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Sarah Fisher is changing gears from Indy Cars to NASCAR
Richard Childress is putting her in the NASCAR West Series.
Sarah Fisher is one of he up and coming stars of motorsports and has a big chance to make a name for herself, not in an Indy Car, but in a Stock Car driving for Richard Childress Racing.
Sarah Fisher, a popular and intriguing 230-mph Indy-car star making the unexpected transition to NASCAR, steps center stage this weekend in Phoenix at the Copper Classic, driving for Chevy's Bill McAnally, under Richard Childress' guidance.
She is not really expected to win in her first entry, but a good finish would be nice. Fisher, who just turned 24, is learning patience, as she makes the jump from the light Indy Cars to the awkward and heavier stock cars. She got pushed out of the sponsor-plagued Indy Racing League when she had no announcement to make about a ride for this season. Fisher made the call to Childress to take him up on a casual offer to try a stock car. Childress, in turn, put together a Chevrolet-sponsored deal with McAnally for this year. And Fisher's season ahead includes the full NASCAR West schedule, which kicks off today, and the promise of three or four Busch races later this season, possibly at Kansas and other tracks where she already has seat time in Indy cars.
"NASCAR is where it's at," she said about her move. "NASCAR is extremely successful with its business plans, and I just pray I can be a part of that." Fisher isn't the only woman getting stage time in NASCAR. Dodge's Ray Evernham just signed Erin Crocker, 24, a World of Outlaws star, to a development contract. and Childress has another female in his camp, Allison Duncan, who some say could be better than Fisher eventually. Duncan will race Late Model in California. McAnally warns about being deceived: "You get her behind the wheel and she leaves all that sugar-and-spice stuff in the locker. She drives! She's a racer. There aren't many women in racing you can talk to who have won a pole in the IRL, who have finished second in an IRL race, who have run in five Indy 500s, been three-time most popular. "She's proven herself, just not in a stock car yet. And we're going to do that while getting her ready for a name like Childress."
Fisher's story
Of all the women making headlines right now, Fisher has the most credentials: "We were up front at many races. Almost won Michigan, almost won Kentucky. At Michigan I just got a little antsy, that was my fault. "But certainly I've got what I need here. And I'm not looking at the past, I'm focusing on the future. "Stock-car racing won't be easy. There is a lot to learn, and a lot of respect to gain. I'm not here to make a statement. And if I can't do it, I'd want them to put somebody else in the car. "Why am I doing it? I went to Phoenix (last fall, for her first NASCAR race), and I loved the environment and loved the people. And I like the idea of longevity.
"This definitely marks the opening of another door. But I wouldn't say it marks the closing completely of the other. My significant other, Andy O'Gara, his dad is the team manager at (Indy-car team) Dreyer-Reinbold. So I can't say I'm never going to hang out over there. I've made a lot of friends in the Indy Racing League, and I'm not ever going to forget them."
Sponsorship problems have plagued the IRL, and Fisher was left waiting for a break for too long, which prompted her jump to NASCAR. And she leaves the IRL with a few parting shots: "It's a little confusing, what the IRL's mission statement was five years ago and what it is now," she said. "Eventually as a series they've got to turn it around. They'll survive. "But where I see my own future is in stock cars. There is more opportunity and more welcome from this family, and I'm delighted to be here. "NASCAR deserves my entire focus, and that's what I'm going to give. "This is definitely my long-term program. I want to be in anything with fenders on it." So why is Fisher, IRL star, leaving that branch of the sport to come to NASCAR? "Ask Tony," she said, referring to Tony George, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IRL boss. "I'm looking for my long-term future. And there weren't enough sponsors there. And they (the IRL) aren't looking toward American drivers anymore, they're not looking toward drivers who come from open-wheel background. And I certainly can't bring the millions of dollars (to buy a ride) that it takes to run. They're off track.
"When NASCAR puts out a mission statement, they believe in that. And they believe in me, and I believe in them. It's a good partnership. "It's about business. Indy will always have a place in my heart. Heck, I grew up in Ohio, and Indianapolis is right next door, and that was the dream of every open-wheel driver. "But it was hard to justify the budget those (IRL) cars require. (Chevrolet is preparing to pull out of the IRL, which it helped create, because of the skewed finances.) There's just not that much return on that investment.
