Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American retired professional race car driver who competed in the
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
(IRL, now IndyCar Series) and the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
intermittently from 1999 to 2010. She also raced in the
NASCAR West Series
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...
in 2004 and 2005. Fisher took part in 81 IndyCar Series events, achieving a career-best finish of second at the 2001
Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami—the highest placing for a woman in the IRL until
Danica Patrick's victory in the
2008 Indy Japan 300. In 2002, Fisher was the first female driver to win a
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
in a major American open-wheel race and competed in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
nine times, more than any other woman.
Fisher was born into an Ohioan family with a background in racing; she began competing at the age of five when her parents entered her in a
quarter-midget race before progressing to
karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
three years later. She won three
World Karting Association
The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to current ...
championships and she subsequently progressed into
sprint car racing
Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, N ...
, where her success was moderate. Fisher made her IRL debut at the final race of the
1999 season. During her 11-year professional career, sponsorship problems limited her participation in the series. In 2008, Fisher established and drove for
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing was an auto racing team founded in January 2008 which competed in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The team was jointly owned by former driver Sarah Fisher, Fisher's husband Andrew O'Gara, and businessman Willis "Wink" E. H ...
until her retirement at the end of
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
In retirement, Fisher focused full-time on Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, with drivers
Ed Carpenter and
Josef Newgarden
Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Career
Karting
Newga ...
achieving modest success with the team. She retained ownership of the team until she merged it with
Ed Carpenter Racing, creating
CFH Racing in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. In 2016, Fisher sold her stake in CFH Racing to focus on a full-time career in business in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
but remained with the team to help with sponsorship development. That year, she was hired as the IndyCar Series' official
Safety Car driver, a role she shares with former driver
Oriol Servià
Oriol Servià i Imbers (born 13 July 1974) is a Spanish racing driver who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series. He raced for Dragon Racing in the 2014–15 Formula E season, and left the series prior to the 2015 Miami ePrix to become man ...
.
Early life and junior career
Sarah Marie Fisher was born on October 4, 1980, in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
.
An only child,
she hailed from a family with a racing background;
Fisher's father Dave, a self-employed mechanical engineer,
competed in go-kart events against race car drivers
Mark Dismore
Mark Dismore (born October 12, 1956 in Greenfield, Indiana) is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and the 1990 Toyota Pacific champion as well as the winner of the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona with Dan Gurney's All American Racers in a Toyot ...
and
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...
.
Her mother Reba, a
middle-school teacher in technology, is the daughter of Evelyn Grindell,
one of Ohio's early woman aviators, and drove go-karts in the backyard of her house. The couple met at a go-kart street race in
Commercial Point.
Fisher's grandparents owned a go-kart track in
Richwood and her uncle was a local engine builder.
She grew up in Commercial Point,
[ a small farming village south of Columbus,][ and was educated at Columbus School for Girls from preschool to third grade.][ As a young child, Fisher tried several sports, including ]soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
, and gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
; auto racing was the one thing that appealed most to her. She was taken by her parents to the local race track to watch her father compete.
Fisher was given her first car, a Barbie pedal vehicle, at age four. She began racing at age five when her parents fitted her into a blue and white quarter-midget car she used for three years.[ Fisher's father devised a schedule to enter her at small, indoor tracks during the winter,] and both her parents supported her early racing career. She cited Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
, Steve Kinser
Steve "The King" Kinser (born June 2, 1954) is a former professional sprint car racing driver. He has won 20 championships in the World of Outlaws (WoO) series. Kinser left the World of Outlaws in 2006 to compete with the National Sprint Tour s ...
and Dave Blaney
David Louis Blaney (born October 24, 1962) is a semi-retired American professional stock car racing driver. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR, competing in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Ser ...
as her racing heroes. When Fisher turned eight, she began racing go-karts in her age group on the East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
, and learned of how karts worked from her father. She joined the World Karting Association
The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to current ...
(WKA), winning the Grand National Championship four times in 1991, 1993 and 1994; she was also Circleville Points Champion in 1993. Fisher and her family viewed her karting days as a family activity, not as a precedent to progression in the sport. She was introduced to endurance karting in 1994, learning endurance and patience, and reinforcing her smooth driving style. Fisher's father raised the seat in her car by and cut down on its front to improve her visibility, and she won the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year award.
