When Sarah Fisher became the youngest woman to compete in the
Indianapolis 500 at the age of 19 in 2000, it seemed like nothing could
stop the Ohio native.
In
combination with being just the third woman to compete in the Indy 500,
she also became the first lady to stand on the podium at an IRL event;
finishing third at Kentucky Speedway in 2001 and second at
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In 2002, she made another mark in
the auto racing annals, by becoming the first woman in North American
motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league
open-wheel race. Things for Fisher in the IRL began to sour after that
season.
Team and sponsor issues in 2003 and 2004 saw Fisher move to NASCAR in 2004.
Bill
McAnally Racing signed Fisher to the a three-year contract in the
NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series. In 2005, Fisher captured
four top-ten finishes in her first full season in the NASCAR Grand
National Division, West Series and earned the Rookie of the Year
title.
She was unable to put together a NASCAR program for
2006 and headed back to the IRL driving for Dreyer & Reinbold
Racing. Without much success or the ability to match the media
juggernaut of Danica Patrick, Fisher announced in January of 2007 that
she was forming her own team.
The effort, with her husband Andy
O'Gara and father-in-law John O'Gara, made make its IRL debut in May at
the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500, but she was was taken out of
the race when Tony Kanaan spun in front of her on Lap 106.
What do you hope to accomplish by running your own team this year?
I
really just want to have a good solid year to start building upon for
the many years to come. It would mean a great deal to us to keep
growing our program so that the team is stable by itself. We are not
looking to be a one year deal. We are in this for the long haul.
What does it mean to have the support of racing legends, Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James behind you?
They
are incredible ambassadors not only for our sport but for women in
sports. To have them both behind our program gives me great confidence
that we are doing the right things with the watchful eye of two
legends. Both are friends and are great people that mean a lot to our
team as well as personally. It’s humbling to have their support.
Would you ever consider going back to one of NASCAR's divisions, or is your heart in the IRL?
My
career started in open-wheel racing so of course it means the most to
me personally. But you never close doors to opportunity. For now our
focus is IndyCar racing.
Many people thought, based on
your successes that you'd be the first woman to win in IndyCar -- was
Danica's win bittersweet for you?
Danica’s win was a flurry
of emotions for me. But just as Janet Guthrie proved a woman could
qualify for the Indy 500, I proved that we could also start an
open-wheel race from the pole position and Danica proved that we can
also win races. These are progressive barriers that needed to be put
behind us so we can continue to move forward as racers. These
accomplishments are huge for women in racing and for that, we all have
something to celebrate.
What are your goals this season?
We hope to compete at Kentucky and Chicago and continue to grow our program.
How is married life going? Are you making the adjustment -- is it fun to be on the road with your husband?
Married
life isn’t much different that it was before I was married. Andy and I
had been dating for awhile and living together already. I guess we
fight a little bit more but I guess that comes when you also work with
your husband. It’s great though. I couldn’t have dreamt it any better.
What
was it like meeting Hillary Clinton -- what does it mean to you to have
had a woman running for such a major office even if it doesnt appear
that she will continue on to the nomination?
I was very
impressed by Senator Clinton. She was so polished and knowledgeable
about our sport and my accomplishments. I was honored to host her at
the speedway and the hoopla around her appearance was really crazy.
Her staff and the international and national press completely took over
Gasoline Alley and our entire garage. I don’t think any of us realized
the impact of her attendance until that after the fact. Senator
Clinton said something that really hit home with me.
She said
she would not quite the race to the nomination with 50 laps to go just
as I wouldn’t quit during the Indy 500 if I was in second place with 50
laps left in the race. You go to the end and take the checkered flag
regardless of where you finish as long as you do your best.
What were your expectations for Indy? How big of a disappointment to your efforts this year was that wreck?
A
top-12 would have been a big accomplishment for our little team on a
shoestring budget. Unfortunately, we got taken out of the race on Lap
106. It was simply a racing incident and I had nowhere to go. But
that’s racing and you just have to move on.
by Linda Przygodski
Contributing Editor
AskPatty.com
danica patrick
