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Sarah Fisher
Indy Racing League Driver
With her mother and father both having racing backgrounds, they
started Sarah racing at the age of five in quarter midgets. She
competed there for three years while her father, Dave, competed in
the open wheel sprint car ranks. Mainly racing in Columbus, Ohio,
Sarah and Dave split winters and summers between the two racing
schedules. "We raced Sarah only during the winter months, indoors on
very small tracks," said Sarah’s father Dave. "This worked out well
for both of us since we were racing as a family year round, but at
the same time, didn’t overshadow Sarah." Starting in a junior novice
class, Sarah won many races and held the Columbus Indoor track
record.
When Sarah reached the age of eight, her father started her
racing go-karts at a small dirt oval in Adams County, Ohio. This was
where the competitive drive started to stir. 1991 was very
successful for Sarah as she won her first Grand National
Championship in Batavia, NY. "I remember helping put the trophies
out and thinking that I was going to get one no matter what. They
were so big! After I won the race, my parents bought me a television
for my bedroom. I’ve had that T.V. ever since!" This was the start
of many years racing all over the country.
The next couple of years competing with the World Karting
Association proved to be just as successful as she won the 1991,
1992 and 1994 Grand National Championships and the 1992 Points
Championship. But as always, win some loose some. Go-karts at all
these different tracks taught Sarah the basis of racing – passing,
basic car set-ups, maintaining race cars. "Go-karts are a great
place to start for anyone. To this day, I have a 125cc shifter kart
that I bring out on the long weekends between races to keep my
timing up." These and more were all attributes that Sarah would
apply throughout her entire racing career.
In 1994, Enduro go-karts were introduced to Sarah. With Dave
backing her every move, they competed at tracks such as Daytona,
Elkart Lake, Gratten, Road Atlanta and many others. This lay-down
style of go-karts taught Sarah about endurance, patience and
reinforced smoothness.
At the end of 1995, Sarah took a leap towards her future as her
father invested in a sprint car. She started off with a 360 cubic
inch motor racing 8 races with the Outlaw Bandit series. The next
February 1996, the big move was made to the 410 cubic inch sprint
cars that are run by the famed Steve Kinser and Dave Blaney. "The
step from the 360’s to the 410’s was a much bigger step then the one
from go-karts to sprint cars. 410’s have an unbelievable amount of
power that you somehow have to transfer to the track." Dave and
Sarah raced local venues with some travel with the All Stars Circuit
of Champions during 1996.
1997 proved to be the hardest year ever for the Fisher duo.
"There is much more to racing than just driving the car," says Dave.
"The 1997 season made us both aware of the hard work and commitment
involved in such a schedule." By their selves, Dave and Sarah
traveled the 60-race All Star schedule. This experience proved to be
one of the most valuable yet. The schedule was tough with only the
two of them to get from one race to the next. To make it all happen,
Sarah learned how to take care of the car herself, drive the truck
and trailer and drive as well. "My favorite memory was when I was
pulling an engine out and Grandpa Fisher came back to see what I was
doing. Dad was working on a project in the work shop and I was in
the race shop by myself. The look on my Grandpa’s face was
priceless. People just couldn’t believe that I could do it on my
own!"
At the beginning of the 1998 season, Dave broke his arm, keeping
him from rebuilding the two engines they had to go racing on. "It
was either rebuild the engines myself or not go racing!" With the
guidance of Dave, Sarah rebuilt both engines and readied the racecar
for their annual trip to Florida Speedweeks. This last year in
Sprint cars, they didn’t race as much as the previous year. Dave
quotes "For her final year in Sprints, I felt it was necessary for
her to race against the very best Sprint drivers at the biggest
events. It was more quality then quantity. She had to dig deep to
compete."
But, they managed to compete in 40 races including the Knoxville
Nationals, the Historical Big One and the Kings Royal, along with
other World of Outlaw races. By the end of the year, Sarah showed
that she had gained the techniques of sprint car racing and needed
to move on. That was when Dave and Sarah went to watch the three
divisions of asphalt that were similar to what they had been doing.
Sprint Cars, Silver Crown, and Midgets were the choices they looked
at. After watching a few races, midgets proved to be the most
competitive. That was the series they chose.
