Sarah Fisher at Barber

[bennybigb]

Sarah Fisher drove twice as many laps as her rookie teammate, and still finished 2 seconds a lap slower than him in the same car.....nice.

She's really gonna turn some heads this year.

[Chamoo]

Sarah Fisher drove twice as many laps as her rookie teammate, and still finished 2 seconds a lap slower than him in the same car.....nice.

She's really gonna turn some heads this year.

And your point? She knows she won't be competing on the road courses. She is running the road courses because Dollar General wants her to run a couple of markets they are strong in.

If you ask Sarah, I would bet she would be happy to be within two seconds of Jay Howard.

[ykiki]

I like Sarah. She isn't any good on road courses and doesn't make any excuses for it, she's an oval racer through and through. She's doing something for the good of her sponsor. Simple as that.

An American driver (and owner too) with a sponsor??? You bet she's going do whatever it takes to make them happy - and this sponsor is willing to help a female driver without resorting to, ahem ... family unfriendly ads.

[SarahFan]

Sarah Rocks!!!!

[Easy Drifter]

Sarah makes no bones about not being a road racer.
I feel she has done this to herself somehow because she can race. She thinks she can't road race so?
I like her attitude and gumption. She is a fairly good oval track driver but again the early fire seems to have been dampened.
She came out of dirt track sprinters and there is no class of racing that takes any more skill and pure guts than that.
She has done it the hard way and stayed straightforward.

[garyshell]

Sarah Fisher drove twice as many laps as her rookie teammate, and still finished 2 seconds a lap slower than him in the same car.....nice.

She's really gonna turn some heads this year.


Yes she is and not in spite of the facts above but because of them. She owns her own team, she has a real sponsor and never makes a single excuse about the fact that she is not a road racer. And yet she was willing to go out and turn laps in the car, for her sponsor, on they sort of course she has ZERO plans of running on this year. In case you haven't noticed she has hired another driver to do the road course races.

So what's your beef with Sarah? What is it that as arm chair quarterback, you see she has done wrong?

Gary

[harvick#1]

Sarah is what the IRL, not a big FAKE like Danica.

Sarah is gonna be around the IRL for many years to come, She is a racer and like what many said, shes admitted that shes not a road course driver and is gonna have a major struggle, unlike some excuse of the other female driver acting like shes the best thing since sliced bread.

Sarah prolly has the most respect by all competitors in the IRL paddock today, and she races every one hard and clean, remember a few years back at Indy when TK felt so bad when Sarah had no where to go when Marco did a bonzai move into turn 3.

everyone should respect Sarah for being one of the few trying to keep the IRL afloat

[vintage]

I do respect Sarah for the team, etc., but she seems to really be bad on road courses. Now seeing as she is one of those highly respected and unbelievably skilled "dirt track" drivers, along with Ed Carpenter, why can't they figure out road courses?

She's comparable to Milka off of the ovals - why isn't anyone complaining?

[jackmart]

Sarah is a class act. I have so much respect for her and she is one of the few drivers I have no been able to meet. I'd love to see her being competitive on ovals

[speeddurango]

Sarah isn't a good driver at all, but she has a much better image than Danica Patrick and is well respected for her off track behavior and delicately managed PR particularly recently, however, I do remember before Danica came to the irl Sarah Fisher was the woman driver at whom people mocked and scoffed for the great fun of it, unfortunately Danica was just perfect as a substitution, and after a period of Sarah's quietus in racing, her fantastic personality has won her fans in a more positive way in contrast to the controversy of Danica after her comeback.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Sarah isn't a good driver at all, but she has a much better image than Danica Patrick and is well respected for her off track behavior and delicately managed PR particularly recently, however, I do remember before Danica came to the irl Sarah Fisher was the woman driver at whom people mocked and scoffed for the great fun of it, unfortunately Danica was just perfect as a substitution, and after a period of Sarah's quietus in racing, her fantastic personality has won her fans in a more positive way in contrast to the controversy of Danica after her comeback.

I think you are trying to almost say that the criticism of Danica is not warranted? Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe for a SECOND that any one knocking Sarah Fisher was doing it for ANY reason other than her driving not being up to snuff, and even then, the criticism was fair. Danica, who has taken a beating here and on the NASCAR board gets what she probably deserves for the main reason she is a media campaign who drives a race car. The two women CANNOT be really compared to other than to say they both are not really much good on road courses. After that, the comparsion pretty much ends.

Sarah has never really made enemies or turned people against here. Her quiet deterimination and desire to do things the "right" way in this sport have earned her respect Danica isn't getting right now.

Her sub par roadcourse performance is all about helping the sponsors as it was said, and making the appearance. Since her bailwick is ovals, I don't expect her to do that well, but hey, people will find fault where they can.

Sarah Fisher was never one driver to be anything but an old school racer.

In the world with Danica Mania and Milka's Donuts, that is refreshing.

[beachbum]

One point about Sarah's performance. SFR racing has 2 cars. One new one, and one old one. One for her, one for Howard. The old one probably isn't going to be a good road course car because of the heavy tub. They also aren't flush with money. So a big crash in either car could seriously impact their season.

