Fisher remained with Walker Racing for 2001, and was the first woman to compete full-time in the IRL. At the season's second race, the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway, she took second place, the best finish of her IRL career, and the highest for a woman until Danica Patrick's 2008 Indy Japan 300 win. Fisher qualified 15th for the Indianapolis 500 but retired after seven laps when her car understeered into the turn-two wall, collecting Scott Goodyear. He was hospitalized with a fractured lower back. Two races later, at Pikes Peak International Raceway for the Radisson Indy 200, Fisher came in tenth, her second and final top-ten finish of 2001. During practice for the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway two weeks later, she crashed heavily in turn two and was hospitalized with neck pains. Later that day, IRL's director of medical services Henry Bock declared Fisher fit to race, and she finished in 17th place after qualifying a season-high second. She finished no better than 11th in the final six races, and was 19th in the drivers' standings with 188 points. Fans voted Fisher the IRL's Most Popular Driver of 2001.