In late 1995, John Bickford, the stepfather of Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, recommended Fisher to the Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualifi ...
Foundation Driver Development Program and paid for all expenses. Fisher disliked the school because it focused mainly on the media and preparing the body and mind to drive and not on what the driver is doing inside the car.[ Not long after, her father purchased a ]sprint car
Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...
and she drove eight World of Outlaws
The World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late ...
races. The following February, Fisher progressed to a car and raced locally with the All Star Circuit of Champions
The All Star Circuit of Champions (abbreviated ASCoC), officially known as the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 for naming rights reasons, is an American motorsports sanctioning body of winged sprint car racing founded in ...
(ASCoC) during the season. She competed in all 62 races of the 1997 ASCoC, gaining a season-best finish of second at Eldora Speedway
Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "The Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "The World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, it features permanent and ...
. Her father broke his arm at the start of the 1998 season, preventing him from rebuilding two engines to allow Fisher to continue racing. With her father's help, Fisher reconstructed both engines; he felt it would be better for her to compete against top-level sprint car drivers. During the year, Fisher participated in 40 events; by the end of the season she had learned the techniques of driving sprint cars.
By 1999, she and her father sought an alternative series to enter, following a suggestion from the CEO of one of her sponsors that she drive on pavement surfaces and not on dirt. Fisher's parents visited multiple tracks to sample three divisions of asphalt racing and they decided to enter her into the United States Auto Club
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...
(USAC) Midget division, which was the most competitive form of racing they saw. Fisher also drove in Automobile Racing Club of America
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Log ...
(ARCA) and National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing-sanctioned events on asphalt ovals in the Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
. She won five feature races of the 23 she entered and broke Winchester Speedway
Winchester Speedway is a half-mile paved oval motor racetrack in White River Township, Randolph County, just outside Winchester, Indiana, approximately northeast of Indianapolis. It seats 4000 spectators. It is also known as the "World's Faste ...
's lap record. That year, Fisher graduated seventh overall in a class of 178 with honors and an A average from Teays Valley High School
Teays Valley High School is a public high school located at 3887 State Route 752 in Ashville, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Teays Valley Local School District. The school mascot is the Viking.
''The mission of Teays Valley High School i ...
in Ashville, Ohio
Ashville is a village in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,097 at the 2010 census. Ashville is located five miles south of Columbus and six miles north of Circleville.
History
Long before the American settlement of Ohio ...
. She achieved a grade point average
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
of 4.178, earning induction into the National Honor Society
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...
, and took 30 post-secondary credits at Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 19 ...
.[ Fisher enrolled at ]The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publi ...
in August 1999 to pursue a part-time undergraduate degree
An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...
in Mechanical Engineering before she received a telephone call following the first day of classes inviting her to test an Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
(IRL) car.
Racing career
1999–2003
Fisher's victory at Winchester Speedway attracted the attention of Team Pelfrey
Team Pelfrey is an American racing team in the F1600 Championship Series and F2000 Championship Series. The team is owned by Dale Pelfrey.
Indy Racing League (1998–2000)
John Paul Jr. replaced Danny Ongais as driver for the 1998 Indianapolis 5 ...
owner Dale Pelfrey. She signed a three-year contract to drive for Pelfrey on August 24, 1999, and passed an IRL-sanctioned rookie test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
supervised by former driver Johnny Rutherford
John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 3 ...
six days later, becoming at the time the youngest person to do so.[ Fisher forwent a race at the track, wanting first to broaden her experience.] She also chose not to enter the U.S. F2000 National Championship
The USF2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires is an American racing series using the American variation of the Formula Ford formula, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. As of 2022, it is sanctioned by the United States Auto ...
, a series in which several IRL drivers participated to further their careers. Since most of her previous experience was in dirt racing, she worked to familiarize herself with competing on asphalt tracks. Fisher made her IRL début at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
, qualifying in 17th place, making her the youngest person to take part in an IRL event. She finished the race in 25th place, having driven into the pit lane after 66 laps to retire with a failed timing chain.
