Sarah Fisher
Encyclopedia
Sarah Marie Fisher is a retired American professional racecar driver who competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500
. Born in Columbus, Ohio
, and raised in Commercial Point, Ohio
, Fisher runs Sarah Fisher Racing
, which she started in 2008, becoming the first and only female team owner and the youngest owner in the IZOD IndyCar Series, as well as the first female team owner to win an IZOD IndyCar Series race. In 2010, she competed in her 9th and final Indy 500, marking the most number of starts for a woman in the 94-year history of the event. Her first book, 99 Things Women Wish They knew Before Getting Behind The Wheel of Their Dream Job, was released in May 2010.
at age 19 in 2000, becoming the third female to compete in the Indianapolis 500 behind Janet Guthrie
and Lyn St. James
. That same year, she became the first woman to stand on the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place finish) with her third place finish at Kentucky Speedway
. In 2001, she became the first woman to run a full IndyCar Series schedule. During that season, she became the first woman to finish runner-up in a major-league open-wheel race when she placed second at Homestead-Miami Speedway
.
In 2002, she not only became the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race, doing so at Kentucky Speedway, but set the track qualifying record there when she won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 221.390 mph (lap time of 24.0661 seconds), a record that still holds.
Fisher made history by becoming the first female driver in the 21st century to drive a Formula One
car when testing in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
; a test arranged by her personal sponsor, TAG Heuer
. In 2003, she set the record as the fastest woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 229.439 mi/h.
She has won the Most Popular Driver (MPD) award three consecutive times (2001–2003) in the IndyCar Series, an award she would also win later while competing in the NASCAR West Series (2005).
She also holds the record for the most number of starts by a female in the history of the Indy 500 (with nine), the most starts of any female in IndyCar Series history (69 as of August 9, 2008) and has the most career earnings for a female in IndyCar Series history ($3,413,600 as of August 9, 2008).
Sarah Fisher became the first female owner/driver in IndyCar Series history in 2008 and is the second female owner/driver in the Indy 500 after Janet Guthrie
.
As a child, she raced quarter midgets
and karts
until she was a teenager, winning the 1991, 1993 & 1994 World Karting Association Grand National Championships, the 1993 Circleville Points Championship and the 1994 WKA Grand National Championship. From 1995–99, she raced in the sprint car
and midget ranks, winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year award. She had a very successful career racing in the World of Outlaws
. In 1997, she was named to the 62-race All-Stars Circuit of Champions series, earning a second place finish at Eldora Speedway. She held the track record at historic Winchester Speedway
until it was broken by current NASCAR driver, Ryan Newman
.
In 1998, Fisher and her father and then-crew chief, Dave Fisher, sought new challenges in the world of asphalt racing. She raced in ARCA
, NAMARS and USAC
sanctioned events, a competitive schedule that helped prepare her for life in the IRL IndyCar Series
.
starting 17th and finishing 25th due to a timing chain failure that ended her day at Lap 66.
, running eight races in the IndyCar Series. In May 2000, she became just the third woman, following Janet Guthrie
and Lyn St. James
, and one of the youngest drivers ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500
, starting 19th and finishing 31st after an accident. Later in the season, she made history again at Kentucky Speedway
, becoming the youngest person to lead laps during an IndyCar Series event and the youngest woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish in that event after starting fourth.
With sponsorship from Kroger
and associates, Gain
, Olay
, Always
, Pantene
, Mead
, Lexmark
, Iams
, Bounty
, Folgers
and Crest, Walker Racing earned an Advertising Age
Marketing 100 award for its Sarah Fisher Kroger sponsorship campaign which generated over $44 Million in off-track media surrounding the Indy 500 and produced over 195 million off-track impressions in 45 days according to Joyce Julius and Associates.
the best result ever by a woman in Indy-style racing until Danica Patrick
claimed victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300
. She earned two top-10 finishes in her second year with Walker Racing
. In her second Indianapolis 500
, she started 15th and finished 31st, because of an accident on Lap 7. She was also voted the IRL Crew Most Popular Driver in crew and fan balloting throughout the season.
. She substituted for the injured Robbie Buhl
at Nazareth Speedway
which would be her first race of the 2002 season. She started in the #24 Purex/Aventis car in the 19th position and finished fourth for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
, her best finish that season.
Fisher teamed with Buhl at the Indianapolis 500
in a second Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry. She qualified ninth, posting the fastest four-lap average speed of 229-plus miles per hour by a woman in Indianapolis 500 history. She finished 24th in her third start at Indy.
From her solid runs at Nazareth and Indy, Fisher was hired for the remainder of the 2002 season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
as a teammate to Buhl for the final eight races of the season, starting with SunTrust Indy Challenge
in June at Richmond International Raceway
. Later that year, she became the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race, earning the MBNA Pole for the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway
. She led the first 26 laps and finished eighth. As the season went on, she continued to run up front and lead Laps 185 and 187-189 at Michigan before falling to eighth place at finish, the first woman driver to take the contested lead in any Indy car race. Despite competing in 10 of 15 races, she tied her career best finish in the IndyCar Series Championship finishing 18th in the point standings. At the end of the season, she was voted the IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for the second consecutive year.
She was also given the chance to drive a McLaren Formula One
car that year, around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-course, in between Friday practice sessions for the 2002 United States Grand Prix
on September 29.
struggled to fund a second entry for Sarah Fisher, after Robbie Buhl
was funded by Purex
for the 2003 season. A last minute deal was inked to run Fisher at Homestead-Miami Speedway
after WeGotGear signed on board for the one-race deal. GM Upromise and Raybestos
Brand Brakes stepped up to fund Fisher's Phoenix International Raceway
entry, where she finished eighth.
For the 87th Indianapolis 500, Fisher was funded by AOL
, Checkers/Rally's, Raybestos, ATA
and TAG Heuer
. Fisher started 24th and finished 31st, completing only 14 laps before making contact with the Turn 3 wall after engine problems plagued her day. She was also without radio communication from her crew during the race. She ended the season 18th in the standings in her second season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Despite her struggle on the track, her fans stuck by her side and voted her the IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for the third consecutive year.
.
effort. Bill McAnally Racing signed Fisher to the a three-year contract the first of which she would compete under the radar in the NASCAR West Series. McAnally, a veteran car owner in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series with three consecutive series championships (1999, 2000 and 2001) to his credit. She would make her stock car debut in the race at Phoenix International Raceway
on October 3. she drove the No. 20 NASCAR Select by NAPA Filters Chevrolet in the Subway 150. Fisher will join BMR at Phoenix as a teammate to Austin Cameron
, who was second in the championship standings at that time. The event was the 10th in a 13-race schedule for the series that year. Fisher qualified 14th but, during the race, was forced to give up her position in the 28-car field to fix an inoperative radio. Even though she started last, she worked her way into ninth place before car problems beset her, and the crew pushed it into the garage on Lap 120. She finished 21st.
series' Rookie of the Year title. She finished the season running in 12th in the chase for the NASCAR Camping World West Series title which made her eligible to compete in the 3rd Annual NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown
at Irwindale Speedway
. She finished 11th in the race. She was also voted the Most Popular Driver in that series, making her a four-time Most Popular Driver Award winner.
went unfulfilled, she participated in a match race at Stafford Speedway in Connecticut
on July 11, 2006. This marked Fisher's first race in 9 months.
On August 3, 2006 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
gave Fisher a new opportunity when she landed a two race deal to drive in the August 13 race at Kentucky Speedway
and in the September 10 race at Chicagoland Speedway
. With the entry of Danica Patrick
for the race, it marked only the second time two women have competed in the same IRL race. The first time was the 2000 Indianapolis 500 where both Fisher and Lyn St. James
competed. Fisher finished in 12th place, out of 19 cars, at Kentucky and 16th at Chicago for the low-budget Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
team.
.
Fisher qualified eighth and finished 11th for the season-opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway
on March 24, 2007. She placed 15th in her first ever road-course race of her racing career at the Streets of St. Petersburg race the following weekend.
Fisher qualified for her sixth Indianapolis 500 on May 13, 2007. After starting on the outside of Row 7, she finished in 18th place after struggling for much of the race, seven positions ahead of her teammate Buddy Rice. Along with Danica Patrick
and Milka Duno
, Fisher made "500" history by being part of the first trio of women drivers to start at Indy. On May 12, 2007, the first photograph featuring Fisher, Patrick and Duno surfaced out of Gasoline Alley
which also included former racer Lyn St. James and tennis legend, Billie Jean King
on the yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
During the 2007 season, Fisher's best qualifying effort was eighth at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 23, 2007, and her best finish was seventh at Iowa Speedway
on June 24, 2007. After the final race of the season, Fisher said, “You know, it was a tough year for us. We never quite got it together to be competitive, week in and week out. We never quite established a means of communication between my engineer and I, and that's critical for success. I would really like to thank the crew for their dedication and hard work they offered throughout this tough year. Despite the ups and downs, I’m looking forward to my wedding this next weekend. I have really enjoyed returning to IndyCar racing this year. And with that, I’m looking forward to 2008.”
