Wednesday, April 4, 2007
BOB JENKINS: Next up is the driver of the No. 5 Dreyer & Reinbold car for the IndyCar Series and the Indy 500 this year, a person who has started five Indianapolis 500's and has 52 IndyCar starts. She is full-time with Dreyer & Reinbold this year. From Commercial Point, Ohio, Sarah Fisher.
Now, Sarah, tell us how this relationship with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing came about.
SARAH FISHER: It was pretty simple. When I went and raced the stock cars, I came back to Indianapolis, and wherever the IndyCar Series was at because, my fiancé Andy and his dad worked for Dreyer & Reinbold. So it was really easy for me to go and watch the IndyCar races, which I wanted to, because that was my old stomping grounds.
So I was there, I think it was at Milwaukee, maybe at Michigan. Well, Michigan we were starting to talk about it. But Dennis needed a driver for a couple of races last year. And I said: "Well, shoot. I can do that. Put me in the car." So he agreed.
And it was a little bit harder than that, but I wound up racing at Kentucky and Chicago. And Dennis was satisfied with my performance. So over the offseason, we just kept working on a package for this year.
And we just announced, what was it, a week and a half ago, two weeks ago, that I would run all the road course races. And that is even more cool, over top of all the ovals.
JENKINS: How was last Sunday?
FISHER: It was so hard. For those of you who don't know, I've never been in a road course car before, ever. I didn't race Atlantics, I didn't race Indy Lights. I didn't race Formula cars. The only road course experience I had prior to St. Pete was my shifter cart and several World Karting go-kart races.
So when I went to St. Pete, it was quite the eye-opener. We tested at Sebring in between Homestead and St. Pete to get some more seat time. And it's just about confidence in the car and increasing your braking zone distance.
And by the time we got to St. Pete, I had matched Buddy's. Which, by the way, he was a great coach and was very helpful in getting me up to the level that I was at. And we still have a lot to learn and a lot to build on, but at least we have some good footing.
JENKINS: You brought it up in the previous answer. When is the wedding?
FISHER: The wedding is September 15th, so the very first weekend after the season. And then we're out of here.
JENKINS: Sarah, I sense a new Sarah Fisher. I mean, I've known you since you came here the first time, but you have a different personality, you have a different enthusiasm that I've never seen before.
How can you account for that?
FISHER: It's called growing up. You know, when I started IndyCars at 19, I was just a kid out of high school. And it was so awesome to be able to come and compete here. But for a high school kid, I never got to flip burgers. I came right to the Indy 500. And that was a lot.
And now I've got really great people around me. I've got the entire O'Gara family, which consists of the entire south side of Indianapolis. And they're really great people. And Dreyer & Reinbold, Dennis has always been a wonderful person, and Robbie Buhl and the whole group of people that they've hired, they're just really great people.
And when you grow up and you mature, it's like filling out mentally. And I've done that, and I'm just really enthusiastic about getting a second chance at it.
JENKINS: What was it like to run the stock cars and the things that you've done since you were here last?
FISHER: The stock car trip was an experience. I learned a lot about car control. Those cars are twice as heavy and twice as boggy, and they won't go, and they won't stop, and they won't turn.
So compared to an IndyCar, which is very nimble, they're very sluggish, and it takes a lot different driving technique to learn how to drive those cars.
By the end of the season in 2005, I really started to get the hang of it. And I was working with one of the RCR engineers who was really excited about doing something in 2006.
But just like right now, where we're at, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, we were still working looking for sponsorship. And, you know, RCR had problems with their NEXTEL Cup team and with their Busch team on sponsorships. So an E-series program or an ARCA series program or a new development Busch Series program wasn't top priority.
So here we are again. Dennis has given me the chance to drive for him full time, and both Buddy and I are still working really hard to secure sponsorship for both cars for this year.
JENKINS: What's your most memorable moment for the Indy 500?
FISHER: I can't say it. You know, what moment isn't memorable at Indy?
I think it was 2003 where we were on the starting grid, my dad and I were. And "Back Home Again in Indiana" started playing, and I'm like, "Oh, I'm at Indy." I don't think it really hit me until then because like I said, I was just 19 and 20. And I think in 2003, I was 22.
So in growing up and realizing what I was getting to do, I hadn't taken, or didn't have the time to sit down and say, "Wow, this is really neat what I'm doing." But it hit me then, for sure.
JENKINS: That's one thing I've always wondered. The spectators who come out here I think look forward to and enjoy the opening ceremonies, that 20 minutes before the green flag drops, the release of the balloons, "Back Home Again." Drivers are really aware of that, or are you focused on your job ahead?
FISHER: Not normally. That was just a special moment because I was sitting there with my dad. And my dad and I have a very special bond. We've grown up racing, and we've traveled all over the country together. And it was like: "Man, we're finally here. We're at Indy." And my dad was like, "Man, you're not driving my cars."