Team owner Derrick Walker
Derrick Walker (born 8 April 1945 in Leven, Scotland) is a former British auto racing team owner. In May 2013 Walker became President of operations and competition of IndyCar until the finalization of the 2015 Indycar season.
Career
Formula ...
sought a young driver who could appeal to both fans and his sponsors; he felt Fisher was the ideal person. Prior to the race in Texas, Walker talked to Fisher about driving for his newly formed IRL team that would be built around an American rookie driver after one of his employees asked whether he considered her. After an attorney helped Fisher terminate her contract with Pelfrey on January 18, 2000, she signed a three-year contract to drive for Walker Racing
Walker Racing was a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. It last competed in the United SportsCar Championship under the name of Team Falken Tire until Falken Tire pulled out of not o ...
and moved to Indianapolis to be close to the team. She worked with four-time Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
winner and driver coach Al Unser
Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...
.[ Fisher missed the season's first race at ]Walt Disney World Speedway
Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando.
It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, an ...
but finished 13th at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
. After two races with the team, Walker moved Fisher from an outdated Riley & Scott
Riley & Scott Cars Inc. was an American racing constructor and racing team that primarily provided chassis for various forms of motorsport, but worked primarily in sports car racing. It was founded in 1990 by Bob Riley and Mark Scott.
History
Sp ...
car to an Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
-powered Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
. Two races later, she became the third—and youngest—woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
; she started 19th but retired on the 74th lap after a collision with Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualifi ...
and Jaques Lazier
Jaques Lazier (born January 25, 1971) is an American former race car driver. He is the younger brother of 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and son of former Indy racer Bob Lazier.
Racing career
The younger Lazier ran in U.S. Formula ...
, finishing 31st. Over the season, Fisher occasionally raced at the front of the field, becoming the youngest woman to achieve a podium position by finishing third, and the youngest female to lead a lap in the IRL in the Belterra Resort Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
. Her inexperience sometimes dropped her to the back of the running order in a race, and some drivers felt she was a risk in traffic. Fisher ended the year 18th in the drivers' standings and fans voted her ''Open Wheel Magazine'' Driver of the Year in the IRL category.
Fisher remained with Walker Racing for 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
, and was the first woman to compete full-time in the IRL.[ At the season's second race, the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway, she took second place, the best finish of her IRL career, and the highest for a woman until Danica Patrick's 2008 Indy Japan 300 win.] Fisher qualified 15th for the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
but retired after seven laps when her car understeered into the turn-two wall, collecting Scott Goodyear. Two races later, at Pikes Peak International Raceway
Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) is a racetrack in the Colorado Springs area within the city limits of Fountain, Colorado, that by October 12, 1997, was "the fastest 1-mile paved oval anywhere". The speedway hosted races in several serie ...
for the Radisson Indy 200, Fisher came tenth, her second and final top-ten finish of 2001. During practice for the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
two weeks later, she crashed heavily in turn two and was hospitalized with neck pains. Later that day, IRL's director of medical services Henry Bock declared Fisher fit to race, and she finished in 17th place after qualifying a season-high second. She finished no better than 11th in the final six races, and was 19th in the drivers' standings with 188 points. Fans voted Fisher the IRL's Most Popular Driver of 2001.
On April 8, 2002, Fisher requested a release from her contract with Walker Racing after it switched to the rival Championship Auto Racing Teams
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 to 2003. It sanctioned the PPG Indy Car World Series from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 CART season, ...
(CART) full-time, and problems with finding sponsorship from her performance in the latter half of 2001 made a full IRL campaign was unfeasible. Walker wanted to enter Fisher into the Toyota Atlantic Series as preparation for CART, which she did not want to do because of her belief of the prestige of the Indianapolis 500 and wanted to help the IRL become the United States' premier open-wheel racing series. Her season began at the fund-raising Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race
The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race was an annual 10-lap auto race held each April since 1977 until 2016 as part of the United States Grand Prix West, and later the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend at Long Beach, California. Beginning in 1991, th ...
, where she finished third in the pro class and fifth overall. Her race engineer was Mark Weida. Two days later, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitro Rallycross. The team is owned by Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini, and Subaru dealer Dennis Reinbold.