According to an article posted in the New York Times, Fisher looked at 2007 as an opportunity to resurrect her career, and the IndyCar Series buzzed about a potential rivalry with Danica Patrick. Instead, Fisher's team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing struggled to find a package that put her and her teammate Buddy Rice near the front of the pack. Fisher went on, “We’re not getting the most of what we can out of a two-car team at the end of the day, and I wish we could. I don’t know what to change to fix that and I wouldn’t even say if I did know. It’s just not working as healthfully as I thought it would, and that disappoints me. I can only help to a certain extent to what the car is doing and what I would rather it do, and then they’ve got to take it from there,” she said. Fellow IndyCar Series competitor, Helio Castroneves
, noted, “She’s got a lot of attention, a lot of fans. She is a talent, she’s fast. Right now I just feel her car is not very competitive."
After a season-long slide co-piloted by her teammate, Buddy Rice, Fisher's 2007 racing struggles have not hurt her relationship with her crew Chief, Andy O'Gara, whom she married on September 15, 2007. Fisher called the wedding, “the bright light at the end of the tunnel” in an otherwise disappointing season. Her husband, Andy O'Gara, along with the Team Manager for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (her father-in-law/Andy O'Gara's father) and her-then agent/manager Klint Briney all resigned from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the end of the 2007 season.
Published reports began to surface at the end of September 2007, stating that Fisher might start her own race team. Along with her teammate Buddy Rice, both were signed to a one-year contract at the struggling Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the 2007 racing season. Fisher told the Indianapolis Star it wasn't likely she would return to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and that she would consider starting her own team if it could be done right. "We said we'd talk about an opportunity if there was one, but there's none right now," she said of her attempts to find the funds to remain at D&R. "There are people interested in selling [the Sarah Fisher Racing] story but, again, it depends on sponsorships."
Sports Illustrated
named Fisher in their Top 10 Female Race Car Drivers in the World in 2007.
. The team, which would be run in tandem with her husband Andy O'Gara and father-in-law John O'Gara, would make its IndyCar Series debut in May at the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. The squad would also be supported by the Indy 500's first two female participants, Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James. The car featured the number 67, a number Fisher used during her career in midgets and non-wing sprint cars. After having trouble with the first announced sponsor Gravity Entertainment
failing to fulfill contractual obligations, while apparently misusing the trademark RESQ
, Sarah Fisher racing announced that they had inked a last minute deal with tex4cars.com to serve as the primary sponsor along with downtown Indianapolis college IUPUI. The Indianapolis Star also revealed that Sarah Fisher and her husband had mortgaged their home to compete in this year's 2008 Indy 500. Additionally, Catalyst PDG, Inc., an Indianapolis based product development company, joined SFR as an associate sponsor.
In the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500
, Fisher was taken out of the race when Tony Kanaan
spun in front of her on Lap 106, ending her seventh attempt at the checkered flag. She became just the second female owner/driver, the first being Janet Guthrie
, to compete in the race and tied Lyn St. James
for the most number of starts for a woman at seven apiece. After she was knocked from the field, a highly emotional Fisher told ESPN's Jamie Little that she was unsure if they would have the money to compete at the two additional races they had planned to compete at, Kentucky and Chicagoland Speedway's, due to Gravity Entertainment
failing to make payment on sponsorship dollars.
On Wednesday, July 16, 2008, it was announced that the Dollar General
Corporation would serve as Fisher's primary sponsor at Kentucky Speedway on August 9, 2008 and Chicagoland Speedway on September 7, 2008. The effort would be also funded by associate sponsors, Arm & Hammer
, Lysol
, Slim Jim, Clorox
, Reese's, Band-Aid
, Craft
and Colgate
. This handful of sponsors joined AAA
Hoosier Insurance, TAG Heuer
, Direct Supply
and Hartman Oil in sponsoring Fisher.
Fisher tested at Kentucky Speedway on July 31 and August 1, 2008, her first appearance back on the race track since the 2008 Indy 500 on May 25, 2008. She turned 300 flawless miles around the track where she owns the track record in preparation for the race on August 9. She qualified 16th for the race at Kentucky Speedway on August 8, 2008, ran as high as 10th in the race and was running 11th when on the final lap of the race, while running side-by-side with Danica Patrick, her right rear suspension broke, sending her coasting to the finish line and losing four positions to finish 15th.
Fisher returned to the track at Chicagoland Speedway on September 7, 2008, when she qualified 19th for the PEAK Indy 300. She ran as high as 13th in the race before a right-rear shock broke on her car on Lap 118 sending her into the Turn 4 wall making heavy contact with the SAFER Barrier. She bruised her ankle but was quickly released from the infield medical center. She would finish 24th.
, the Indianapolis 500
at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
, the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway
, the Meijer Indy 300
at Kentucky Speedway
, the Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway
, and the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
.
Sarah qualified 21st for the 2009 Indianapolis 500
and finished 17th on the lead lap.
.
For the first time in her career, Fisher served as just a "Team Owner" for the races at St. Pete and Barber and put her driving gloves on to compete in her first race of the 2010 season at Kansas Speedway
where she finished 17th. Fisher qualified 29th on Bump Day and finished 26th. Her best finish results of the season was 15th at both Texas and Chicago, where she led her first laps since 2002, but later went two-laps down. Fisher closed the 2010 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the 22nd position, three laps down, and what is believed to be her last event before retiring from a career as a professional race car driver.
Fisher announced her retirement on Monday, November 29, 2010 after 25 years of racing.
. Her book, part of the 99 Series’ revolutionary and pioneering series of self-help books, is peppered with quotes from other female pioneers, including Ashley Judd
(actress), Bea Perez (Coca-Cola
), Angela Braly
(WellPoint
) Ashley Force
(NHRA Funny Car driver), Jill McGill
(LPGA
golfer), Candy Coburn
(National Performing Artist and Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Ambassador) and Lyn St. James
(retired race car driver). The book offers success stories and tips aimed at creating opportunities for a new generation of women leaders as a guide to harness the horsepower of their own potential. The foreword was written by Janet Guthrie
.
, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
, NBC Nightly News
with Tom Brokaw
, Good Morning America
, The Today Show and CBS This Morning.
She has also appeared in the pages of People
, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen
, Glamour
, Mademoiselle
, Sports Illustrated
, Time
, Newsweek
, U.S. News & World Report
, YM
and ESPN The Magazine
.
– Fisher signed a three year deal with AAA on March 7, 2007. Fisher will represent AAA Hoosier Insurance through television ads, billboards and other promotional materials while touting the AAA tagline, "Insure with someone you Trust." Additionally, Fisher will make a limited number of personal appearances on behalf of AAA Hoosier Motor Club.
Dollar General
– Dollar General signed on to sponsor Fisher on July 17, 2008, for two races during the 2008 IndyCar Series season
. They would also end up serving as Fisher's primary sponsor during the 2009
and 2010
seasons.
on October 4, 1980. She grew up in Commercial Point, Ohio
and was exposed to life at the track at an early age. Her parents would take their young daughter to the track to watch her father drive sprint cars. Her first racing experience came as a five year-old when her parents fitted her for her first race car – a quarter-midget. Fisher graduated from Teays Valley High School
in 1999, seventh in her class with honors and a 4.178 grade point average. She enrolled at Ohio State University
in order to pursue an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering but before the school year began, Fisher received a call to race in the IndyCar Series. She later attended Butler University
on a part-time basis pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but due to the demands of her schedule, left the university. She also attended Ellis College for a short time.
Fisher's mother Reba (née Grindell) was profiled along with Fisher in the made-for-television film, Apple Pie. Reba was born minutes after her twin sister, Robin. The girls' mother was one of the first female aviators in Ohio. As a child, Reba raced go-karts in a backyard race pit built by her father. She met her husband-to-be at a Commercial Point, Ohio go-kart race, in which she beat him. Reba holds a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and is a middle-school teacher.
Fisher's father Dave holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University and works in the family business, Fisher Fabrication.
