SHE'LL BE THERE
An Interview with IndyCar Driver Sarah Fisher

SARAH FISHER 110% rule. - Photo by: K. Ma/NYAR

June 18, 2003 --

The IndyCar Series turned a new chapter earlier this year with the arrivals of new engine manufacturers, teams and drivers. But to Sarah Fisher - IndyCar Most Popular Driver who is in her fourth full season with the series, the 2003 season didn't start off smoothly. With her Chevrolet engine lacking power, Fisher struggled through the first six races [Homestead, 15th; Phoenix, 8th; Motegi, DNF; Indianapolis, DNF; Texas, 15th; Pikes Peak, DNF]. With much stronger competition this year out on the track, Fisher desperately looks for improvements from her Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet, and wants to prove herself in front of the big boys on the track.

Calling from Indianapolis, Indiana, Sarah Fisher talked about her season with NYAutoRacing's Kevin Ma.

KEVIN MA: Sarah, it's been a very tough season so far. It's easy to say that the Chevrolet engine is one of the roadblocks that directly affect your season. As a race driver yourself, how do you cope with this 'disability' and keep on fighting race-in and race-out?

SARAH FISHER: Well, it's tough. I really believe in my engineer Mark Weida - he is giving me so much confidence. As far as getting through this year, there is always hope, Chevy is going to be there. Chevy is not going to just let something fly by. They've put more time and money into this series than anybody so far; they've been with the IRL since the beginning [via General Motors], and it wasn't for Chevy, the IRL would have been struggled with the engine manufacturers. Chevy was there, Chevy is still going to be there. They've got some new stuff coming out late July or early August, I am not sure what the exact date is, but I've talked to people there before, I know they are determined - just getting through these couple of months. I'm going to hang in there.

KM: The Chevy slogan? "I'll be there?"

SF: Yeah.

KM: It's common knowledge that the Chevrolet engine is underpowered and in some cases unreliabled. The problem is not going to be fixed completely overnight and Toyota and Honda are not going to just sit there and do nothing. As you said Chevy is going to have something new by the end of July, how do you see the Chevrolet situation in short term and long term?

SF: Short term this year, it's tough. Toyota and Honda - they're good engine suppliers, too. Look how much impact they've brought in into this series. The series is so much more competitive - we're having three engine suppliers - they're consistent, and that makes everybody steps up to a new level. Between those two [Toyota and Honda], they keep trying to step up. Like you said, they are not going stop the development and wait for Chevy to catch up. However, Chevy is going to keep working on it. Timing wise, I don't know how far advance they're going to be. I know that today Sam Hornish is running a different engine in Chicago, so we'll see how that goes. I don't know how much they're going to keep up, but going from as far down as they've been at the big track (i.e. Indianapolis, Texas), what they' re saying they've got coming, if they can make that jump, then I think we'll be alright. They're going to be there and they'll be able to set it up within themselves, because they know the kind of level of competition that they have with Toyota and Honda, you just gotta stake it in there with them. They believe in our team and it's a partnership, and we believe in them.

KM: There were rumors that Cosworth would do some development works for Chevy. Do you have any insights on that?

SF: Well, I don't really know Kevin. Chevy hasn't made that decision yet. They haven't told us exactly what they're going to do, what the exact day they're going to do it. Cosworth did present them with an engine -- I don't know what they're going to do frankly, I am out of the loop.

KM: Sarah, things went well for you late last season - including your first pole at Kentucky. This year things kinda go back to square one - you had sponsorship problems when the season started, and you didn't get enough testing. Do you have time, sit back and think, "Geez, how am I going to turn the table and make the best out of the season despite the circumstances?"

SF: I think about that everyday. Racecar drivers have the same worries that top executives or employees have - trying to keep our jobs. If there're restrictions out there that don't allow us to perform, then we can't. I can perform, I can win races, but when there're restrictions, then general racecars would sit back and think, "Oh my goodness, do they think it's me? Do they think it's Chevy? Do they think if I am not good enough?" I mean what do they think? Do Corporate Americas still believe in me? I have to convince them with the results so they can believe in me. It's an everyday thinking process. Drivers don't wake up in the morning and think about racing. In our case, we think about what our game plan is, get a better engine and continue sponsorship search. We've got budget this year, and we're doing as much as we can of what we've got. We've got GMAC and AOL on board, and we're happy that they're supporting us though the problem we are having right now - not able to be competitive on big tracks. They are still standing behind us. You've got to keep convincing yourself on a positive note that they're going to be there, too. They're going to support you. But in the end, it's all about business; it's not about putting stickers on the side of your racecar. If you are running at the tail end of the pack, whether or not it's you or the team or the motor, whatever problem just might be, it's still an issue. As a team, you've got to be strong enough to work though that and fix it.