Off the track, Dreyer ...
hired Fisher to drive its 24 G-Force GF05C Infiniti
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989, in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti-branded vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in ...
car in place of the injured Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
in the season's fourth round, the Firestone Indy 225, where she finished a year-best fourth.
Fisher was later signed to race in the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
in May in Dreyer and Reinbold's No. 23 car. She recorded a four-lap average qualifying speed all-time record for a woman in Indianapolis 500 history at for ninth, then finished the race 24th.[ A month later, Fisher signed to drive the rest of the season with Dreyer and Reinbold. After leading four laps for eighth at the ]Michigan Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high pres ...
, Fisher set a Kentucky Speedway track record at to earn the pole position for the Belterra Casino Indy 300, the first time a woman had claimed a pole in American open-wheel racing. In 10 races, she scored 161 points for 18th in the championship standings. Fisher was voted by fans as IRL's Most Popular Driver for the second successive year.
In September 2002, Fisher drove a MP4-17 car in a demonstration run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course in the 2002 United States Grand Prix. Fisher secured sponsorship to race the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 and Dreyer & Reinbold changed manufacturers to Dallara and engines to Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
. At Phoenix International Speedway, the year's second race, she took her only top-ten finish of 2003, placing eighth. At the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, she qualified in 24th; in the race, she retired after spinning into the turn-three wall due to an engine malfunction after 14 laps, bruising her left foot and finishing in 31st. However, Fisher had received enough sponsorship funding at Indianapolis to finish the season. At the Richmond race, she had her season's best qualifying performance, recording the second-fastest lap time. Fisher did not start the Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...
because of a severe back contusion from a serious accident. She finished her 14-race season 18th in the points standings, scoring 211 points,[ because she drove an underpowered car and had difficulty remaining on the same lap as the race leader.] Fans voted Fisher the IRL's Most Popular Driver Award for the third year in a row.
2004–2007
After the season, Fisher moved from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to Kelley Racing
Kelley Racing is a former Indy Racing League team founded by Fort Wayne, Indiana-based car dealer Tom Kelley that fielded a Delphi sponsored car for Scott Sharp during its entire existence from 1998 to 2004. The team was based in Indianapolis and ...
after she learned that the team's general manager Jim Freudenberg might have had a potential seat for her; the team expressed its hope of racing in the majority of the 2004 season but Fisher did not enter the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 due to a lack of capital caused by the withdrawal of her primary sponsor December 2003.[ Two months later, Fisher entered the ]Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
in Kelley's No. 39 Dallara Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
Indy V8 entry after they received sponsorship for the event. She qualified in 19th and finished the rain-shortened race in 21st. Afterward, she sought another team for which to drive. Later that year, Fisher made her stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
debut, entering a NASCAR West Series
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...
race in the No. 20 Bill McAnally Racing
McAnally–Hilgemann Racing (MHR) is an American professional stock car racing team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is based in Roseville, California, and is owned by Bill McAnally (in Truck, is co-owned ...
car at Phoenix after Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
(RCR) owner Richard Childress asked Bill McAnally if she could fill in for Kerry Earnhardt
Kerry Dale Earnhardt (born December 8, 1969) is a former NASCAR driver and the eldest son of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was employed by Dal ...
, who was competing in a Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
event at Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
. This was to allow Childress to observe Fisher's ability in a stock car. Fisher qualified in 14th and finished in 21st place due to a battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
failure after 104 laps.
Fisher drove a Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevr ...
for RCR's development program through NASCAR's Drive for Diversity
The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownersh ...
program in the full 2005 NASCAR West Series after Childress offered her a contract to drive for Bill McNally Racing. She signed a three-year contract with RCR when Childress offered it to her with full financial support from Chevrolet, and planned to compete in the Busch East Series and the ARCA Re/Max Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
in 2006. To prepare for the season, Fisher acquainted herself with the heavier, less-powerful stock cars, which she found difficult to control. She declined offers to race in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 so she could keep a promise that she made to Childress and NASCAR president Mike Helton
Michael Gregory Helton (born August 30, 1953) is an American businessman, and the Vice Chairman of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). He replaced Bill France Jr. in November 2000 as the company's 3rd president. He was ...
to refrain from doing Double Duty
Double Duty also referred to as the Indy-Charlotte Double or Memorial Day Double, is an auto racing term centered around two events held on Memorial Day weekend in most years. The two events are the annual Indianapolis 500, which is the most imp ...