Fisher met her future husband, Andy O'Gara, in 2002 at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, where O'Gara was Fisher's left tire changer. During an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on May 18, 2009, Fisher claimed to have run over O'Gara. The two began dating in 2004 and became engaged on October 4, 2005––Fisher's 25th birthday. O'Gara was Fisher's Crew Chief at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2007. The couple married at St. Roch Catholic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, September 16, 2007. Among those in attendance were Lyn St James, Ed Carpenter and Tony George
.
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
. Born in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, and raised in Commercial Point, Ohio
Commercial Point, Ohio
Commercial Point is a village in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The population was 776 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Commercial Point is located at ....
, Fisher runs Sarah Fisher Racing
Sarah Fisher Racing
Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:...
, which she started in 2008, becoming the first and only female team owner and the youngest owner in the IZOD IndyCar Series, as well as the first female team owner to win an IZOD IndyCar Series race. In 2010, she competed in her 9th and final Indy 500, marking the most number of starts for a woman in the 94-year history of the event. Her first book, 99 Things Women Wish They knew Before Getting Behind The Wheel of Their Dream Job, was released in May 2010.
Records
Sarah became the youngest woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
at age 19 in 2000, becoming the third female to compete in the Indianapolis 500 behind Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500....
and Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
. That same year, she became the first woman to stand on the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place finish) with her third place finish at Kentucky Speedway
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. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
. In 2001, she became the first woman to run a full IndyCar Series schedule. During that season, she became the first woman to finish runner-up in a major-league open-wheel race when she placed second at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...
.
In 2002, she not only became the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race, doing so at Kentucky Speedway, but set the track qualifying record there when she won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 221.390 mph (lap time of 24.0661 seconds), a record that still holds.
Fisher made history by becoming the first female driver in the 21st century to drive a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
car when testing in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
; a test arranged by her personal sponsor, TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs. It is a division of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. The company motto is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860"...
. In 2003, she set the record as the fastest woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 229.439 mi/h.
She has won the Most Popular Driver (MPD) award three consecutive times (2001–2003) in the IndyCar Series, an award she would also win later while competing in the NASCAR West Series (2005).
She also holds the record for the most number of starts by a female in the history of the Indy 500 (with nine), the most starts of any female in IndyCar Series history (69 as of August 9, 2008) and has the most career earnings for a female in IndyCar Series history ($3,413,600 as of August 9, 2008).
Sarah Fisher became the first female owner/driver in IndyCar Series history in 2008 and is the second female owner/driver in the Indy 500 after Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500....
.
Racing career
Quarter Midget racing
Quarter Midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one quarter the size of a full size midget car. The adult size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing, used an oval track of one fifth of a mile in length. The childs quarter midget track is one...
and karts
Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
until she was a teenager, winning the 1991, 1993 & 1994 World Karting Association Grand National Championships, the 1993 Circleville Points Championship and the 1994 WKA Grand National Championship. From 1995–99, she raced in the sprint car
Sprint car racing
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....
and midget ranks, winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year award. She had a very successful career racing in the World of Outlaws
World of Outlaws
The World of Outlaws is an American motorsports sanctioning body. The body sanctions two major national touring series. It is best known for sanctioning a national tour of sprint cars. It later purchased a national tour of late model stockcars called the World of Outlaws Late Model Series...
. In 1997, she was named to the 62-race All-Stars Circuit of Champions series, earning a second place finish at Eldora Speedway. She held the track record at historic Winchester Speedway
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 Fastest 1/2 mile"....
until it was broken by current NASCAR driver, Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman
Ryan Joseph Newman is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the #39 United States Army/Tornados/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for Stewart Haas Racing under crew chief Tony Gibson. Newman graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a B.S. in vehicle structure engineering...
.
In 1998, Fisher and her father and then-crew chief, Dave Fisher, sought new challenges in the world of asphalt racing. She raced in ARCA
Automobile Racing Club of America
Automobile Racing Club of America is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager. The ARCA RE/MAX Series races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and indeed most cars...
, NAMARS and USAC
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
sanctioned events, a competitive schedule that helped prepare her for life in the IRL IndyCar Series
IndyCar Series
The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...
.
1999 IndyCar Series
In 1999, after a successful season competing in three different midget car series, where she picked up two track records and five feature wins, Fisher set her sights on the IndyCar Series. At the time, she was the youngest person ever to pass the IndyCar Series Rookie Test in August at Las Vegas and went on to race in her first IndyCar Series event later that year at Texas Motor SpeedwayTexas 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....
starting 17th and finishing 25th due to a timing chain failure that ended her day at Lap 66.
2000 IndyCar Series
The following season, Fisher drove for open-wheel veteran Derrick Walker's IndyCar Series team, Walker RacingWalker Racing
Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:...
, running eight races in the IndyCar Series. In May 2000, she became just the third woman, following Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500....
and Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
, and one of the youngest drivers ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
, starting 19th and finishing 31st after an accident. Later in the season, she made history again at Kentucky Speedway
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. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
, becoming the youngest person to lead laps during an IndyCar Series event and the youngest woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish in that event after starting fourth.
With sponsorship from Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
and associates, Gain
Gain
In electronics, gain is a measure of the ability of a circuit to increase the power or amplitude of a signal from the input to the output. It is usually defined as the mean ratio of the signal output of a system to the signal input of the same system. It may also be defined on a logarithmic scale,...
, Olay
Olay
Olay is an American skin care line. It is one of the top skin care retail brands in the world, except for Japan, and is one of Procter & Gamble's multi-billion dollar brands. For the 2009 fiscal year ended June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's $79 billion in revenue.-Early...
, Always
Always (product)
Always is a brand of feminine hygiene products, including maxi pads, pantiliners, and tampons, produced by Procter & Gamble. It was released in 1983...
, Pantene
Pantene
Pantene is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1947 by Hoffman-LaRoche of Switzerland, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient...
, Mead
Mead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
, Lexmark
Lexmark
Lexmark International, Inc. is an American corporation which develops and manufactures printing and imaging products, including laser and inkjet printers, multifunction products, printing supplies, and services for business and individual consumers...
, Iams
Iams
Iams is a brand name for dog food and cat food manufactured by Procter & Gamble . The company sells pet food for cats and dogs formulated for puppy/kitten, adult and mature. Its products are developed by nutritionists and veterinarians and can be found in three main formulas: ProActive Health,...
, Bounty
Bounty (brand)
Bounty is a paper towel product manufactured by Procter & Gamble in the United States. It was introduced in 1965.- Sale of British rights :...
, Folgers
Folgers
Folgers Coffee is a major brand of coffee in the United States, part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co.-Company history:...
and Crest, Walker Racing earned an Advertising Age
Advertising Age
Advertising Age is a magazine, delivering news, analysis and data on marketing and media. The magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930...
Marketing 100 award for its Sarah Fisher Kroger sponsorship campaign which generated over $44 Million in off-track media surrounding the Indy 500 and produced over 195 million off-track impressions in 45 days according to Joyce Julius and Associates.
2001 IndyCar Series
In 2001, Fisher claimed a second-place finish at the IRL's inaugural race at Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...
the best result ever by a woman in Indy-style racing until Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick is an American auto racing driver, model and advertising spokeswoman. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing, being the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series as well as holding the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd...
claimed victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300
Indy Japan 300
The Indy Japan 300 presented by Bridgestone is an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The 2008 race marked the historic first ever win for a woman driver in American open wheel racing when Danica Patrick of Andretti-Green Racing took the checkered...
. She earned two top-10 finishes in her second year with Walker Racing
Walker Racing
Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:...
. In her second Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
, she started 15th and finished 31st, because of an accident on Lap 7. She was also voted the IRL Crew Most Popular Driver in crew and fan balloting throughout the season.
2002 IndyCar Series
Fisher began the season without a ride after requesting to be released from her three-year contract with Walker Racing, as Derrick Walker's IndyCar Series team was heading back to the Champ Car World SeriesChamp Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
. She substituted for the injured Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl is a former Indy Racing League competitor and current team-owner, with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team in the IRL's IndyCar Series...
at Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing track in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004. The track is often associated with local drivers Mario and Michael Andretti. It was associated with Frankie Schneider in its earlier dirt track history....
which would be her first race of the 2002 season. She started in the #24 Purex/Aventis car in the 19th position and finished fourth for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold....
, her best finish that season.
Fisher teamed with Buhl at the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
in a second Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry. She qualified ninth, posting the fastest four-lap average speed of 229-plus miles per hour by a woman in Indianapolis 500 history. She finished 24th in her third start at Indy.