It was just really special, and it's really neat to have your parents be able to follow you and be a part of your career.
JENKINS: Questions from out there. Dick?
Q: Sarah, this year there may be a third young lady driving, Milka Duno. Have you met her, and will you provide any help to her in May to acclimate to the Speedway and the United States?
FISHER: I have met Milka before. I haven't really spent a whole lot of time with her, but I've met her and talked with her through Lyn St. James' program that she holds every year. And it's really hard to say where her starting point is going to be at. But truly, she'll be able to build on it.
And yeah, I'll help her. You know, everybody is a rookie once and everybody needs help. Al helped me when I started, and I'm sure that he'll do the same with her.
Q: Sarah, you were the most popular driver for a number of years. Did that sink into you how special that was? When you see who your competition is, and you weren't on the top or at the front when the flag dropped at the end of the race, but you were still the most popular driver, did that sink into you?
FISHER: Yeah. I mean, I went out and did that same thing, most popular driver in the West Series, and NASCAR, too.
You know, what can I say? I'm the girl next door. I can relate to everybody in some sense. I feel like I'm a normal person who just gets to do a really cool job. And I can appreciate that everybody contributes to society, and I'm no better than the next guy.
So to be down to Earth and to have people recognize that and appreciate that by awarding that is really cool. It makes me feel good that I'm doing a good job as a role model.
Q: Kind of a follow-up on that. When you returned to the IRL last year at Kentucky and they had the Saturday afternoon autograph session, did you get a little bit of a charge to realize you still had the longest autograph line?
FISHER: That was so cool. You know, I really, truly could not get my helmet painted in time. And so when I had all those people sign it, it was so neat because it was a surprise to a lot of people, but a lot of people had heard about it. It was kind of a way to include them in my return to open wheel. And it was really neat.
I still have that helmet. It's hanging on my wall of framed helmets, like my pole helmet and those in my basement. So it was cool.
Q: Sarah, given your brief experience with road racing, does the team have plans for additional testing? And, if so, do you know where?
FISHER: I certainly hope so. Throughout my whole life I've been thrown to the wolves, whether it was the World of Outlaws or coming here at 19. And so it's nothing new. It's something that I have to learn really quickly, really efficiently.
But the good news is I have two really great coaches, one in Buddy Rice and one in Robbie Buhl. Buddy Rice is an extremely great teammate. He's very open, very sharing, and we've worked really well together so far. So that's going to help that process.
And testing, yeah, I think there's a couple that we have planned. And the next one will be at Mid-Ohio for the open test. So we'll see. I'll have to learn really quick.
Q: Sarah, for the first time in a while, I got to see your mom and dad. Your mother is absolutely flying high. She's thrilled that you're back.
What's it like being around her on a regular basis? I know it's really exciting to see them back.
FISHER: Oh, man, that's neat. It's really cool to be around both of them. My dad hung out for two weeks and took care of everything from washing dishes on the motor home to cleaning out the whole thing. It's really great to have them both be a part of it.
She hadn't gotten a ticket to St. Pete until like two or three weeks ago. And I said: "Mom, you need to get one. You're not going to be able to make it to my first road course race."
They won't be in Japan, though, sadly. They're going on a cruise, their first cruise ever. So I hope they have fun.
Q: Sarah, you mentioned growing up, the maturity type thing that's developed.
You've been absent from Indy in '05 and '06. Is it going to be different coming back here as a veteran driver who has already accomplished something at an early age? How different will it be to come back here and run this year?
FISHER: Well, I'll have a bit more knowledge of what to expect, as you do every year building on Indy. I'll have a teammate that's won it and who is a "500" champion, and that means a lot, he'll contribute a lot to our team. And I really look forward to working with him here because he certainly knows what he wants from a race car around here.
Q: Sarah, thanks for coming in to be with us this morning. What advice would you give a young lady who is just starting in a racing career, say 12, 13 years old?
FISHER: Well, find sponsorship first, really. You know, just keep your nose down and keep digging. Racing is such a tough sport mentally, you know, and the opportunities are so limited that if you're dreaming it and you want to accomplish it, you can make it happen. You just have to keep your nose down and keep digging at it.
Q: Can you relate a little bit to what Little Foyt has gone through? Anthony came here when he was 18, and there was a lot of responsibility thrown at him, kind of similar to when you came here at 19. Can you kind of relate a little bit to what he's done, and he's also kind of gotten a second chance to come back this year?
FISHER: Yeah. I'm sure he's grown up a lot, too, and he gets a second chance, like you said. So I'm sure he's looking at it wide open.
He's working with Jim over at Pit Fit with us, so he's taking it really seriously. And that's great. I hope he does well, because to get a second shot, not too many people get to do that.