, and wanting to avoid sending a message that she was not committed to NASCAR.[ She began the season with a 20th-place finish in the United Rentals 100 at Phoenix. Three races later, Fisher had her first lead-lap finish, coming in 12th in the Autozone Twin Championships before earning her first top-ten result, an eighth in the King Taco 150 at ]Irwindale Speedway
Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
. She qualified a season-high third in the Coors Light 200 at Evergreen Speedway
Evergreen Speedway is an automobile racetrack located within the confines of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. The stadium can accommodate up to 7500 spectators in the covered grandstand and an additional 7500 in the uncove ...
; Fisher led the first laps for a woman in NASCAR West Series history, finishing 11th. She had top-ten finishes at Pikes Peak, Thunderhill Raceway and Mesa Marin Raceway for a final championship standing of 12th with 1,471 points. Fisher's results made her eligible for the exhibition Toyota All-Star Showdown
The Sunrise Ford All-Star Showdown is a Super Late Model championship event at Irwindale Speedway, originally held from 2006-10 seasons as a non-championship NASCAR event for lower-level series, and since the 2020 motorsport season, revived by t ...
, where she finished 11th. She was named the NASCAR West Series Rookie of the Year and fans voted her the Most Popular Driver.
After Fisher could not put together a full NASCAR program due to sponsorship problems, she moved back to Indianapolis to find and prepare for a full-time role in the IndyCar Series.[ Although she missed the 2006 Indianapolis 500,] Dreyer & Reinbold Racing signed her to a one-race contract for the Meijer Indy 300 in Kentucky. Fisher secured the seat by staying in contact with the team through her engagement with tire changer Andy O'Gara, as well as attending several IndyCar races throughout 2006.[ Additionally, the team contacted prospective sponsors requesting sufficient funding for her participation in place of ]Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
, who had Supercars
A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...
commitments. Fisher finished in her starting position of 12th after car setup problems. Her performance in this race led Dreyer & Reinbold to hire her for the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
. Fisher ended the event in 16th, giving her a two-race points total of 32. She finished the year 25th in the drivers' standings.
Fisher returned to Dreyer & Reinbold for 2007 after the team expanded to two cars. Starting eighth in the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American open wheel races held in South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA held one board track race in 1926, and then the facility was destroyed by a hurricane. The popular CART IndyCar ...
at Homestead–Miami Speedway
Homestead–Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ser ...
, her best qualifying performance of the season, she finished in 11th place. Although Fisher's team did not originally plan for her to compete on road courses
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on ...
, Dreyer & Reinbold later added those races to Fisher's schedule. The first and best road-course finish of Fisher's career was a 15th-place result at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
, the season's second round.[ At the ]Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, Fisher qualified in 21st place, finishing 18th in the rain-shortened 166 lap race. Although Fisher struggled with her performance throughout the remainder of the season due to an uncompetitive car, she had two top-ten finishes; tenth at Texas Motor Speedway and seventh at Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...
. She finished 17th in the drivers' championship with 275 points.[
]
2008–2010
Fisher left Dreyer & Reinbold at the conclusion of the season to establish Sarah Fisher Racing
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing was an auto racing team founded in January 2008 which competed in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The team was jointly owned by former driver Sarah Fisher, Fisher's husband Andrew O'Gara, and businessman Willis "Wink" E. H ...
with her husband Andy O'Gara, father-in-law John O'Gara and agent Klint Briney in February 2008. She drove part-time in the No. 67 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI7R car. To compete in the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, Fisher relied on fan funding and had to secure $1 million from sponsors to enter the race after funding from an energy drinks company failed to materialize. She qualified in 22nd place.[ In the race, Fisher was collected by ]Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
after he spun exiting turn three on the 106th lap. She finished 30th. Afterward, she expressed concerns to ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
reporter Jamie Little
Jamie Little (born April 9, 1978) is an American pit reporter for NASCAR coverage on Fox. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 I ...
about not being able to enter any more events that year due to sponsorship issues. Fisher eventually obtained financial support for the Kentucky and Chicagoland races. She finished 15th in Kentucky after her rear-right suspension broke while battling Danica Patrick in turn one. At Chicagoland, she bruised her right ankle in a heavy collision with a SAFER barrier due to a mechanical fault, finishing in 24th place. With 37 points, she was 34th in the final standings.
