomplished more in her first Indianapolis 500 than Fisher was able to in her four starts. However, Patrick races for the powerful and well-funded Rahal-Letterman team and has yet to match Fisher's top finishes of second and third. Patrick's best finish is fourth.
Indy 500 results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Dallara | Oldsmobile | 19th | 31st |
| 2001 | Dallara | Oldsmobile | 15th | 31st |
| 2002 | G-Force | Infiniti | 9th | 24th |
| 2003 | Dallara | Chevrolet | 24th | 31st |
| 2004 | Dallara | Toyota | 19th | 21st |
NASCAR
In 2005, Fisher shifted her focus to NASCAR, running in the West Series with sponsorship from Domino's Pizza, NAPA belts and hoses, and support from legendary NASCAR owner Richard Childress. Her 2006 plans are unknown and her desire to run the 2006 Indianapolis 500 went unfulfilled, however, she participated in a race at Stafford Speedway in Connecticut on July 11, 2006, her first race in 9 months, placing fourth.
Trivia
Fisher has been voted the "Most Popular Driver" four times in two separate series. She is currently engaged to the left wheel tire changer on the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team.
Media Coverage
Sarah has been a guest or profiled on a variety of television programs including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and Kelly, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Good Morning America, VH1, and CBS This Morning.
She has also appeared in the pages of People, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Sports Illustrated and many other magazines. Sarah has also been the subject of features stories in USA Today, The Washington Post, New York Post, and other major U.S. newspapers.
External links
- Official site
- IRL IndyCar Career Stats
- Her "driving card" from the NASCAR West Division site
- Girls Go Tech Website (Sponsor for her 2003 Indy 500 campaign)