Driver Profile - Sarah Fisher

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May 9, 2000

The Indy Racing Northern Light Series, the new official name for the Indy Racing League, is preparing for the opening of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Practice opens on May 13th, and will see 93 entries attempting to qualify for the thirty-three starting spots in the 84th Indianapolis 500, on May 28th.

Among the 93 entries are three former winners, Al Unser Jr., Eddie Cheever, and Buddy Lazier, but while they are drawing much of the press coverage, the driver who is getting most of the attention is a 19 year old woman, Sarah Fisher. Driving the #15 Walker Racing/Cummins Special, Sarah will be the youngest driver at the Brickyard, and one of the few women who has ever attempted to qualify for the "500".

Even though she is young, she is a very experienced driver who has won five ARCA Midget races, and has raced full time on the All Star Sprint Series. She also has run in the World of Outlaws series. A graduate of the Lyn St. James Racing School, Fisher will follow in her mentor's foot steps. St. James raced in seven Indy 500's and was Rookie of the Year in 1992. Could it be that Sarah Fisher will duplicate those statistics in her first year at Indianapolis? When asked how she feels about her racing career, Fisher responded,"I look at myself not as an 18-year-old but as a mature race car driver, because I've done it so long that I'm used to the atmosphere and people." One would only wonder if she's used to the atmosphere and people she'll find in Indianapolis during the month of May. There's a lot of difference between starting a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in an Indy car and sitting in that same car while Jim Nabors sings "Back Home Again in Indiana", and the "real" words are spoken. The pressure of that day, as well as the whole atmosphere of Indy Week is so different from anything she's ever experienced, that I have my doubts about her handling it as a "mature race car driver". I have the feeling that if an experienced NASCAR driver, say Jeff Gordon for example, sat in that cockpit and experienced the sights and sounds of Indy, he might not feel like a mature race car driver either. Indy is it's own world, with it's own atmosphere, and there's nothing in the world like it.

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