In January 2009, Fisher received funding from her primary team sponsor to enter four oval-track events in the season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
: Kansas, Indianapolis, Kentucky and Chicagoland. She did not race a full schedule due to budgetary constraints caused by the global financial crisis
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
that downturned the American economy. After finishing 13th in Kansas, she received additional sponsorship funding to compete at Texas and Homestead-Miami. She qualified 21st at the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, finishing a career-best 17th place. By starting, she broke the record for the most starts by a woman in Indianapolis 500 history with eight. She received the Scott Brayton Award, voted on by the media and presented to the driver who best exemplified "the character and racing spirit of the late driver Scott Brayton". Fisher's best result for the rest of 2009 was a 12th-place finish at Kentucky. Her final championship placing was 25th, accruing 89 points.
Although the press initially reported that Fisher would compete in the 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for the first time since 2007, she chose to forgo the race and the following Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is an IndyCar Series race held at Barber Motorsports Park, a 17-turn road course, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Officially announced on July 27, 2009, the inaugural event was on the weekend of April ...
at Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
and replace herself with fellow American driver Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
, persuading her primary sponsor that Rahal was ideal for her team. The two-race agreement reduced Fisher's 2010 schedule from nine to seven rounds. Thus, her first race of 2010 was at Kansas, where she finished 17th after a season-best qualifying start of 14th. At the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, Fisher had a career-worst start of 29th; she finished the race 26th after she was collected in a lap 124 multi-car crash. Fisher's best result of the season was a 15th-place, which she achieved in Texas as well as in Chicagoland. She ended the season with a 22nd-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Fisher was 26th in the drivers' standings with 92 points. She looked for a full-time driver to replace her because she thought her driving was taking away from her ability to adequately run the team. Fisher left open that she would still run a part-time schedule the next season. In November, however, she announced her retirement from racing, and driver Ed Carpenter replaced her in the No. 67 car for the 2011 season.
Post-racing career
In her first season solely as a team owner, Fisher focused on all of the oval track races of the 2011 championship with 17 employees. In May 2011, she was appointed to a three-year term on the National Women's Business Council, a nonpartisan advisory panel to the President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
and Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
on woman's business issues. On the council, Fisher represented women in the entertainment and sporting industries, and she later participated in research initiatives aimed at helping women enter the American business sector. She formed an partnership with businessman and oil tycoon Wink Hartman
A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional ...
in late 2011, and the renamed Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team began competing in the IndyCar Series full-time from 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
onward. As co-owner of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, Fisher had moderate success; Carpenter took the team's only IndyCar Series victory at the 2011 Kentucky Indy 300
The 2011 Kentucky Indy 300 was the twelfth running of the Kentucky Indy 300 and the seventeenth round of the 2011 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday, October 2, 2011. The race contested over 200 laps at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, ...
, and two-second-place finishes were scored by his successor Josef Newgarden
Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Career
Karting
Newga ...
—one in each of 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
and 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
.
In 2015, Fisher returned to competitive racing by entering the Chili Bowl; she had watched her brother-in-law participate at the race in 2014. Fisher's brother-in-law and several other drives helped to acquaint her with driving midget cars on dirt. She reached the C-Features portion of the tournament and was eliminated at that stage after finishing sixth in its first race. That year, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing merged with Ed Carpenter Racing to form CFH Racing. Newgarden won the 2015 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the Honda Indy Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...
; he also earned two-second-place finishes at Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
and Iowa Speedway. In January 2016, Fisher entered her second Chili Bowl, driving the No. 67SF car. She was eliminated after failing to finish high enough in the I-Main Division heat to advance further in the tournament.
Also in January 2016, Fisher sold her share in CFH Racing that month but stayed on to help the renamed Ed Carpenter Racing with sponsorship development, working with the team's existing partners. She focused on establishing a business venture, the Speedway Indoor Karting track in Speedway, Indiana
Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,812 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
History
Speedway was ...