From her solid runs at Nazareth and Indy, Fisher was hired for the remainder of the 2002 season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold....
as a teammate to Buhl for the final eight races of the season, starting with SunTrust Indy Challenge
SunTrust Indy Challenge
The SunTrust Indy Challenge was an IndyCar Series race held at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. From 2001-2009. From 2001-2007, the race was scheduled for 250 laps . Starting in 2008, the race was extended to 300 laps....
in June at Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
. Later that year, she became the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race, earning the MBNA Pole for the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway
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. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
. She led the first 26 laps and finished eighth. As the season went on, she continued to run up front and lead Laps 185 and 187-189 at Michigan before falling to eighth place at finish, the first woman driver to take the contested lead in any Indy car race. Despite competing in 10 of 15 races, she tied her career best finish in the IndyCar Series Championship finishing 18th in the point standings. At the end of the season, she was voted the IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for the second consecutive year.
She was also given the chance to drive a McLaren Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
car that year, around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-course, in between Friday practice sessions for the 2002 United States Grand Prix
2002 United States Grand Prix
The 2002 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 29, 2002 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.-Summary:...
on September 29.
2003 IndyCar Series
The 2003 season started with uncertainty as Dreyer & Reinbold RacingDreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold....
struggled to fund a second entry for Sarah Fisher, after Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl is a former Indy Racing League competitor and current team-owner, with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team in the IRL's IndyCar Series...
was funded by Purex
PUREX
PUREX is an acronym standing for Plutonium - URanium EXtraction — de facto standard aqueous nuclear reprocessing method for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from used nuclear fuel. It is based on liquid-liquid extraction ion-exchange.The PUREX process was invented by Herbert H. Anderson and...
for the 2003 season. A last minute deal was inked to run Fisher at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...
after WeGotGear signed on board for the one-race deal. GM Upromise and Raybestos
Raybestos
Raybestos is a brand of automotive brakes begun in 1902 by Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law of Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1906 Raymond and Law invented the woven brake lining, an important innovation in automotive brakes. From 1919-1989 Raybestos brand was manufactured by Raymark Industries,...
Brand Brakes stepped up to fund Fisher's Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
entry, where she finished eighth.
For the 87th Indianapolis 500, Fisher was funded by AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, Checkers/Rally's, Raybestos, ATA
ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines, Inc., formerly known as American Trans Air, was an American low-cost scheduled service and charter airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ATA operated scheduled passenger flights throughout the US mainland and Hawaii, as well as military and commercial charter flights around the world...
and TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs. It is a division of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. The company motto is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860"...
. Fisher started 24th and finished 31st, completing only 14 laps before making contact with the Turn 3 wall after engine problems plagued her day. She was also without radio communication from her crew during the race. She ended the season 18th in the standings in her second season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Despite her struggle on the track, her fans stuck by her side and voted her the IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for the third consecutive year.
2004 IndyCar Series
On February 24, 2004, it was announced that Sarah Fisher would drive for Kelley Racing in the 88th Indianapolis 500. The Team Cure Autism Now (CAN) Foundation car was sponsored by Bryant Heating and Cooling, TrimSpa and Checker's/Rally's. Fisher started 19th and finished 21st for Kelley Racing. She completed 177 laps, of 180 laps run, in the rain-shortened race won by Buddy RiceBuddy Rice
Buddy Rice is an American racecar driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.-Early career:...
.
2004 NASCAR West Series
After Fisher was unable to convince sponsors to fund her IndyCar Series efforts, and unable to get out of her contract with uncompetitive Kelly Racing, sponsors stood in line to fund a NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
effort. Bill McAnally Racing signed Fisher to the a three-year contract the first of which she would compete under the radar in the NASCAR West Series. McAnally, a veteran car owner in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series with three consecutive series championships (1999, 2000 and 2001) to his credit. She would make her stock car debut in the race at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
on October 3. she drove the No. 20 NASCAR Select by NAPA Filters Chevrolet in the Subway 150. Fisher will join BMR at Phoenix as a teammate to Austin Cameron
Austin Cameron
Austin Cameron is a NASCAR race car driver. He was born in El Cajon, California). He drives the #88 RaceCarCeilingFans.com Chevrolet in the NASCAR Grand National West Series, and the #61 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series for Bill McAnally.-Racing career:Austin Cameron began racing go-karts at the...
, who was second in the championship standings at that time. The event was the 10th in a 13-race schedule for the series that year. Fisher qualified 14th but, during the race, was forced to give up her position in the 28-car field to fix an inoperative radio. Even though she started last, she worked her way into ninth place before car problems beset her, and the crew pushed it into the garage on Lap 120. She finished 21st.
2005 NASCAR West Series
In 2005, Fisher captured four top-ten finishes in her first full season in the NASCAR West Series in 2005, capturing the stock car racingStock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
series' Rookie of the Year title. She finished the season running in 12th in the chase for the NASCAR Camping World West Series title which made her eligible to compete in the 3rd Annual NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown
Toyota All-Star Showdown
The Toyota All-Star Showdown is a nonpoints, all-star race that brings together the top drivers in NASCAR's lower-level series.It was inaugurated in 2003, and all six events so far have been held at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in suburban Los Angeles...
at Irwindale Speedway
Irwindale Speedway
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale is a motorsports facility located in Irwindale, California, United States. It features banked, paved 1/2- and 1/3-mile oval tracks and a 1/8-mile drag strip. It opened on March 27, 1999, as Irwindale Speedway and held that name until Toyota purchased the naming rights...
. She finished 11th in the race. She was also voted the Most Popular Driver in that series, making her a four-time Most Popular Driver Award winner.
2006 IndyCar Series
After Fisher was unable to put together a full NASCAR program, Fisher decided to move back to Indianapolis and refresh her name in the IndyCar Series and prepare for a full-time 2007 program. Though her desire to run the 2006 Indianapolis 5002006 Indianapolis 500
The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish, Jr. won the race by passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final straightaway, about 450 feet from the finish line...
went unfulfilled, she participated in a match race at Stafford Speedway in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
on July 11, 2006. This marked Fisher's first race in 9 months.
On August 3, 2006 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold....
gave Fisher a new opportunity when she landed a two race deal to drive in the August 13 race at Kentucky Speedway
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. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
and in the September 10 race at Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing including the opening event in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IZOD IndyCar Series, recording...
. With the entry of Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick is an American auto racing driver, model and advertising spokeswoman. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing, being the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series as well as holding the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd...
for the race, it marked only the second time two women have competed in the same IRL race. The first time was the 2000 Indianapolis 500 where both Fisher and Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
competed. Fisher finished in 12th place, out of 19 cars, at Kentucky and 16th at Chicago for the low-budget Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold....
team.
2007 IndyCar Series
On January 30, 2007, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced that they had signed Fisher to drive for the full season along with new teammate 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner, Buddy RiceBuddy Rice
Buddy Rice is an American racecar driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.-Early career:...
.
Fisher qualified eighth and finished 11th for the season-opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...
on March 24, 2007. She placed 15th in her first ever road-course race of her racing career at the Streets of St. Petersburg race the following weekend.
Fisher qualified for her sixth Indianapolis 500 on May 13, 2007. After starting on the outside of Row 7, she finished in 18th place after struggling for much of the race, seven positions ahead of her teammate Buddy Rice. Along with Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick is an American auto racing driver, model and advertising spokeswoman. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing, being the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series as well as holding the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd...
and Milka Duno
Milka Duno
Milka Duno is a Venezuelan race car driver who competed in the IndyCar Series, and competes in the ARCA Racing Series. She is best known for holding the record of highest finish for a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona....
, Fisher made "500" history by being part of the first trio of women drivers to start at Indy. On May 12, 2007, the first photograph featuring Fisher, Patrick and Duno surfaced out of Gasoline Alley
Gasoline Alley
Gasoline Alley is a comic strip created by Frank King and currently distributed by Tribune Media Services. First published November 24, 1918, it is the second longest running comic strip in the US and has received critical accolades for its influential innovations...
which also included former racer Lyn St. James and tennis legend, Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
on the yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
During the 2007 season, Fisher's best qualifying effort was eighth at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 23, 2007, and her best finish was seventh at Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond International Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful...
on June 24, 2007. After the final race of the season, Fisher said, “You know, it was a tough year for us. We never quite got it together to be competitive, week in and week out. We never quite established a means of communication between my engineer and I, and that's critical for success. I would really like to thank the crew for their dedication and hard work they offered throughout this tough year. Despite the ups and downs, I’m looking forward to my wedding this next weekend. I have really enjoyed returning to IndyCar racing this year. And with that, I’m looking forward to 2008.”
