Fisher returns

Thursday, August 3, 2006

Fan favorite gives Kentucky Speedway race two female drivers

Rumors two weeks ago of Sarah Fisher returning to the IndyCar Series stirred media and fan interest. E-mail campaigns to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing principals to put the popular driver in a car were started. Online polls were conducted.

Talks didn’t produce a ride in the No. 5 Honda-powered Dallara for the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway last weekend.

But Dreyer & Reinbold co-owners Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl announced that Fisher will return to the team and be in the car for the Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Coca-Cola and Secret at Kentucky Speedway on Aug. 13.

Fisher, who became the first female to start on the pole (at Kentucky Speedway in 2002), will be the second woman in the field for the 200-lap race at 3:30 p.m. (ET) on ABC. Danica Patrick, who started from the pole last year at Kentucky Speedway, drives the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Argent Dallara/Honda/Firestone.

Comment: Send Fisher "best wishes" for Kentucky

In 48 starts, Fisher has seven top-10 finishes and has been running at the finish in 27 races. Her highest finishes is second at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001 with Walker Racing and third at Kentucky Speedway in 2001 – the highest for a female driver in the series. She competed in 2002 and ’03 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

“It’s very exciting to have Sarah back in the car at Kentucky Speedway,” Reinbold said. “We believe that it is a very good track for her, and with the momentum our team has been building a good result is what we are looking forward to. It’s always a pleasure working with Sarah and this time will be no different.”

IndyCar Series Merchandise

2006 IndyCar Series Schedule T-Shirt, Silk Screened.

The Commercial Point, Ohio, native fueled national headlines when she emerged in the IndyCar Series at 19 years old. The determined racer became a household name and was coined as the “girl next door” chasing her dream of winning the Indianapolis 500.

“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to get back into an IndyCar,” said Fisher, who last competed in the IndyCar Series in 2004 in the Indianapolis 500 with a Kelley Racing-prepared car. “It has been some time and there is a lot of catching up to do. Hopefully, it will be like riding a bike, but I am sure that there will be challenges we will have to figure out how to hurdle. This weekend is all about getting back on the bike. It's a personal goal of mine to at least run in the top 10. I want to be there at the end and racing as hard as I did before, and that in itself will achieve results.”

In 2000, Fisher became the youngest female and third-youngest driver ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500. It was the first time two women had raced in the same event.

"I'm here to race against everyone," said Fisher, who was attending the Lyn St. James Women in Winner’s Circle event in Indianapolis when the team made the announcement. "I'm here to do the best that I can and ultimately get back to the level of IndyCars that put me up front.

“Every driver out there has the same goal and drive that I have and that is to win. Danica and I are two individuals out there competing in a man's world, whether it is in stock cars or IndyCars. I don't look at her any differently then all the other drivers. We are different people who want to achieve the same result."

Fisher calls the Kentucky Speedway her home track. She still holds the track qualifying record (221.390 mph).

“Kentucky has amazing memories for me,” said Fisher, whose best finish at Kentucky Speedway was third in 2000. “Not only the track record, the pole, the podium, but the people. There are some special people in that area of the country. Friends, family, they all enjoy being at Kentucky. From what I remember, Kentucky is a very bumpy track. But, the line there shouldn't have changed much from before. We'll just have to see and hopefully we get over those issues early.”

Fisher, 25, attends Ellis College on a part-time basis pursuing a business undergraduate degree and is engaged to be married. She is the fourth driver to take to the wheel for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing this season. Buddy Lazier drove in eight events, Al Unser Jr. drove a second entry for the team at the 90th Indianapolis 500 alongside Lazier, and Ryan Briscoe is competing in four events for the team, including the final road course of the season at Infineon Raceway on Aug. 27.

“I miss my fans so much -- you have no idea,” Fisher said. “I think I appreciate them more than I ever did. Two years later and I still have people that remember more than I do about my past experiences. It is a life-changing experience to realize that you impact people and how much responsibility that is and what a good person you need to be for these people to look up to.