Sarah Fisher
Friday, December 21st, 2007
Sarah Fisher was born to win and is determined to compete against the very best in auto racing. At just 26 years old, she has already competed in five Indianapolis 500’s within the IRL IndyCar Series and drove in the Drive for Diversity program, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for the Bill McAnally Racing/Richard Childress Racing Development Program in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series in 2005. On January 30, 2007, she was signed to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to return to the IRL IndyCar Series and make her sixth appearance in the Indianapolis 500.
Her commitment to excellence has made her one of racing’s most admired figures among fans and drivers alike. Sarah was voted the IRL IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver for three straight years from 2001-2003 and was also voted the most popular driver in the NASCAR Grand National Divison, West Series in 2005.
In 1999, after a successful season competing in three different midget car series, where she picked up two track records and five feature wins, Sarah set her sights on the Indy Racing League. At the time, she was the youngest person ever to pass the Indy Racing League Rookie Test and went on to race in her first IRL IndyCar Series event later that year at Texas Motor Speedway starting 17th and finishing 25th due
to a timing chain failure that ended her day at lap 66.
The following season, Sarah drove for open-wheel veteran Derrick Walker’s IRL IndyCar Series team and also ran eight races in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series. In May 2000, she became just the third woman and one of the youngest drivers ever to compete in the world’s greatest race – the Indianapolis 500. Later in the season, Sarah made 
history yet again at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the youngest person to lead laps during an IRL IndyCar event and the youngest woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish in that event. In 2001, Sarah claimed a second-place finish at the IRL’s inaugural race at Homestead Miami Speedway the best result ever by a woman in Indy-style racing.
Sarah was hired by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in early 2002 to drive the #24 Purex/Aventis car in place of injured driver Robbie Buhl for the IndyCar Series contest at Nazareth Speedway, finishing fourth. Based on this finish, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing formed a second team around Sarah for the 2002 season. That May, she became the fastest woman qualifier ever for the Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average speed of 229-plus miles per hour.
A few months later, Sarah became the first woman to ever qualify fastest for a major North American open-wheel event capturing the pole and setting a new track record at Kentucky Speedway. She led the first 26 laps of the race and finished eighth. Despite competing in 10 of 15 races, Sarah tied her career best finish in the IndyCar Series Championship finishing 18th in the point standings.
After her IRL IndyCar career ended with a 21st finish at the 2004 Indianapolis 500 driving for Kelley Racing, Fisher set her sights on a future in Stock Car Racing. She 
attended a Chevrolet function in Washington, D.C., in 2004 and chatted with Childress about racing in cars with fenders. What started as a casual conversation wound up turning into a three-year contract. Fisher began driving for team owner Bill McAnally in late 2004 under Childress’ guidance.
Sarah made her NASCAR debut in October of 2004 with Bill McAnally Racing in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. 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.
Sarah captured four top-ten finishes in her first full season in the NASCAR West Series in 2005. She finished the season running in 12th in the chase for the NASCAR Grand National Division, 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 that race.
In 2006, Fisher competed in a SilverCrown car in the CarQuest Extreme Tuesday at Stafford Motor Speedway along with Al Unser, Jr. and Rusty Wallace placing fourth. She was then signed to a two race deal with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to compete at Kentucky Speedway and ChicagoLand Speedway in the IRL IndyCar Series. Her return to the Series at Kentucky Speewday on August 13 would mark her first IndyCar Series start since May 2004. In her return, she started and finished in the 12th position at Kentucky Speedway, where she owns the track qualifying record. In her ChicagoLand race, she started and finished 16th.
She was signed to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on January 30, 2007 and slated to return to the IRL IndyCar Series alongside 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion, Buddy Rice. Fisher placed 11th in the season-opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway after running as high as eighth. She placed 15th in her first road-course race of her career on the Streets of St. Petersburg the following weekend.
Fisher qualified for her sixth Indianapolis 500 starting on the outside of Row 7 in the 21st position. She finished in the race in the 18th position, her best finish at the famed oval, after a frustrating month at Dreyer & Reinbold.
She finished the 2007 season with two Top-10 finishes and a best finish of seventh at Iowa Speedway, her best result since placing fourth at Nazareth in April of 2002. The first weekend after the racing season had ended, Fisher married her Crew Cheif, Andy O’Gara, in a private ceremony in Indianapolis, IN on September 15, 2007, honeymooning in Hawaii.
Sarah Fisher was born in Columbus, Ohio on October 4, 1980. She was exposed to life at the track at an early age. Her parents would take young Sarah to the track to watch her father drive sprint cars.
Sarah’s first racing experience came as a 5 year-old when her parents fitted her for her first race car – a quarter-midget. She raced quarter-midgets and go-karts until she was a teenager, winning the 1991, 93 & 94 World Karting Association Grand National Championships, the 1993 Circleville Points Championship and the 1994 WKA Grand National Championship.
By the time she was 15, Sarah was racing Winged Outlaw Sprint cars winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year. She had a very successful career racing Outlaw Sprint cars. In 1997, she was named to the 62-race All-Stars Circuit of Champions series, earning a second place finish at Eldora Speedway.
In 1998, Sarah and her father and then-crew chief Dave sought out new challenges in the world of asphalt midget racing. Sarah raced in ARCA, NAMARS and USAC sanctioned events, a competitive schedule that helped prepare her for life in the IRL.
Sarah’s achievement on the track is only eclipsed by her performance in the classroom. Education has always played an important role in her life. Her parents Dave and Reba both hold bachelors degrees from Ohio State University. Reba is a middle-school teacher and Dave puts his Mechanical Engineering degree to work in the family business, Fisher Fabrication.
Sarah graduated seventh in her class with honors and a 4.178 grade point average from Teays High School in 1999. She attends college on a part-time basis Pursuing business undergraduate degree in marketing.
Sarah has been a guest or profiled on a variety of television programs including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and Kelly, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Good Morning America, and CBS This Morning.
She has also appeared in the pages of People, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, YM, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Sports Illustrated, US News and World Report, ESPN The Magazine, Newsweek and many other magazines.
Sarah has also been the subject of features stories in USA Today, The Washington Post, New York Post, and other major U.S. newspapers.
——————————
- Pursuing business undergraduate degree in marketing through Ellis College
- Enjoys 125cc shifter karting
- Spends her spare time renovating her house and tubing with friends
- One Dog, Wrigley
- Favorite country: Italy
- Favorite book: Still Wide Open by Brad Doty and Dave Argabright
- Favorite track is Texas Motor Speedway
- Racing heroes are Janet Guthrie & Al Unser
- Personal heroes are the recording artist, Toby Keith & CEO of the Ford Motor
Company, Anne Stevens , and Oprah
- Her father, Dave, was her crew during her formative racing years
- Loves to shop, favorite store is Prada, favorite food is mac and cheese, likes rap and rhythm-and-blues music
- Eats pasta and protein the night before a race and strawberries just before a race.
- Loves spending time with fans
————————–
Career Highlights here
[Source: sarahfisher.com]