According to an article posted in the New York Times, Fisher looked at 2007 as an opportunity to resurrect her career, and the IndyCar Series buzzed about a potential rivalry with Danica Patrick. Instead, Fisher's team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing struggled to find a package that put her and her teammate Buddy Rice near the front of the pack. Fisher went on, “We’re not getting the most of what we can out of a two-car team at the end of the day, and I wish we could. I don’t know what to change to fix that and I wouldn’t even say if I did know. It’s just not working as healthfully as I thought it would, and that disappoints me. I can only help to a certain extent to what the car is doing and what I would rather it do, and then they’ve got to take it from there,” she said. Fellow IndyCar Series competitor, Helio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves is a Brazilian auto racing driver currently competing in the North American IndyCar Series. In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 14 wins and 28 poles, and has never placed lower than sixth in the standings in a complete season of racing...
, noted, “She’s got a lot of attention, a lot of fans. She is a talent, she’s fast. Right now I just feel her car is not very competitive."
After a season-long slide co-piloted by her teammate, Buddy Rice, Fisher's 2007 racing struggles have not hurt her relationship with her crew Chief, Andy O'Gara, whom she married on September 15, 2007. Fisher called the wedding, “the bright light at the end of the tunnel” in an otherwise disappointing season. Her husband, Andy O'Gara, along with the Team Manager for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (her father-in-law/Andy O'Gara's father) and her-then agent/manager Klint Briney all resigned from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the end of the 2007 season.
Published reports began to surface at the end of September 2007, stating that Fisher might start her own race team. Along with her teammate Buddy Rice, both were signed to a one-year contract at the struggling Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the 2007 racing season. Fisher told the Indianapolis Star it wasn't likely she would return to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and that she would consider starting her own team if it could be done right. "We said we'd talk about an opportunity if there was one, but there's none right now," she said of her attempts to find the funds to remain at D&R. "There are people interested in selling [the Sarah Fisher Racing] story but, again, it depends on sponsorships."
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
named Fisher in their Top 10 Female Race Car Drivers in the World in 2007.
2008 IndyCar Series
On January 27, 2008, Fisher announced the introduction of her own team, Sarah Fisher RacingSarah Fisher Racing
Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:...
. The team, which would be run in tandem with her husband Andy O'Gara and father-in-law John O'Gara, would make its IndyCar Series debut in May at the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. The squad would also be supported by the Indy 500's first two female participants, Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James. The car featured the number 67, a number Fisher used during her career in midgets and non-wing sprint cars. After having trouble with the first announced sponsor Gravity Entertainment
Gravity Entertainment
Gravity Entertainment was a film and television production company formed in 1997. The company was modeled on the traditional Hollywood Studio, where the main business is development and production of motion pictures and television programming....
failing to fulfill contractual obligations, while apparently misusing the trademark RESQ
RESQ
RESQ is a brand of energy drink which was originally developed in Austria in 1999 and was intended to be sold exclusively on the North American beverage market...
, Sarah Fisher racing announced that they had inked a last minute deal with tex4cars.com to serve as the primary sponsor along with downtown Indianapolis college IUPUI. The Indianapolis Star also revealed that Sarah Fisher and her husband had mortgaged their home to compete in this year's 2008 Indy 500. Additionally, Catalyst PDG, Inc., an Indianapolis based product development company, joined SFR as an associate sponsor.
In the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
, Fisher was taken out of the race when Tony Kanaan
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho, commonly known as Tony Kanaan is a Brazilian race car driver of Lebanese heritage. Kanaan won the 2004 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series championship driving Andretti Green Racing's 7-Eleven sponsored car, winning three times in his Honda-powered Dallara...
spun in front of her on Lap 106, ending her seventh attempt at the checkered flag. She became just the second female owner/driver, the first being Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500....
, to compete in the race and tied Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
for the most number of starts for a woman at seven apiece. After she was knocked from the field, a highly emotional Fisher told ESPN's Jamie Little that she was unsure if they would have the money to compete at the two additional races they had planned to compete at, Kentucky and Chicagoland Speedway's, due to Gravity Entertainment
Gravity Entertainment
Gravity Entertainment was a film and television production company formed in 1997. The company was modeled on the traditional Hollywood Studio, where the main business is development and production of motion pictures and television programming....
failing to make payment on sponsorship dollars.
On Wednesday, July 16, 2008, it was announced that the Dollar General
Dollar General
Dollar General Corp. is a U.S. chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2011, Dollar General operated over 9,300 stores in 35 U.S. states....
Corporation would serve as Fisher's primary sponsor at Kentucky Speedway on August 9, 2008 and Chicagoland Speedway on September 7, 2008. The effort would be also funded by associate sponsors, Arm & Hammer
Arm & Hammer
Arm & Hammer is a registered trademark of Church and Dwight, an American manufacturer of household products. The logo of this brand is a muscular arm holding a hammer...
, Lysol
Lysol
Lysol is a trade name for common household cleanersLysol may also refer to:* Lysol , a 1992 album by The Melvins* Lysol , Actor muMs da Schemer played Lysol in The Mad Real World skit on Chappelle's Show....
, Slim Jim, Clorox
Clorox
The Clorox Company is a US-based manufacturer of various food and chemical products based in Oakland, California, which is best known for its bleach product, Clorox.- History :...
, Reese's, Band-Aid
Band-Aid
Band-Aid is a brand name for Johnson & Johnson's line of adhesive bandages and related products. It has also become a genericized trademark for any adhesive bandage in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and the United States....
, Craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
and Colgate
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
. This handful of sponsors joined AAA
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
Hoosier Insurance, TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs. It is a division of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. The company motto is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860"...
, Direct Supply
Direct Supply
Direct Supply is a privately held, nationwide provider of equipment, eCommerce services and other services to the senior living industry. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin the company distributes more than one million products to the senior living industry...
and Hartman Oil in sponsoring Fisher.
Fisher tested at Kentucky Speedway on July 31 and August 1, 2008, her first appearance back on the race track since the 2008 Indy 500 on May 25, 2008. She turned 300 flawless miles around the track where she owns the track record in preparation for the race on August 9. She qualified 16th for the race at Kentucky Speedway on August 8, 2008, ran as high as 10th in the race and was running 11th when on the final lap of the race, while running side-by-side with Danica Patrick, her right rear suspension broke, sending her coasting to the finish line and losing four positions to finish 15th.
Fisher returned to the track at Chicagoland Speedway on September 7, 2008, when she qualified 19th for the PEAK Indy 300. She ran as high as 13th in the race before a right-rear shock broke on her car on Lap 118 sending her into the Turn 4 wall making heavy contact with the SAFER Barrier. She bruised her ankle but was quickly released from the infield medical center. She would finish 24th.
2009 IndyCar Series
Fisher retained Dollar General to fund her 2009 efforts in the IndyCar Series for 6 races: the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas SpeedwayKansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...
, the Indianapolis 500
2009 Indianapolis 500
The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday May 24, 2009, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season....
at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
, the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway
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 Meijer Indy 300
Meijer Indy 300
The Kentucky Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.The IRL IndyCar Series debuted the race in 2000...
at Kentucky Speedway
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. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
, the Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing including the opening event in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IZOD IndyCar Series, recording...
, and the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami.Since 2002 Homestead has hosted the final races of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series...
.
Sarah qualified 21st for the 2009 Indianapolis 500
2009 Indianapolis 500
The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday May 24, 2009, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season....
and finished 17th on the lead lap.
2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Fisher's 2010 season began with the news that her longtime agent was resigning his position with her team to start a talent agency. While she was scheduled to compete in nine events in 2010, Fisher replaced herself for her only scheduled road course events; St. Pete and Barber with fellow American racer Graham RahalGraham Rahal
Graham Rahal is an American race car driver. He currently participates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal.-Early racing:...
.
For the first time in her career, Fisher served as just a "Team Owner" for the races at St. Pete and Barber and put her driving gloves on to compete in her first race of the 2010 season at Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...
where she finished 17th. Fisher qualified 29th on Bump Day and finished 26th. Her best finish results of the season was 15th at both Texas and Chicago, where she led her first laps since 2002, but later went two-laps down. Fisher closed the 2010 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the 22nd position, three laps down, and what is believed to be her last event before retiring from a career as a professional race car driver.
Fisher announced her retirement on Monday, November 29, 2010 after 25 years of racing.
Fisher's book
Fisher began writing 99 Things Women Wish They knew Before Getting Behind The Wheel of Their Dream Job in mid-2009 with her then-Agent/Manger Klint Briney and author Lindsey Gobel and was released on May 10, 2010. The book was released by Beaufort Books, named the fastest growing independent publisher of 2007 by Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
. Her book, part of the 99 Series’ revolutionary and pioneering series of self-help books, is peppered with quotes from other female pioneers, including Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
(actress), Bea Perez (Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
), Angela Braly
Angela Braly
Angela F. Braly is president and chief executive officer for WellPoint, Inc., a large US-based health care company, and is a member of the company's board of directors...