"Sprint cars were definitely the car that taught me to drive, but
in order to move up, a driver needs to compete in an asphalt series
with cars similar to midgets."
Trying to gain as much experience as possible, Sarah ran all
three series of midgets – ARCA, NAMARS and USAC – to compile 23
races in the Midwest. Coming away with two track records (including
one at Winchester) and 5 midget feature wins, it looked like asphalt
was the future destination. At the end of the season, Sarah got the
chance to prove her talents in an Indy Car at Texas Motor
Speedway.
At the same time, Derrick Walker was considering starting up a
team in the Indy Racing League. He contacted Sarah before the Texas
race to see what she thought about joining his team. "When I got the
call from Derrick, it was definitely a dream come true. Unbelievable
still to this day." They signed in January 2000. "It was hard for
both of us," said Reba (about Sarah driving for Derrick and moving
out). "She was moving on in her racing career. Both her and Dave had
worked together all these years and not only were we losing our
driver, but our daughter as well. Sarah wanted to move to
Indianapolis to be near the team. We supported her decision, but it
wasn’t easy at first."
Driving for Walker Racing, Sarah competed in 8 of the 9 races in
the Indy Racing Northern Light Series. The first race of the season,
Walt Disney World Speedway, was the only race missed. The team’s
first race together was Phoenix on March 19th. They came away with a
13th place finish after struggling with both the chassis and the
engine. The next race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the last
learning curve before the Indianapolis 500. With only 2 races,
driving for Walker Racing, it was off to the big one. "The month of
May is absolutely mind boggling. The amount of tradition that
surrounds that track is great and to have been a part of that at
only 19 years old is wonderful. I don’t think I enjoyed the month as
much as I can this coming year. My parents were even stressed out. I
was glad when the Sunday after qualifications was over. Everyone,
including Derrick, knew that I was in. But, there was always that
unknown chance that I thought existed. We know what kind of
reception we will receive and I will be better prepared for that. I
want to be able to stand there and look around and take in more of
the prestige of competing in the greatest race in the world."
The month was great up till lap 71, where Sarah was pinched
between two cars going into turn one. "It was all I could do to hold
my line. I wasn’t being overly aggressive at all. When racing, in
general, the drivers know who is surrounding them and who to trust.
I had never raced with the lap car on the outside of me and with the
car on the inside appearing at the last minute, I had nowhere to go.
So, it bit me! The lap car came down on me. I’ll know better for
next time. Big deal at the time, but not now. There are bigger and
better things coming down the line that I need to worry about."
The next two races proved to be more learning curves for Sarah.
The first race at Texas Motor Speedway went well, other then a spark
plug failure that ended Sarah’s close racing with the lead pack. "We
were a new team and to be racing in the front was starting to show
that we were gelling." The race at Atlanta Motor Speedway started to
prove that Walker Racing and Sarah Fisher belong in the IRLNS.
Without even testing there and seeing the track for the first time
race weekend, the Walker Racing team was in the top five all
weekend.
"I could see confidence starting to build within the team," said
Dave. "Sarah and Rob Edwards (Team Manager and Engineer) were
starting to communicate very well both on and off the track."
However, the race that turned the year around was at Kentucky
Motor Speedway August 27th. There was an open test there that Walker
Racing had attended. The team had only had three tests throughout
the year proving that testing is extremely important in obtaining a
fast racecar. They finished the highest of the season, 3rd, the
first podium of the year for Walker Racing. "It was great! We were
fast all weekend. I was excited all weekend and for the first time
this year, I enjoyed every minute. The podium scene was the single
most enjoyable time this year. It was a little embarrassing with the
champagne bottle, but the fact that I was there topped it all. The
neatest part was that Derrick (Walker) had fished his way though the
Hemelgarn crowd (Buddy Lazier won the race) after running down from
the spotter’s tower to give me a congratulatory hug. What an
exciting day!"
Walker Racing and Sarah Fisher plan on competing in all the 2001
Indy Racing Northern Light Series races together. "This team is my
second family. Especially Rob Edwards (Team Manager), Ron Catt
(Chief Mechanic), Derrick (Walker) and Tove (Walker). Spending time
in the shop daily and really caring for what my guys do has been an
integral part in our bonding. Communication is very important to a
race team. We communicate very well and together, are ready to be a
strong force in the 2001 season."
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