page_title: Sarah Fisher
section_title: 2004–2007
hierarchical_section_title: Sarah Fisher / Racing career / 2004–2007
caption_attribution_description: en:Sarah Fisher practicing for the en:2007 Indianapolis 500
context_page_description: Sarah Marie Fisher is an American retired professional race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis 500 intermittently from 1999 to 2010. She also raced in the NASCAR West Series in 2004 and 2005. Fisher took part in 81 IndyCar Series events, achieving a career-best finish of second at the 2001 Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami—the highest placing for a woman in the IRL until Danica Patrick's victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300. In 2002, Fisher was the first female driver to win a pole position in a major American open-wheel race and competed in the Indianapolis 500 nine times, more than any other woman.
  Fisher was born into an Ohioan family with a background in racing; she began competing at the age of five when her parents entered her in a quarter-midget race before progressing to karting three years later. She won three World Karting Association championships and she subsequently progressed into sprint car racing, where her success was moderate. Fisher made her IRL debut at the final race of the 1999 season. During her 11-year professional career, sponsorship problems limited her participation in the series.
context_section_description: After the season, Fisher moved from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to Kelley Racing after she learned that the team's general manager Jim Freudenberg might have had a potential seat for her; the team expressed its hope of racing in the majority of the 2004 season but Fisher did not enter the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 due to a lack of capital caused by the withdrawal of her primary sponsor December 2003. Two months later, Fisher entered the Indianapolis 500 in Kelley's No. 39 Dallara Toyota Indy V8 entry after they received sponsorship for the event. She qualified in 19th and finished the rain-shortened race in 21st. Afterward, she sought another team for which to drive. Later that year, Fisher made her stock car racing debut, entering a NASCAR West Series race in the No. 20 Bill McAnally Racing car at Phoenix after Richard Childress Racing (RCR) owner Richard Childress asked Bill McAnally if she could fill in for Kerry Earnhardt, who was competing in a Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway. This was to allow Childress to observe Fisher's ability in a stock car. Fisher qualified in 14th and finished in 21st place due to a battery failure after 104 laps.
  Fisher drove a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for RCR's development program through NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program in the full 2005 NASCAR West Series after Childress offered her a contract to drive for  Bill McNally Racing. She signed a three-year contract with RCR when Childress offered it to her with full financial support from Chevrolet, and planned to compete in the Busch East Series and the ARCA Re/Max Series in 2006. To prepare for the season, Fisher acquainted herself with the heavier, less-powerful stock cars, which she found difficult to control. She declined offers to race in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 so she could keep a promise that she made to Childress and NASCAR president Mike Helton to refrain from doing double duty, and wanting to avoid sending a message that she was not committed to NASCAR. She began the season with a 20th-place finish in the United Rentals 100 at Phoenix. Three races later, Fisher had her first lead-lap finish, coming in 12th in the Autozone Twin Championships before earning her first top-ten result, an eighth in the King Taco 150 at Irwindale Speedway. She qualified a season-high third in the Coors Light 200 at Evergreen Speedway; Fisher led the first laps for a woman in NASCAR West Series history, finishing 11th. She had top-ten finishes at Pikes Peak, Thunderhill Raceway and Mesa Marin Raceway for a final championship standing of 12th with 1,471 points. Fisher's results made her eligible for the exhibition Toyota All-Star Showdown, where she finished 11th. She was named the NASCAR West Series Rookie of the Year and fans voted her the Most Popular Driver.
  After Fisher could not put together a full NASCAR program due to sponsorship problems, she moved back to Indianapolis to find and prepare for a full-time role in the IndyCar Series. Although she missed the 2006 Indianapolis 500, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing signed her to a one-race contract for the Meijer Indy 300 in Kentucky. Fisher secured the seat by staying in contact with the team through her engagement with tire changer Andy O'Gara, as well as attending several IndyCar races throughout 2006. Additionally, the team contacted prospective sponsors requesting sufficient funding for her participation in place of Ryan Briscoe, who had Supercars commitments. Fisher finished in her starting position of 12th after car setup problems. Her performance in this race led Dreyer & Reinbold to hire her for the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Fisher ended the event in 16th, giving her a two-race points total of 32. She finished the year 25th in the drivers' standings.
  Fisher returned to Dreyer & Reinbold for 2007 after the team expanded to two cars. Starting eighth in the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 at Homestead–Miami Speedway, her best qualifying performance of the season, she finished in 11th place. Although Fisher's team did not originally plan for
caption: Fisher practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500
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