Sarah Fisher Racing’s (SFR) Sarah Fisher will return to Chicagoland Speedway to make her 7th start at the track on Aug. 29. This weekend’s event will mark a significant milestone for the team, as it will be the last time Fisher will race her current car as the team’s primary. Fisher was surprised with a backup car last week by one of her sponsors, Hartman Oil, and will be using the new car as the primary, starting with the IndyCar Series’ season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 10.
Fisher has been focusing her attention on the Chicago race since her last race at Kentucky Speedway in early Aug. Immediately following the race, Fisher jetted to the windy city for a pre-race media tour. The team hopes to leverage momentum from the Kentucky race to put a good finish on the books in Chicago.
“We climbed 10 spots during the Kentucky race,” said Fisher, who won the Firestone Tire-ific Move of the Race Award for her efforts. “We raced 11th quick in practice before the race, so just imagine what kind of finish we would have ended up with, had we been able to qualify. Running an abbreviated schedule is a major disadvantage when race placement is based on points earned throughout the season. I’m excited to showcase our great night package in Chicago, so I really hope we get our chance to qualify before the race.”
Fisher’s abbreviated 2009 schedule is twice the season the small team had a year ago. After the loss of her primary sponsor right before the Indy 500 last year, Dollar General swooped in to pick up the small team for two races; Chicago being one of them. The return to Chicagoland Speedway marks a significant year of growth for the sophomore team and the lasting relationship it has built with its sponsor. Dollar General returned for a six-race schedule in 2009 and their partnership with the ‘little race team that could’ SFR, continues to gain momentum.
“I’m sure there were a lot of people that didn’t think we’d make it after last season,” said Fisher, the youngest team owner in the IndyCar Series. “We had the odds stacked against us, but we invested everything to start this team and we persevered and now look at us. Dollar General has become like family to us and they have helped us grow our small team and beat the odds. Now we’re able to boast a 100 percent growth this season and, in this economy, that’s something to be proud of.”
| 
|