(WellPoint
WellPoint
WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health plan company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc...
) Ashley Force
Ashley Force
Ashley Force Hood is a funny car drag racer for John Force Racing. She is the daughter of 15-time NHRA Funny Car national champion John Force and Laurie Force...
(NHRA Funny Car driver), Jill McGill
Jill McGill
Jill McGill is an American professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.McGill was born in Denver, Colorado. She played college golf at the University of Southern California and won the U.S. Women's Amateur title in 1993 and the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in 1994. She played on the 1994 Curtis Cup...
(LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
golfer), Candy Coburn
Candy Coburn
Candy Coburn is an American national performing country music artist who has shared the stage with many notable artists, including Brooks and Dunn, Kellie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Gary Allan, Josh Turner, Lady Antebellum and others...
(National Performing Artist and Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly known as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, often referred to as simply Komen, is the most widely known, largest and best-funded breast cancer organization in the US....
Ambassador) and Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
(retired race car driver). The book offers success stories and tips aimed at creating opportunities for a new generation of women leaders as a guide to harness the horsepower of their own potential. The foreword was written by Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500....
.
Media work
Fisher has been a guest or profiled on a variety of television programs including, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and KellyLive with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
, NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
with Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, The Today Show and CBS This Morning.
She has also appeared in the pages of People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, YM
YM (magazine)
YM was an American teen magazine that began in 1932. It was published for 72 years and was the second-oldest girls' magazine in the United States...
and ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
.
Endorsements
AAAAmerican Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
– Fisher signed a three year deal with AAA on March 7, 2007. Fisher will represent AAA Hoosier Insurance through television ads, billboards and other promotional materials while touting the AAA tagline, "Insure with someone you Trust." Additionally, Fisher will make a limited number of personal appearances on behalf of AAA Hoosier Motor Club.
Dollar General
Dollar General
Dollar General Corp. is a U.S. chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2011, Dollar General operated over 9,300 stores in 35 U.S. states....
– Dollar General signed on to sponsor Fisher on July 17, 2008, for two races during the 2008 IndyCar Series season
2008 IndyCar Series season
The 2008 IndyCar Series season was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. Its premier event was the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25. The first race was held March 29 at Homestead. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing....
. They would also end up serving as Fisher's primary sponsor during the 2009
2009 IndyCar Series season
The 2009 IndyCar Series season was the 14th season of the IndyCar Series. The 17-race season began on April 5, and its premier event, the 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held May 24. All races were broadcast on ABC or Versus in high-definition...
and 2010
2010 IndyCar Series season
The 2010 Izod IndyCar Series season was the 15th season of the IndyCar Series, and the 99th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. It was the series' first of six planned seasons under Izod title sponsorship, a multi-million dollar deal which was announced on November 5, 2009...
seasons.
Personal life
Sarah Fisher, an only child, was born in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
on October 4, 1980. She grew up in Commercial Point, Ohio
Commercial Point, Ohio
Commercial Point is a village in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The population was 776 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Commercial Point is located at ....
and was exposed to life at the track at an early age. Her parents would take their young daughter to the track to watch her father drive sprint cars. Her first racing experience came as a five year-old when her parents fitted her for her first race car – a quarter-midget. Fisher graduated from Teays Valley High School
Teays Valley High School
Teays Valley High School is a public high school in Ashville, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Teays Valley Local School District.-External links:*...
in 1999, seventh in her class with honors and a 4.178 grade point average. She enrolled at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in order to pursue an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering but before the school year began, Fisher received a call to race in the IndyCar Series. She later attended Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
on a part-time basis pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but due to the demands of her schedule, left the university. She also attended Ellis College for a short time.
Fisher's mother Reba (née Grindell) was profiled along with Fisher in the made-for-television film, Apple Pie. Reba was born minutes after her twin sister, Robin. The girls' mother was one of the first female aviators in Ohio. As a child, Reba raced go-karts in a backyard race pit built by her father. She met her husband-to-be at a Commercial Point, Ohio go-kart race, in which she beat him. Reba holds a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and is a middle-school teacher.
Fisher's father Dave holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University and works in the family business, Fisher Fabrication.
Fisher met her future husband, Andy O'Gara, in 2002 at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, where O'Gara was Fisher's left tire changer. During an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on May 18, 2009, Fisher claimed to have run over O'Gara. The two began dating in 2004 and became engaged on October 4, 2005––Fisher's 25th birthday. O'Gara was Fisher's Crew Chief at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2007. The couple married at St. Roch Catholic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, September 16, 2007. Among those in attendance were Lyn St James, Ed Carpenter and Tony George
Tony George
Anton Hulman "Tony" George was the former President and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. He founded the Indy Racing League and co-owns Vision Racing...
.
American open wheel results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)IndyCar
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Team Pelfrey |  WDW |
PHX |
INDY 1999 Indianapolis 500 The 1999 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1999.-Recap:Robby Gordon and Team Menard take a major gamble late in the race, and try to stretch their fuel for the win. Gordon had last pit on lap 164, and attempted to run the final 36 laps on one tank... |
TXS |
PPIR |
ATL |
DOV |
PPI2 |
LVS |
TX2 25 |
46th | 5 | |||||||||
| 2000 | Walker Racing Walker Racing Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:... |
WDW |
PHX 13 |
LVS 13 |
INDY 2000 Indianapolis 500 The 2000 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28, 2000.-Recap:Chip Ganassi Racing became the first regular CART series team to break ranks and compete at Indianapolis since the CART/IRL split in 1996, entering 1996 CART series champion Jimmy Vasser and reigning... 31 |
TXS 12 |
PPIR 25 |
ATL 14 |
KTY 3 |
TX2 11 |
18th | 124 | ||||||||||
| 2001 | Walker Racing Walker Racing Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:... |
PHX 17 |
HMS 2 |
ATL 11 |
INDY 2001 Indianapolis 500 The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves led the final 52 laps and won his first Indy 500.-Changes for 2001:... 31 |
TXS 18 |
PPIR 10 |
RIR 17 |
KAN 12 |
NSH 19 |
KTY 19 |
STL 11 |
CHI 24 |
TX2 25 |
19th | 188 | ||||||
| 2002 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
HMS |
PHX |
FON |
NZR 4 |
INDY 2002 Indianapolis 500 The 86th Indianapolis race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 2002. It was the seventh Indianapolis 500 held as part of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series schedule, and was part of the 2002 Indy Racing League season.... 24 |
TXS |
PPIR |
RIR 16 |
KAN 14 |
NSH 22 |
MIS 8 |
KTY 8 |
STL 20 |
CHI 22 |
TX2 9 |
18th | 161 | ||||
| 2003 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
HMS 15 |
PHX 8 |
 MOT 23 |
INDY 2003 Indianapolis 500 The 2003 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 25, 2003.-Recap:The "curse of the Indy three-peat" prevailed again on lap 169, as pole-sitter and two-time defending champion Hélio Castroneves was held up behind lap car A.J. Foyt IV coming out of the second turn, allowing teammate... 31 |
TXS 15 |
PPIR 20 |
RIR 19 |
KAN 11 |
NSH 20 |
MIS 15 |
STL 13 |
KTY 14 |
NZR DNS |
CHI 18 |
FON 19 |
TX2 12 |
18th | 211 | |||
| 2004 | Kelley Racing Kelley Racing Kelley Racing is a former Indy Racing League team founded by Fort Wayne, Indiana-based car dealer Tom Kelley that most notably fielded a Delphi sponsored car for Scott Sharp during its entire existence from 1998 to 2004... |
HMS |
PHX |
MOT |
INDY 2004 Indianapolis 500 The 2004 Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis on Sunday, May 30, 2004. It was part of the 2004 IndyCar Series season and the ninth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Pole winner Buddy Rice led the most laps and won the race for team owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman.After... 21 |
TXS |
RIR |
KAN |
NSH |
MIL |
MIS |
KTY |
PPIR |
NZR |
CHI |
FON |
TX2 |
31st | 12 | |||
| 2006 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
HMS 2006 Toyota Indy 300 The 2006 Toyota Indy 300 was the first round of the 2006 IndyCar Series season, held on March 26, 2006 on the Homestead-Miami Speedway and covered by ABC. The race was marred by a violent crash in the final practice session. Paul Dana was killed in the crash and fellow teammates Danica Patrick and... |
STP 2006 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The 2006 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second round of the 2006 IndyCar Series season, held on April 2, 2006 on the Streets of St. Petersburg city track and covered by ESPN. Dario Franchitti won the pole, but was knocked out early due to mechanical failure... |
MOT |
INDY 2006 Indianapolis 500 The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish, Jr. won the race by passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final straightaway, about 450 feet from the finish line... |
WGL |
TXS |
RIR |
KAN |
NSH |
MIL |
MIS |
KTY 12 |
SNM |
CHI 16 |
25th | 32 | |||||
| 2007 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
HMS 2007 XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 The 2007 XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 was the opening round of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. It took place on March 24, 2007 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, United States.-Results:... 11 |
STP 2007 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The 2007 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second round of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. It took place on April 1, 2007.-Results:... 15 |
MOT 2007 Indy Japan 300 The 2007 Indy Japan 300 was an IndyCar Series motor race held on April 21, 2007, at the Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, Japan. It was the third race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season, the fifth annual edition of the Indy Japan 300 in the IndyCar Series, and the tenth anniversary running of the... 14 |
KAN 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 The 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Kansas Speedway. It was held over the weekend of 27 -April 29, 2007, as the fourth round of the seventeen-race calendar.-Results:-References:**... 12 |