She said she's patient, even though she is taking a big step backward, to learn the NASCAR ropes. This deal came together when Fisher met Childress at a Chevy dinner in Washington. "He made the brief statement, 'Hey, ever want to drive one, call me,'" she said. "So I called him. "I don't think anyone would turn this one down. "Richard put me in a Late Model over at Caraway (for a test last summer), and I did all right. So they threw me in Bill's car at Phoenix (in a 150-mile West race), and I did all right.
"The 'Drive for Diversity' (NASCAR's program to expand the demographics of the sport) was the link to continue on, and here we are now." In the past few weeks she's put in about 500 laps testing at Phoenix for today's race. "And we plan to test at every track we can." And she's pumping iron to get in shape. "And a lot of long-term cardio," she said. "I haven't talked with Erin lately, but I was very happy to see her sign with Ray, because Ray has done an awesome job with drivers who have come from her background (like Kasey Kahne)," Fisher said. "I'm excited for her." Will it be unfair to keep tabs on the two women for comparison as their NASCAR careers get under way? "I'm not going to be able to stop people from comparing us, but deep in my heart I know she's going to try her best, and I'm going to try my best," Fisher said. "I wish her the best of luck." And then there's Danica Patrick, another female racer, still in open-wheel, getting an IRL ride this year with Bobby Rahal, in a car sponsored by David Letterman. She will be the third woman to race in the IRL.
"All us girls have different qualifications, and that's put us in different places," Fisher said. "Danica has worked very hard to get where she's at, and she's done the right thing, running Formula (Atlantic) cars before going to Indy. That will help her prepare for Indy, so she will have a good shot." Forgetting the female aspect Fisher said she prefers not to dwell on the female aspect of all this. "Does Dave Blaney root for Jeff Burton because they're both men?" Fisher asks rhetorically, with a grin. "Everyone has to focus on his career and put his best foot forward on his own situation. "But certainly Erin and I have talked, and Allison and I have talked. We're supportive of each other." Is there any advice for Crocker, who has less experience in the spotlight? "It's just experience, and having patience, and I know that's hard, because I know where she's coming from - I've driven those cars, and there's no patience there," Fisher said.
She said she started racing when she was 5. "I was very fortunate to have parents who helped me do that." After several years in high-powered, lightweight Indy cars, these boxy, balky NASCAR machines are quite a surprise. "The cars are very interesting to drive," she said. "I've heard several people downplaying my move and the differences between Indy cars and stock cars. But this is a different challenge. "These cars are a lot different. You can get your elbows up, and they move around and they're very responsive. And if you're having a problem with the car, you can change that, with your driving technique. That is extremely exciting." Fisher will have Blaney, a Sprint-car star, on her team this year. Blaney is one of Childress' three Cup drivers. "It's a coincidence, but I've followed Dave Blaney since his start (in Cup five years ago)," she said. "When he was in Sprint cars, he had a big impact on my Sprint car career.
"It's awesome that I'm a part of this now, because the types of cars the (new Cup) drivers are coming from - Sprints, Midgets - that's what I ran before Indy. Ryan Newman and I raced Midgets together. So it's neat to know that the techniques and styles of those cars will apply to these cars."
Fisher's move from the IRL to NASCAR continues the trend of open-wheel drivers deciding the future is in stock cars. Even 10 years after George created the IRL, to advance American-born racers and to feature oval-track racing, the IRL is still struggling. Might other IRL stars try NASCAR? "I just ran into Davey Hamilton at the Homestead test the other day (for the March 6 IRL opener at the Miami-area track), and he said the same thing," Fisher said. "It's hard to say, because each driver has his own opportunities. And some of them are going to Le Mans, some are going totally different places. Some drivers are even talking of putting together a go-kart series as a companion for the IRL. "Every individual has to evaluate things for himself. "This (jump to NASCAR) has been in my head for a long time; I just didn't have the guts to do it before. "It's hard to say where my future is going to go. But I believe in Richard Childress and Bill McAnally. "I'm not abandoning the IRL. It was a key instrument in a lot of my experience. I don't regret any of that. I had a great five years. But now I'm looking to the future."
James H. Jones Jr., A2Z Auto Racing ©2004
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