IRL: 18-Year-Old Fisher Ready for Mall.Com 500 Challenge
30 September 1999
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
FORT WORTH-DALLAS - Sarah Fisher is goal-driven. Her biggest goal is to become the youngest driver to start in the Indianapolis 500 next May. The 18-year-old begins her quest for that goal by running in her first Pep Boys Indy Racing League event, the Sunday, Oct. 17 Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Fisher will be piloting the Mead Carbonless Papers Dallara/Oldsmobile for Team Pelfrey in the season closer for the Indy Racing League. She recently completed her IRL rookie test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with speeds topping 204 mph.
"I began racing quarter midgets at the age of 5, moved to go karts at 8 and began driving sprint cars on dirt tracks at 14," Fisher said. "This year we moved to racing midgets on paved tracks to prepare me for this opportunity."
Fisher has won five midget feature races this year, including one at the lightning-fast half-mile high-banked Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.
Fisher will be a teammate to 1998 Sprint PCS Rookie-of-the-Year Robby Unser for the Mall.com 500. Unser assisted Fisher in car setup during her rookie tests and in last evenings test at Texas Motor Speedway which went smoothly.
"Robby has been just great in helping me out," Fisher continued. "He is there for general guidelines, to help me where I need it.
"I have always liked Indy Car racing and it has been my goal to get there. Ive wanted to drive Indy Cars since I started racing. Racing at Texas Motor Speedway will be a dream come true."
Fisher will enroll at Ohio State University in January to begin her work to obtain an engineering degree. She was a top student at Teays Valley High School in Asheville, OH where she earned a 4.178 grade point average taking honors courses.
"Racing and school, that is all I have ever wanted to do," Fisher concluded. Her start in the Mall.com 500 will take Fisher closer to her goal.
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