F1B favorite Fisher on Danica, road courses and struggles

Formula1Blog Indycar favorite Sarah Fisher has a nice sitdown with Car & Driver, which the magazine got online on Wednesday. In it she admits that she, Danica Patrick and Milka Duno don’t “go bowling” together and she suggests Danica will find a switch to stock cars to be, perhaps, tougher than she imagines.

C/D: Growing up in Ohio, as an only child, you began racing quarter-midgets at age five and never stopped. What drew you to racing?

SF: It’s pretty much all I knew. My parents raced, my uncle George and uncle Charlie are still into sprint-car racing—it’s just something that our family does.

[snip]

C/D: Car and Driver was at your first IRL race in 1999, and we published a story titled “Can This Little Girl Help Save the IRL?” There’s no denying that you, Danica Patrick, and Milka Duno have brought the series an enormous amount of publicity. But unlike them, you seem more like a race-car driver who happens to be female rather than a female who happens to be a race-car driver.

SF: Funny you’d say that. Personally, growing up racing on dirt tracks against guys like Steve Kinser, it changes how you look at your brand. I just focus on what I’m doing and being the girl next door.

C/D: So you, Danica, and Milka get along?

SF: Um, we don’t go bowling. But I respect them. They both have different platforms, different visions.

C/D: And they’ve both had solid sponsors and haven’t had the struggle in the IRL you’ve had in the last 10 years in finding backing and teams to drive for.

SF: True, I guess, but I’m not resentful. There are only a couple of successful driver/owners at this level of racing, so I’m pretty happy to be where I am. Looking back at all the struggles I’ve had to go through, it’s worth it. Because right now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my career.

[snip]

C/D: There’s a lot of talk about Danica possibly moving straight into NASCAR’s top series. That would be difficult, wouldn’t it?

SF: It’s a very tough world—you sort of have to grow up driving cars that have those characteristics. To go from a rear-engine car to a front-engine car is a pretty big learning curve.

And for those who wonder why Fisher is F1B’s Indcar favorite, this tells you all you need to know:

C/D: You married Andy O’Gara in 2007, and he’s now your crew chief, but he used to be the front-tire changer for the team you drove for. Didn’t you run over him once during a pit stop?

SF: Yes. At least he’s the only guy I’ve ever run over.

Here’s hoping we see lots more of Sarah in the years ahead.