Sarah Fisher

Sarah Fisher is merely 27 years old, has seven Indianapolis 500’s under her belt and been voted the Most Popular Driver four times in her career.  Her experience speaks for itself.  She is generous and competitive and in 2008, embarking on founding and funding the first ever female driver/owner IndyCar Series race team adding entrepreneur to her admirable racing career.

Fisher, endorsed Swiss watch maker, TAG Heuer and AAA Auto Insurance, among others, made her first appearance in the IndyCar Series in 1999 at age 19, her records still hold.  In 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.  Fisher continued to write history that year at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the youngest person to lead laps during an IndyCar Series event and the first woman to ever stand on a podium with her third-place finish. In 2001, Fisher claimed a second-place finish at the IndyCar Series inaugural race at Homestead Miami Speedway.  Her runner-up finish prompted A.J. Foyt to radio his driver, Eliseo Salazar, “You just got passed by a girl.”  In 2002, Fisher became the first woman to ever qualify fastest for a major open-wheel event not only in this country, but in the world when she claimed the pole position.  In 2003, she became the fastest female on four wheels when she qualified for her fourth Indianapolis 500 at a speed of 229.439 miles per hour. 

She made her final start in the IndyCar Series at the 2004 Indianapolis 500 before heading west to test out the possibilities of a NASCAR phase of her career in the NASCAR Grand National West Series’ Drive for Diversity program.  She signed with Bill McAnally/Richard Childress Racing capturing four top-10 finishes from 13 starts and was awarded the Most Popular Driver for the fourth time in her budding career.  In 2006, Fisher returned to IndyCar Series for two starts and returned full-time in 2007.  In 2008, she made her seventh start in the Indianapolis 500, tying Lyn St. James for the most number of starts for a woman, and her first start as a team owner under the umbrella of Sarah Fisher Racing.

Fisher made an impact at a young age and created a path in life that was far from typical.  From age five, she raced quarter-midgets and go-karts until she was a teenager, winning the 1991, 1993 & 1994 World Karting Association Grand National Championships.  By age 15, Fisher was racing Winged Outlaw Sprint cars winning the 1995 Dirt Track Racing Round-Up Rookie of the Year award.  While still in high school, Fisher was delivered to a national audience when NBC’s The Today Show profiled her achievements and pioneering vision to blur the artificial boundaries between men and women in sports; setting a precedent for unique empowerment.  A rare woman in a man’s sport, Fisher sits comfortably with that fact, even admitting a few female idiosyncrasies.

But with success, also came adversity.  Setbacks can come in whatever shape, size and personal challenge imaginable, not to mention the possibility of multiple hurdles for athletes.  Twenty times the pressure; quadruple the challenges.  It’s not an easy fight.  Fisher too, had setbacks.  These setbacks came in the forms of lack of sponsorship, needing time to mature, and amplifying her sense of brevity.  After a brief absence from open-wheel racing, Fisher returned to the IndyCar Series in 2007, returning to take advantage of a second chance at life in the fast lane.  And though she takes her career quite seriously, her passion for winning in no way precludes a passion for shopping, R&B music and Sushi.

Not to mention being a guest or profiled on a variety of national television programs including, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, LIVE! with Regis and Kelly, EXTRA, VH1’s Top 20 Countdown, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Jeopardy, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CNN, MSNBC, FOXNews, ABC World News Tonight and Good Morning America.  She has also appeared in the pages of People, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, YM, Rolling Stone, Seventeen, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Accent, Women’s Day, Sporting Woman, Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, ESPN the Magazine and U.S. News & World Report, among others.

PERSONAL:

1. Her car no. 67 is in honor of her successful USAC midget days
2. Resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband Andy (Married 9/15/07)
3. Most embarrassing moment was when she dyed her own hair
4. Loves to shop; Chanel is her favorite designer brand.
5. Works out to Christina Aguilera tracks and avid fan of the sitcom “Friends”
6. Favorite road trip is Daytona Kart week over Christmas
7. Favorite sport to watch is Ohio State Football. Go Bucks!
8. Heroes are Dave Fisher (her father), Janet Guthrie, Toby Keith, Ann Stevens, Al Unser and Oprah Winfrey
9. Proudest moment in life was realizing how much her parents mean to her
10. Proudest moment in racing was finishing second at Homestead-Miami Speedway in her sophomore season
11. Favorite gadget is her iPhone
12. First job was at her dad’s fabrication shop, Fisher Fabrication

For more information, please visit Fisher on the World Wide Web, www.sarahfisher.com.