INDY 2007 Indianapolis 500 The 91st Indianapolis 500 ran on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 12th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season just after the 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 and just before the 2007 ABC Supply... 18 |
MIL 2007 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 The 2007 ABC Supply Company/A.J. Foyt 225 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at The Milwaukee Mile. It was held over the weekend of 1 -June 3, 2007, as the sixth round of the seventeen-race calendar.-Classification:-References:*... 14 |
TXS 2007 Bombardier Learjet 550 The 2007 Bombardier Learjet 550 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Texas Motor Speedway. It was held over 7 -June 9, 2007, as the seventh round of the seventeen-race calendar. It was also the second of the four night races of the season.... 10 |
IOW 2007 Iowa Corn Indy 250 The 2007 Iowa Corn Indy 250 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series. It was held over the weekend of June 22-24, 2007, as the eighth round of the seventeen-race calendar. It was the inaugural race at the brand-new Iowa Speedway.-Pre-Race:... 7 |
RIR 2007 SunTrust Indy Challenge The 2007 SunTrust Indy Challenge was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Richmond International Raceway. It was held over 28 -June 30, 2007, as the ninth round of the seventeen-race calendar. It was the third of four night races on the 2007 calendar.... 16 |
WGL 2007 Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix The 2007 Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Watkins Glen International. It was held over the weekend of 6 -July 8, 2007, as the tenth round of the seventeen-race calendar.-Classification:-References:*... 16 |
NSH 2007 Firestone Indy 200 The 2007 Firestone Indy 200 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Nashville Superspeedway. It was originally to be held over 12 -July 14, 2007, as the eleventh round of the seventeen-race calendar. However, persistent rain pushed the race back to July 15, 2007.-Classification:-... 15 |
MDO 2007 Honda 200 The 2007 Honda 200 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It was held over the weekend of 20 -July 22, 2007, as the twelfth round of the seventeen-race calendar. It was the inaugural race for the IndyCar Series at the track.-Classification:- References :*... 15 |
MIS 2007 Firestone Indy 400 The 2007 Firestone Indy 400 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Michigan International Speedway. It was held over the weekend of 3 -August 5, 2007, as the thirteenth round of the seventeen-race calendar. It was the last race, for the time being, for the IndyCar Series at the track... 16 |
KTY 2007 Meijer Indy 300 The 2007 Meijer Indy 300 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Kentucky Speedway. It was held over 9 -August 11, 2007, as the fourteenth round of the seventeen-race calendar. It was the fourth and final night race of the season... 14 |
SNM 2007 Motorola Indy 300 The 2007 Motorola Indy 300 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Infineon Raceway. It was held over the weekend of 24 -August 26, 2007, as the fifteenth round of the seventeen-race calendar.-Classification:- References :*... 17 |
DET 2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix The 2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at The Raceway at Belle Isle. It was held over the weekend of August 31-September 2, 2007, as the penultimate round of the calendar.-Classification:- References :*... 16 |
CHI 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 The 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 was a race in the 2007 IRL IndyCar Series, held at Chicagoland Speedway. It was held over the weekend of 7 -September 9, 2007, as the seventeenth and final round of the 2007 calendar.... 12 |
17th | 275 | ||
| 2008 2008 IndyCar Series season The 2008 IndyCar Series season was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. Its premier event was the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25. The first race was held March 29 at Homestead. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing.... |
Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:... |
HMS 2008 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 The 2008 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 was the opening round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on March 29, 2008 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the first time in series history, the reigning champion was not on the grid to defend his title, as Dario Franchitti had moved to... |
STP 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on April 6, 2008 at the temporary street and airport circuit on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. The race was a time-limited race due to rain, with the race falling some... |
MOT 2008 Indy Japan 300 The 2008 Indy Japan 300 was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for drivers who competed in the series in 2007 and teams that had entered for 2008 who were not former Champ Car teams that were in transition... 1 |
LBH 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach The 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for teams who competed in the Champ Car World Series in 2007. This was because the 2008 Indy Japan 300 occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash. It was held... 1 |
KAN 2008 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 The 2008 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 was the fourth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on April 27, 2009 at the Kansas Speedway. At the start, Scott Dixon took the lead from the pole position. Meanwhile, Enrique Bernoldi spun and headed to the pits. On lap 23, Will Power crashed... |
INDY 2008 Indianapolis 500 The 92nd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race was run on Sunday May 25, 2008 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, USA. Scott Dixon of New Zealand won the race from the pole position. It was the thirteenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and served as the showcase event of... 30 |
MIL 2008 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 The 2008 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 was the sixth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on June 1, 2008 at the Milwaukee Mile, in West Allis, Wisconsin. Marco Andretti took the lead from the pole position, and led the first 40 laps. He was chased early by Scott Dixon and... |
TXS 2008 Bombardier Learjet 550 The 2008 Bombardier Learjet 550 was the seventh round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on June 7, 2008 at the Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas. In the first half, three single-car incidents involving Mario Domínguez, Justin Wilson, and Oriol Servià slowed the race... |
IOW 2008 Iowa Corn Indy 250 The 2008 Iowa Corn Indy 250 was the eighth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on June 22, 2008 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. At the green flag, Hélio Castroneves took the lead in turn 1 from polesitter Scott Dixon. Tony Kanaan quickly moved up to second position... |
RIR 2008 SunTrust Indy Challenge The 2008 SunTrust Indy Challenge was the ninth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on June 28, 2008 at the Richmond International Raceway, in Henrico County, Virginia. At the start, Ryan Hunter-Reay spun just before the start/finish line, which brought the yellow out... |
WGL 2008 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen The 2008 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen was the tenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on July 6, 2008 at the Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York. The race was won by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who took the lead from Darren Manning on lap 52... |
NSH 2008 Firestone Indy 200 The 2008 Firestone Indy 200 was the eleventh round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on July 6, 2008, at the Nashville Superspeedway. It was the eighth and final running of the Firestone Indy 200.-Race results:... |
MDO 2008 Honda 200 The 2008 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance was the twelfth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on 20 July 2008.-Race results:... |
 EDM 2008 Rexall Edmonton Indy The 2008 Rexall Edmonton Indy was the thirteenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, and was held on July 26, 2008 at Rexall Speedway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The race was won by Scott Dixon, followed by Hélio Castroneves and Justin Wilson... |
KTY 2008 Meijer Indy 300 The 2008 Meijer Indy 300 was the fourteenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on August 9, 2008.- Race :... 15 |
SNM 2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy Grand Prix The 2008 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County was the fifteenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on August 24, 2008.- Race :... |
DET 2008 Detroit Indy Grand Prix The 2008 Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone was the sixteenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on August 31, 2008.- Race :... |
CHI 2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 The 2008 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 was the seventeenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on September 7, 2008.- Race :... 24 |
 SRF 2008 Nikon Indy 300 The 2008 Nikon Indy 300 was the 19th and final race of the 2008 IndyCar Series. It was held on 26 October 2008 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia.... 2 |
34th | 37 |
| 2009 2009 IndyCar Series season The 2009 IndyCar Series season was the 14th season of the IndyCar Series. The 17-race season began on April 5, and its premier event, the 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held May 24. All races were broadcast on ABC or Versus in high-definition... |
Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:... |
STP 2009 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the opening round of the 2009 IndyCar Series on April 5, 2009. It was the first time in IndyCar Series history that the season begins on a road course and not an oval. The race saw 4 drivers make their debuts in the championship: Stanton Barrett, Mike... |
LBH 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach The 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the second round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, held on April 19, 2009. The race was contested over 85 laps of the street course in Long Beach, California... |
KAN 2009 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 The 2009 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 was the third round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, held on April 26, 2009 at the Kansas Speedway. The race was won by Scott Dixon, who led 134 of the 200 laps to move up into fourth place in the championship standings... 13 |
INDY 2009 Indianapolis 500 The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday May 24, 2009, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.... 17 |
MIL 2009 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 The 2009 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 was the fifth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, held on May 31, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile, in West Allis, Wisconsin.- Race :- Standings after the race :Drivers' Championship standings... |
TXS 2009 Bombardier Learjet 550 The 2009 Bombardier Learjet 550 was the sixth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, held on June 6, 2009 at the Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas.- Race :- Standings after the race :Drivers' Championship standings... 17 |
IOW 2009 Iowa Corn Indy 250 The 2009 Iowa Corn Indy 250 was the seventh round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on June 21, 2009 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The race was broadcast on ABC... |
RIR 2009 SunTrust Indy Challenge The 2009 SunTrust Indy Challenge was the eighth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season and took place on June 27, 2009 at the Richmond International Raceway, in Henrico County, Virginia.- Race :- Standings after the race :... |
WGL 2009 Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen The 2009 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen was the ninth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season and took place on July 5, 2009 at the Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York.- Race :- Standings after the race :... |
