Friday, August 25, 2000
Auto racing: Driver learning from mistakes
Fisher: I need to calm down
By Mike DeCourcy
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPARTA, Ky. — It would stand to reason a young woman who races automobiles at 220 mph to earn a living would be comfortably described as fearless. And that is true of Sarah Fisher, so long as she's close to the ground.
![[photo]](/editions/2000/08/25/fisher180x130.jpg)
Sarah Fisher talks with Alex Ochoa before she threw out the first pitch at Cinergy Field Tuesday night.
(Enquirer photo)
| ZOOM |
|
In the area to race in Sunday's Belterra Resort Indy 300 at the Kentucky Motor Speedway, Fisher took the occasion to spend some time at Paramount's Kings Island. She rode the Son of Beast. For a moment, she admits, "I was scared to death.'”
It wasn't the speed. She proved she could handle that back in July, when she turned a lap here at 218.517 mph, the fastest lap of any Indy Racing Northern Light Series driver during open testing. She qualified at 220.237 to run as a rookie in the Indy 500. Son of Beast doesn't even hit 100, but it does carry its riders into the sky.
“I don't like heights,” Fisher said. “That first hill wasn't very good for me. I like to go forward, not down. They tried to get me to go on that drop ride, where they send you straight down. I wouldn't do it.”
Behind the wheel of an Indy car, though, Fisher's one real problem has been driving with abandon. She is 19, stands 5-foot-2, weighs 120 pounds and is only a year removed from graduating Teays Valley High in Ashville, near Columbus. Yet she attacked her first few Indy races with such ferocity she wrecked three times.
At Las Vegas, Fisher was near the front of the pack when she crashed on lap 126.
“I messed up ... but we went on, and I learned from it,” she said.
At Indy, she went out on the 71st lap after attempting a pass that didn't work out. The Pikes Peak race in mid-June lasted 200 laps for the contending drivers, but only six for Fisher.
“That was where my aggression showed,” Fisher said. “I'm a very aggressive driver, and I need to calm down. I learned that.”
If rookies didn't make mistakes, there would be no such thing as a "rookie mistake.' The important thing for any young competitor is to learn from them, and that has been Fisher's recent approach.
In Atlanta last month, she lasted 190 laps and was running strong when a blown engine caused her to lose control. The official reason for her race departure is listed as "accident,' same as the other three, but Fisher believes that result represented significant progress.
“I've done it now. I've demonstrated that I learned a lot of things about the race car to make it fast, to push it very hard, but at the same time be patient,” Fisher said. “It's a delicate balance.”
Preparation is what convinces Fisher she is no different from any driver on the Indy Racing circuit. She lifts weights three times a week to build strength, does cardiovascular work on the alternate days to stay fit and studies race plans and car setups as intently as any driver would.
“It doesn't matter if you're a male, a female or a monkey,” Fisher said, “as long as you prepare in the same manner.”
Fisher is a third-generation driver and has raced some sort of vehicle since she was 5 years old. She won three national championships driving go-karts and raced sprint cars from the time she was 15.
Despite the inglorious finish, her month at the Indy 500 has been the highlight of her rookie year. This race is special, as well, because it allows many friends and family members to make the trip to watch.
“My dad is probably proudest of what I've done, because he's the one that's been criticized because I'm a driver,” Fisher said.
Sports Stories
DAUGHERTY: Griffey vs. Marty
Griffey and Marty are the talk of the town
Reds leave on positive note
Reds notebook
Reds vs. Marlins Scouting Report
Last audition for backup hopefuls
Bengals notebook
N.C. State looking at Bearcats' AD Goin
![[photo]](/editions/2000/08/25/fisher.jpg)