KM: How tough is it for you mentally to go through this stage once again?

SF: Well, it's mentally tough. I know I can drive racecars, I won everywhere - in IndyCar I think I do exceptionally well with the situation that I've been in. I haven't had it right yet Kevin! The first year I dealt with people, the second year I dealt with people. The first year I dealt with being a rookie, the second year I didn't have the right engineer, people that believed in me so it didn't happen. The next year I didn't have a job, then I got a job, I got someone who believed in me. They [the cars] didn't have good reliability but at least the cars ran fast, and we did good. We had the right package, the right timing, but it was a brand new team. We've got a close relationship within the team, and now we're struggling with a different situation. It's never been a 110% perfect situation for my guys or for me to make it. You can't compete people like Ganassi and Penske - those guys have everything 110% perfect if you don't have 110% perfect yourself, because you can't win with less. You can win with the same, but you can't win with less. It's so competitive especially this year; it's just not going to happen like that.

KM: Every driver wants to go out there and win races, but with the ongoing engine situation, do you have to downgrade your expectations - especially at big tracks like Texas, Michigan and Fontana?

SF: A little bit. You can't expect to go out there and set the world on fire from lap 1, but you can expect to keep working on your car, making it better and get to the end and see what that put you. You can't just say I am giving up, because the minute you give up then you shouldn't be there.

KM: Short tracks like Richmond and Nazareth are coming up. With the engine package you have, is it safe to say that your team will concentrate in those races more than the other ones?

SF: Sure! It's very safe to say that. We were focused in Colorado, even though it's still a wild open track, even though you're still on the pipe the whole time. It is still a short track so we were really focused there. We didn't have a perfect car to start, the car wasn't right - we worked on it and worked on it, we got to the point half way into the race where we were at the same speed as the leaders, and we had a good package [Fisher retired on lap 141 with electronic problems]. Sure, we're going to focus on the short tracks. It takes me back to my short track history, and I've got a very good engineer and a good team - they're there [at the race shop] fourteen hours a day.

KM: You are going back to Dallara chassis this year. What's the difference between a Dallara and a G-Force?

SF: The Dallara has a larger window of operation. The Dallara you can take a bad car to the racetrack and you can fix it because it's more tolerable to drive; In a G-Force it's a lot harder to do that because the window of operation is a lot narrower, other than that each car has different positives and negatives, but I've been in a Dallara ever since I first started the series, and last year it was the first year I spent anytime in a G-Force. I am accustomed to the Dallara, the Dallara people, they're very exception people to work with, so I'm enjoying the fact that we have this car this year. I am not regretting anything so I am glad that we have that on our side.

KM: Hard to believe you've been around for a while. Do you find yourself more mature in dealing with situations like what you are dealing right now?

SF: Somewhat. But I'm still only 22!

KM: Oh, stop it.

SF: I haven't gotten gray yet! There're situations that arise that a normal 40-year old has to deal with, and kids my age don't have to, but I have to - every driver does. It's part of growing up really fast because you are in a sport that it's not just playing basketball or baseball, it's business in the end, so you have to be able to deal with every issue that arises because of that.

KM: Are you more relax psychologically as a driver?

SF: I wouldn't say 'relax'. I'm more intense because I know what I want, and I know where I'm at and what I've got. I take those pluses and I try to amplify those. I can't say I'm more relax, but I am 110% ready to rock 'n' roll given the right time and the right situation.

KM: What's your outlook for the rest of the season? And more importantly, do you have any specific plans for 2004?

SF For the rest of this season, we're supposed to get betting engines in July or August, by that time we'll be going to Michigan - I like Michigan and I like Kentucky, so hopefully we'll have the best of the best at that point of time. We're going to try to win the race and we need to get that done. The first one is always the hardest and I don't want to win it under yellow, but I'm going take it however it'll come. For 2004 there are no plans yet, we do have one or two commitments from sponsors for next year, we just have to continue to glue it together. We don't have a full program laid out, so it's going to be tough just like every year, but we've already been working on that since May - that's a lot ahead than I've ever been personally. It's just the building steps - I'm paying my dues, and when my dues are paid, it's going to be awesome.

KM: One non-related questions. Are you a college football fan? I'm talking about the Ohio State Buckeyes. Did you watch the National Championship game [Fiesta Bowl]?

SF: Oh, you bet! We were sitting there watching and cheering - it was great.

KM: Are you still a Buckeye fan yourself?

SF: Absolutely! I've never forgot my root. I love that team! I kinda wish I could go to OSU and study mechanical engineering, but I can't do that [because of racing]. It's not going to happen. But yeah, I'm definitely a huge Buckeye fan, I might not know everything that's going on because they [Hoosiers] don't like the Buckeyes much over here, and they don't report a whole lot here in Indianapolis. But yeah, I'm still a Buckeye fan.