Most other teams (like Danica's) have 2 good cars for each driver. If she crashes one, they just roll out the other. With their funding, crash 2, buy a new one, or use a spare from another driver.

That limitation is going to impact just how hard a driver can push, especially in a test. Add in the fact that, by her own admission, Sarah is not a road racer and has about only a handful of road course starts, Howard hasn't been in a car for a long time, and anyone who expects sparkling test times is dreaming.

One the other hand, Danica has years of road course work, even tested at Sebring earlier this year, is on an experienced team, and has no excuse for slow times. She should have been way ahead of De Silvestro for example.

[px400r]

Regardless of how people feel about SF, her team is essential to the IRL in order to fill out the grid. Let's face it, her team cannot compete with KV and AGR, let alone Penske or Ganassi. SFR isn't even close to Dale Coyne's operation.

Her value to the IRL isn't about providing competition on the track- it's about providing the numbers for the grid. To criticize her performance on road courses or ovals misses the point.

[MDS]

Chip Ganassi wasn't that good of a driver either.

Once Rescue Energy drink bailed on her two years ago at the Indy I figured she was done, but the Fisher family has persevered, and now they have two legitimate sponsors and are paying their employees on time, which is more than USF1 can say at the moment.

Yes she's an average oval driver and not very good on road courses, but that's not really the point. The long term plan probably is for Sarah to drive a few more years, build the team up and eventually put other drivers in the seats. So far they've done a pretty good job at building the team, they were stronger in 2009 than they were in 2008, and if their sponsors pay up they'll be stronger in 2010 than they were in 2009. Maybe by 2011 they'll have a full time car.

Your own feelings about her driving ability withstanding, you have to be impressed with what she and her family has been able to do. Hopefully they can continue to grow and one day Fisher Racing will be a top flight team.

[beachgirl]

Yes she's an average oval driver and not very good on road courses, but that's not really the point. The long term plan probably is for Sarah to drive a few more years, build the team up and eventually put other drivers in the seats. So far they've done a pretty good job at building the team, they were stronger in 2009 than they were in 2008, and if their sponsors pay up they'll be stronger in 2010 than they were in 2009. Maybe by 2011 they'll have a full time car.



This long term plan regarding how long Sarah will race is exactly what Sarah said upfront when announcing the formation of Sarah Fisher Racing.

So far, they're the only team that I'm aware of in the IRL that is increasing their number of sponsors, rather than losing sponsors. That says a LOT about how sponsors feel about Sarah Fisher Racing and the publicity opportunities available with the team.

[bennybigb]

Fair Enough, I didn't realize she wouldn't be doing the road course races. That is good news, because she would be a road block out there, and would most likely cause unsafe conditions for the real road racers.

I am impressed by her little team, I did not intend to take away any credit from her team, I was only talking about her driving. If she only has enough talent for the oval races, maybe Jay Howard should be in the new car full time, and Sarah runs the ovals in the old car. I have no problem with gentlemen or gentlewoman raceteam owner/drivers, but they need to know when to let the real driver do the job.

And BTW, I don't buy the "Dirt Racer with alot of Talent" garbage. Yes, it takes talent to race on dirt, but those dirt skills don't transfer over to formula cars. Give it a rest already. You don't hear shifter kart drivers going on and on about how great their training is, even though kart racing is 10 times more applicable to formula car racing than driving around in circles on dirt.

[Mark in Oshawa]

And BTW, I don't buy the "Dirt Racer with alot of Talent" garbage. Yes, it takes talent to race on dirt, but those dirt skills don't transfer over to formula cars. Give it a rest already. You don't hear shifter kart drivers going on and on about how great their training is, even though kart racing is 10 times more applicable to formula car racing than driving around in circles on dirt.

Benny, here is why it is valid: Why you and I both know driving a sprint car isn't really something that teaches you how to handle an Indy Car (Hence the real reason Sprint car guys end up driving in NASCAR, not because of some conspiracy), it does show if you are getting results on whether you are a RACER. That label is not official, but it is thrown about by those in the know in various forms of racing. Whether it be in the IRL or NASCAR, the principle is the same: Do you do it for the love of the sport, or the money? Do you relish the chance to go wheel to wheel and fight and claw for position? Would you rather eat dirt than give up the dream? On all 3 of these questions, it is clear Sarah Fisher is a "Racer". The knock on Danica is she is doing it for the fame and money, there is no evidence she has ever gone wheel to wheel race after race with anyone in the same manner, and I think most of us question her dedication. Sarah Fisher, while sucking wind on roadcourses has made it plain that if she has decent equipment, she isn't afraid of mixing it up, and her story shows her dedication.

[Chamoo]

Sarah has done much what Michael Waltrip has done with NAPA and his Michael Waltrip Racing team in the tin tops. She is building this thing up as a driver-owner and has done a good job surrounding herself with good people who can help her do so.

In a few years, she will have put her time in during the years for Dollar General where she will hopefully be able to convince Dollar General to continue sponsoring SFR with a young American driving the car fulltime.

As a side note, Jay Howard just picked up a fifth race this season with SFR. He will now run the Kansas RoadRunner Turbo 300 as a tune up for Indy with Kingdom Tire backing.

The future looks good for SFR.