Hanging Up Her Helmet
By Andrew Cutler
November 30 2010
One of the most poular drivers, and the only owner/driver, in the IndyCar Series has stepped out of the cockpit for the last time. Sarah Fisher, who started her own team in 2008, has decided that trying to manage her squad from behind the wheel was too distracting, and was possibly holding it back from realizing it's full potential.
“Being both an owner and a driver is both time consuming on both sides,” Fisher told reporters in a press conference on Monday. “I really want to see this team move forward and to have one driver who does all the races – ovals and road courses. It’s just very hard to do both."
Last season, Sarah Fisher Racing fielded two cars, with Sarah (seven races) and Graham Rahal (four races) splitting the driving duties in the #67 and Jay Howard (five races, including a failed attempt to qualify at Indy) piloting the #66. Graham would post a top-ten finish at St. Petersburg and Sarah would lead ten laps in the early going of the Chicagoland race but, other than that, it was a lack-luster year for SFR.
At this point, the stated plans for 2011 seem to indicate that SFR will only field one car, with veteran driver Ed Carpenter behind the wheel. After racing against Carpenter since their days in the USAC ranks over a decade ago, Fisher has the utmost respect and confidence in him. "We’re very much similar on all fronts, so it seemed like a natural fit to move forward with him as the driver. I think in the big picture for the team we didn’t want to introduce a new driver with new team right before the new car came out. It gives us a year to figure things out, and when the new car comes out we’ll be even more prepared.”
Dollar General, a discount merchandise store chain that has been SFR's main sponsor for the past three years, has committed to a nine race schedule for 2011, and Sarah stated that she is actively looking for other funds to help the squad run even more of the 2011 IndyCar events.
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Well done Lewis. New driver, new era.