TOR 2009 Honda Indy Toronto The 2009 Honda Indy Toronto was the tenth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season and took place on July 12, 2009 at the Exhibition Place temporary street circuit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dario Franchitti won the race, to join Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Scott Dixon as the only three-time... |
EDM 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy The 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy was the eleventh round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on July 26, 2009 at the Rexall Speedway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.-Qualifying results:... |
KTY 2009 Meijer Indy 300 The 2009 Meijer Indy 300 presented by Red Baron and Edy's was the twelfth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on August 1, 2009 at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.- Grid :- Race :- Standings after the race :... 12 |
MDO 2009 Honda 200 The 2009 Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance was the thirteenth round of the 17-race 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on August 9, 2009 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.... |
SNM 2009 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma The 2009 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma was the fourteenth round of the 17-race 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on August 23, 2009 at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Will Power and Nelson Philippe both missed the race, after they were hospitalized after a practice accident on... |
CHI 2009 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 The 2009 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 was the fifteenth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race was won by Ryan Briscoe who beat Scott Dixon on the last lap to win by only 0.0077 of a second.- Grid :- Race :-... 14 |
MOT 2009 Indy Japan 300 The 2009 Indy Japan 300 was the sixteenth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, and was held on September 19, 2009 at the Twin Ring Motegi, in Motegi, Japan.- Grid :... |
HMS 2009 Firestone Indy 300 The 2009 Firestone Indy 300 was the final race of the 2009 IndyCar season. This race took place on October 10, at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida near Miami. The race was telecast by Versus... 18 |
25th | 89 | ||
| 2010 2010 IndyCar Series season The 2010 Izod IndyCar Series season was the 15th season of the IndyCar Series, and the 99th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. It was the series' first of six planned seasons under Izod title sponsorship, a multi-million dollar deal which was announced on November 5, 2009... |
Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:... |
 SAO 2010 São Paulo Indy 300 The 2010 São Paulo Indy 300 was the first race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The race took place on March 14, on the temporary street circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, and was telecast by Versus in the United States... |
STP 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The race took place on March 29, on the temporary street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was telecast by ESPN2 in the United States... |
ALA 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama The 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the third race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The race took place on April 11, on the road course in Birmingham, Alabama, and was telecast by Versus in the United States.-Race:... |
LBH 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach The 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the fourth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season, and took place on April 18, 2010. The race was contested over 85 laps of the street course in Long Beach, California, and was telecast by Versus in the United States... |
KAN 2010 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 The 2010 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 was the tenth running of the Kansas Indy 300 and the fifth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Saturday, May 1, 2010... 17 |
INDY 2010 Indianapolis 500 The 94th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 30, 2010, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 15th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was the premier event of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The race was won by Dario Franchitti, ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco... 26 |
TXS 15 |
IOW 2010 Iowa Corn Indy 250 The 2010 Iowa Corn Indy 250 was the fourth running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 and the eighth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday, June 20, 2010. The race was contested over 250 laps at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, and was telecasted by Versus in the United... 22 |
WGL |
TOR 2010 Honda Indy Toronto The 2010 Honda Indy Toronto was the second running of the Honda Indy Toronto and the tenth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday, July 18, 2010. The race was contested over 85 laps at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario.- Qualifying :- Race :-References:... |
EDM 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton The 2010 Honda Indy Edmonton was the third running of the Edmonton Indy and the eleventh round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday, July 25, 2010... |
MDO |
SNM 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma The 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma was the sixth running of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma and the thirteenth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday, August 22, 2010. The race contested over 75 laps at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.- Qualifying :- Race... |
CHI 2010 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 The 2010 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 was the tenth running of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma and the fourteenth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Saturday, August 28, 2010. The race contested over 200 laps at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet,... 15 |
KTY 2010 Kentucky Indy 300 The 2010 Kentucky Indy 300 was the eleventh running of the Kentucky Indy 300 and the fifteenth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Saturday, September 4, 2010. The race contested over 200 laps at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.... 22 |
MOT 2010 Indy Japan 300 The 2010 Indy Japan 300 was the eighth running of the Indy Japan 300 and the 16th round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Sunday September 19, 2010. The race was contested over 200 laps at the Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, Japan... |
HMS 2010 Cafés do Brasil Indy 300 The 2010 Cafés do Brasil Indy 300 was the final round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season. It took place on Saturday October 2, 2010. The race was contested over 200 laps at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.-Qualifying:- Race :... 22 |
26th | 92 |
- 1 Run on same day.
- 2 Non-points-paying, exhibition race.
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) |
Top 10s (Non-podium) |
Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 5 | 83 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Indy 500 results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 2000 Indianapolis 500 The 2000 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28, 2000.-Recap:Chip Ganassi Racing became the first regular CART series team to break ranks and compete at Indianapolis since the CART/IRL split in 1996, entering 1996 CART series champion Jimmy Vasser and reigning... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory... |
19 | 31 | Walker Walker Racing Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:... |
| 2001 2001 Indianapolis 500 The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves led the final 52 laps and won his first Indy 500.-Changes for 2001:... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory... |
15 | 31 | Walker Walker Racing Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:... |
| 2002 2002 Indianapolis 500 The 86th Indianapolis race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 2002. It was the seventh Indianapolis 500 held as part of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series schedule, and was part of the 2002 Indy Racing League season.... |
G-Force Panoz Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz. The company is located in Braselton, GA. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, and the Panoz Esperante... |
Infiniti Infiniti is the luxury division of automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989 in North America. Marketing operations have since grown to include the Middle East, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, China, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Infiniti began sales in additional... |
9 | 24 | Dreyer & Reinbold Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
| 2003 2003 Indianapolis 500 The 2003 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 25, 2003.-Recap:The "curse of the Indy three-peat" prevailed again on lap 169, as pole-sitter and two-time defending champion Hélio Castroneves was held up behind lap car A.J. Foyt IV coming out of the second turn, allowing teammate... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918... |
24 | 31 | Dreyer & Reinbold Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
| 2004 2004 Indianapolis 500 The 2004 Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis on Sunday, May 30, 2004. It was part of the 2004 IndyCar Series season and the ninth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Pole winner Buddy Rice led the most laps and won the race for team owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman.After... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Toyota | 19 | 21 | Kelley Kelley Racing Kelley Racing is a former Indy Racing League team founded by Fort Wayne, Indiana-based car dealer Tom Kelley that most notably fielded a Delphi sponsored car for Scott Sharp during its entire existence from 1998 to 2004... |
| 2007 2007 Indianapolis 500 The 91st Indianapolis 500 ran on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 12th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season just after the 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 and just before the 2007 ABC Supply... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
21 | 18 | Dreyer & Reinbold Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American motor racing team in the open wheel Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, with one series win by co-owner Robbie Buhl, who owns the team with Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati dealer Dennis Reinbold.... |
| 2008 2008 Indianapolis 500 The 92nd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race was run on Sunday May 25, 2008 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, USA. Scott Dixon of New Zealand won the race from the pole position. It was the thirteenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and served as the showcase event of... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
22 | 30 | Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:... |
| 2009 2009 Indianapolis 500 The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday May 24, 2009, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
21 | 17 | Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:... |
| 2010 2010 Indianapolis 500 The 94th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 30, 2010, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 15th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was the premier event of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The race was won by Dario Franchitti, ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
29 | 26 | Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Sarah Fisher Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series, founded in January 2008. The team has one driver, Ed Carpenter.-2008 IndyCar Series:... |