Q: Sarah, I got to watch you earlier than 19 when you were in the midget cars. And you've been, of course, as you said, in Outlaws. I was at Winchester the day you set the speed record there. How much did that kind of training help you when you came to the IndyCars?
FISHER: It didn't help on the road courses. (Laughter)
You know, being smooth and being very articulate with the midget when you run wide open at Winchester is very important. And that type of technique directly translates.
Other than being a rear-engine type of car and the different way that you feel in IndyCar, you don't feel it through your body. You feel it more through your hands. That was something I had to completely learn, re-learn.
But otherwise, it was very good to learn those smooth techniques and those transitions, and side bite and forward bite, and all that good stuff.
Q: Sarah, you mentioned the girl-next-door factor. And in watching you in your entire IndyCar Series career, is it fair to say that there were peaks and valleys for you so far as the fun factor? I kind of got the feeling in the last year that you were here that maybe a little bit of frustration had set in. Is that fair?
FISHER: Frustration back then, you mean?
Q: Yes.
FISHER: Yeah. You know, I kept digging and kept digging and was given a lot, and it just wasn't coming. I'd been on the podium, and I'd done these things and wanted to get my first win in and just wasn't in the right opportunity.
And then I was with Chevy when they had the Gen 3's, so that set us back quite a bit. It set Robbie (Buhl) back, set Eddie (Cheever) back, set a ton of people back. That was tough to go through as a driver when there's things out of your control that you can't change and that you just have to tolerate and deal with. It's frustrating, race after race, to do that.
But now it's like, "All right, I'm running with Honda." What a great company to be a part of. And I've got a great team who's been at the shop preparing race cars for a long time now, who is ready to go win their first race in a long time.
Q: Even after last week's performance, which was fantastic, by the way.
FISHER: Thanks.
Q: Do you feel like the fun factor has come back into this for you?
FISHER: Oh, yeah. You know, who doesn't want to race IndyCars for a living?
JENKINS: Me. (Laughter)
FISHER: Any opportunity to do that is awesome. Everybody forgets how incredible it is to be able to do this for a living. I held a normal job for a while in 2006, and I hated it. Sorry, Dill.
But, you know, I'm having so much fun. I'm doing what I absolutely love to do. Racing, you think of morning, day, and night. First thing you wake up in the morning, "How can I get back in a race car?"
Now that I know that I have the whole schedule ahead of me, I can break that down into segments and work on winning my first race. And what's more fun than that?
JENKINS: Sarah, realizing that you're a very competitive person and want to beat everybody, is there a little bit that wants you to beat Danica more than anybody else?
FISHER: Politically, no. (Laughter)
JENKINS: But really?
FISHER: You know, she's just another competitor. And I haven't talked to her at all. I don't know. She's doing her own thing, so that's fine.
But I've been training with Katherine Legge, on a more positive note. And I'm real excited to work with her. She's suggested a lot of things on road courses and has helped me training with my neck, and getting ready for that. So I'll be cheering her on this weekend.
JENKINS: A couple more questions.
Q: Sarah, kind of in relation to the previous question about some of the frustrations that you went through a little bit earlier, and you've alluded to sponsorship and how important that obviously is in racing.
Is that one of the more frustrating parts of the job, is constantly trying to find sponsorship?
FISHER: It is frustrating. And, fortunately, I'm one of the few drivers that is here on merit, not on money. And I've done that for consecutive years. I'm just a country girl who gets a chance to race IndyCars. I don't come from the city. I don't have pots of gold. Dennis has hired me on merit and ability, and I'm very proud of that.
But it is difficult because Dennis is always: "Hey, what are we doing this week? How can we sell this program?" And what he's selling it for this year, at $1.5 million, is pretty doggone cheap. And if nobody jumps on that opportunity, it sure would be sad.
JENKINS: Last question. Then we'll go to one-on-ones.
Q: Sarah, I wanted to follow up on that, too, because one would think it would be great to finally get to the point where your gender isn't necessarily a factor and one of the reasons that people are interested in what's happening.
But is there an opportunity that your gender gets you in the door with some potential sponsors? And it just seems like a no-brainer, where the focus that the fans give you and everything else would make you a logical candidate for a well-placed sponsor. But why do you think it is some of these sponsors are just reluctant to get aboard?
FISHER: I don't know. I really don't. We've had a lot of pitches, and a lot of people have worked really hard. And it has to make sense to each individual company and what they're doing.
It's not just the IndyCar Series. Stock car racing has problems, too, whether they want to admit it or not. It just has to make sense and it has to be the right opportunity.
You almost have to get a president or a CEO of a company that absolutely loves racing and wants to be part of it, and will market their product or their company around racing and be able to showcase what they're selling or what they're doing with racing.
So it just has to make sense for everybody.
JENKINS: Thank you, and thanks to Sarah again.
FISHER: Thanks, everybody.
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