More than eight years later, Sarah Fisher still hasn’t found those 1.87 seconds.
That’s all that separated her from victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2001, on a day she remembers for so many reasons. There was the second-place finish, the US$82,050 cheque that’s still one of the biggest of her decade racing IndyCars, and the real start of what became a long run as IRL’s most recognizable face.
Oh, and one sentence that A. J. Foyt shrieked into a radio - and into IRL lore.
“You just got passed by a girl, ” Foyt said to Eliseo Salazar when Fisher sped past him late in the race.
When the IRL season ends Saturday at Homestead, Fisher will be there, looking for something to use as a springboard into 2010, while basking in those good memories of 2001.
“That was when the track was flat and it was a lot of fun,” Fisher said. “We had done really well that year and I just wanted 10 more laps and I didn’t get it. Coming away second there was really fun and it’s great to be back here. Track’s a lot different and there’s a lot that we need to do to prepare to run here.”
And when Danica Patrick came along, Fisher became an IRL afterthought. Able to race only part-time because of the sponsor issues, Fisher only entered the Indianapolis 500 in 2004, didn’t compete on the IRL circuit in 2005, and got into just two events in 2006.
Seeing Patrick’s historic win at Japan last season only reaffirmed Fisher’s belief. If anything else, it may have made Fisher want that still-elusive victory even more.
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