Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) 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.
Sarah became the youngest woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 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 mph (369.246 km/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.
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 Speedway starting 17th and finishing 25th due to a timing chain failure that ended her day at Lap 66.
The following season, Fisher drove for open-wheel veteran Derrick Walker's IndyCar Series team, Walker Racing, 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.
In 2001, Fisher 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 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.
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 Series. 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.
The 2003 season started with uncertainty as Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 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.
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 Rice.
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 NASCAR 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.
In 2005, Fisher captured four top-ten finishes in her first full season in the NASCAR West Series in 2005, capturing the stock car racing 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.
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 500 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.
Practicing for the 2007 Indy 500
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 Rice.
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."[1]
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."[2]
Sports Illustrated named Fisher in their Top 10 Female Race Car Drivers in the World in 2007.
On January 27, 2008, Fisher announced the introduction of her own team, Sarah Fisher Racing. 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.[3] 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.[4][5] 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.[6]
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.
Fisher retained Dollar General to fund her 2009 efforts in the IndyCar Series for 6 races: the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway, 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.[7]
Sarah qualified 21st for the 2009 Indianapolis 500[8] and finished 17th on the lead lap.
Fisher's 2010 season began with the news that her longtime agent was resigning his position with her team to start a talent agency.[9] 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 Rahal.
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.[10]
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 Weekly. 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.
Fisher 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, 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.
AAA – 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.
Sarah Fisher, an only child, was born in Columbus, Ohio 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.[11] 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 The 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.[12]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
- 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 |
- ^ IndyCar Still Waits for Fisher to Emerge, Associated Press, August 11, 2007
- ^ Fisher to go it alone?, Crash.net, September 29, 2007
- ^ Sarah Fisher Plans Own Indycar Team, Auto Racing Daily, February 28, 2008
- ^ Indycar.com Press Release
- ^ Indianapolis Star article
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/irl/2008-07-15-sarah-fisher_N.htm Fan favorite Fisher reels in fan donations, two-race sponsor
- ^ http://www.sarahfisher.com/
- ^ http://www.indy500.com/grid
- ^ Zahren, Bill. Klint Briney Forms His Own (PR) Team, Pressdog, January 29, 2010, Retrieved 2010-08-15
- ^ Associated Press. Sarah Fisher Retiring From Racing, WTHR, November 29, 2010, Retrieved 2010-11-29
- ^ [1]
- ^ Fisher, Sarah. Race to the altar better than any podium finish, ESPN.com, September 26, 2007
![Merlin BBC - Anthony Head interview on This Morning [Jan 2010]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130603122150im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5IRah0cH_UY/default.jpg "Merlin BBC - Anthony Head interview on This Morning [Jan 2010]")
![Anthony Head interview [March 19th 2010]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130603122150im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VbmJ5eBp8wo/default.jpg "Anthony Head interview [March 19th 2010]")
![Anthony Head - Jonathan Ross Radio Show Interview | part 1 [Jan 30, 2010]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130603122150im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bxj7-HUC8OE/default.jpg "Anthony Head - Jonathan Ross Radio Show Interview | part 1 [Jan 30, 2010]")
![Anthony Head - interview @ Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch [part 1]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130603122150im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fYUNTDCSihI/default.jpg "Anthony Head - interview @ Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch [part 1]")
Quotations related to 