, which began operations three months later. In September 2018, Fisher was part of a group of former team owners that purchased the defunct Whiteland Raceway Park in Whiteland, Indiana
Whiteland is a town in Pleasant, Franklin and Clark townships, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,599 at the 2020 census.
Whiteland is located in north/central Johnson County approximately south of Indianapolis in J ...
. The track reopened in October 2018.
In March 2016, Fisher accepted an offer by IndyCar's president of competition and operations Jay Frye to be its pace car driver for 14 out of 16 races, after the aging Johnny Rutherford retired for all but two events. Fisher was the sole driver of the pace car for 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, but she shared the duties with former driver Oriol Servià
Oriol Servià i Imbers (born 13 July 1974) is a Spanish racing driver who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series. He raced for Dragon Racing in the 2014–15 Formula E season, and left the series prior to the 2015 Miami ePrix to become man ...
in 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, since she was not available for every race. She continued to drive the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 the following years.[ In 2022 she was the honorary pace car driver as well.
]
Public image and philanthropy
Fisher is listed at and . Amy Rosewater of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' noted that Fisher was called "the poster child of the IRL" in its formative years.[ Dave Scheiber of the '']St. Petersburg Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'' describes her as having a "upbeat style, big smile and engaging laugh that punctuates her conversations", making her popular with IndyCar's fanbase. Unlike Patrick, Fisher did not promote herself by exploiting her glamorous side, stating "That's definitely not me. It's not my personality."[ She had difficulty finding funding throughout her career because sponsors wanted her to be "more than a novelty in a man's sport" and become competitive.
She was the first female driver who had experience in midget and sprint car racing to compete at the Indianapolis 500. Fisher eschewed the issue of gender, saying "I definitely don't look that way, The car doesn't know if it's being driven by a man or woman."][ Although team owner Derrick Walker said Fisher moved into top-level open-wheel racing early because she was a woman, she was included on '']Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
''s list of Top 10 Female Race Car Drivers in the World in 2007.
In June 2002, Fisher lent her support to the Girl Scout
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
s' campaign "Girls Go Tech", which encourages young women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She worked with the ALS Association Indiana Chapter in late 2011, raising more than $25,000 in a fundraiser in Beech Grove, Indiana to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
after an employee of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing was diagnosed with the disease. Fisher co-wrote a book titled "99 Things Women Wish They Knew Before Getting Behind the Wheel of Their Dream Job" in 2010.
Personal life
Fisher entered Butler University
Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...
in 2000,[ studying part-time for a degree in mechanical engineering but leaving before she finished her course because of the demands of her racing schedule. She also enrolled at ]Ellis College
The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a Private university, private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York (state), New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhat ...
of the New York Institute of Technology
The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhattan. Additionally, it has a cybersecu ...
for a short time. In August 2013, Fisher began studying for a bachelor's degree at WGU Indiana's College of Business. The university allowed her to be flexible with her scheduling arrangements, and she graduated in April 2019. Fisher married front-left tire changer Andy O'Gara on September 15, 2007, at St. Roch Catholic Church in front of members of the IndyCar community. They have two children,[ who compete in racing events.]
Motorsports career results
American open wheel results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Small number denotes finishing position)
IRL IndyCar Series
: ''1 The VisionAire 500K
The VisionAire 500K was an Indy Racing League race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway from 1997 to 1999. During the 1999 event, three spectators were killed when debris from a crash on the track went into the grandstands. The race was stopped and c ...
was abandoned after three spectators were killed when debris from a crash on the track went into the grandstands.''
: ''2 Run on same day.''
: ''3 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.''
Indianapolis 500
NASCAR
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. Small number denotes finishing position)
West Series
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Sarah
1980 births
American female racing drivers
Butler University alumni
Indianapolis 500 drivers
IndyCar Series drivers
NASCAR drivers
Female IndyCar Series drivers
IndyCar Series team owners
Living people
New York Institute of Technology alumni
Racing drivers from Columbus, Ohio
Racing drivers from Ohio
Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio
World of Outlaws drivers
People from Pickaway County, Ohio
21st-century American women
Sarah Fisher Racing drivers
Team Pelfrey drivers
Walker Racing drivers
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers