Sarah's education all about Indy
By Chris Corbellini, ABC Sports Online INDIANAPOLIS -- The first thing you notice about Indianapolis 500 rookie Sarah Fisher is her smile. It never shows teeth, but it's genuine and illuminates her freckled teenage face. She's happy to be here at the Speedway, satisfied with being the darling of the race. And just so you know, she's ready to kick a little you know what.
Yes, there's something behind that pleasant look -- a cool profile it takes years for other professional athletes to grow into -- that makes it easier for you to understand how at 19 Sarah Fisher shattered the 220 mph barrier into sawdust twice during one Indy practice and in qualifying. It's all there, the driver's strut, complete with the pigtail pushed through the hole in the back of her baseball cap.
Al Unser, right, has had a tremendous influence on 19-year-old Sarah Fisher.
"Beat the pants off them? Not literally! But I am ready for the challenge," Fisher said, and later added, for the umpteenth time, "This (racing) is not a female issue. My boyfriend (mechanic Gary Prall) is more nervous than I am."
Make no mistake about this one; Fisher is one of the better drivers in the world. After two decent starts in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series earlier this year, she'll become just the third woman to start her engines at Indianapolis. This year will also be the first time two women will start the race, along with Lyn St. James, who at 53 qualified on Bump Day and won the middle spot in row 11. Fisher will start from the inside of the seventh row in the 19th spot after reaching 221.203 mph during Saturday's qualifying.
Still, Fisher is definitely the first driver in the league's history to have the sparkle and energy of a young woman who just came home after a fabulous freshman year at college. A younger sister you'd be insanely jealous of if only you could get past the fact that you feel it necessary to walk through fire to help her out.
And that's what people have done here. Team owner Derrick Walker and the rest of Fisher's crew have worked feverishly with her in their powder-blue No. 15 Dallara-Aurora, building the foundation for years to come, readying their sister for her first Indy. She outlines the three-step plan Walker has given her about running her first 500.
"During the first third of the race I will settle in," Fisher said more calculating now. "Just pick your lines and go. The second third you're telling the crew about the car, trying to figure out if anything is wrong. The third part you just go for it, holding on for those last 100 laps."
"She reminds me of Rick Mears," Walker said. "I think she's got similar styles and that being a very good feel for the car and very smooth."
Of course, most of Walker racing's success hinges on Fisher's performance. But others have shown her the ropes around the speedway, including Al Unser. The four-time Indy 500 winner, who assists in the Indy rookie orientation program, has spent a lot of time with Fisher during Indy practices. He told her about the lines in the place, and how to prepare for the biggest race of her young career.
"She responds really well to the car," said Unser. "Any time I sat down and talked to her, she listened, and then she was able to go right out there and do what we talked about. She never seems to get rattled.
"How far she can go, none of us knows," Unser added. "But I don't think she's in over her head. No, not at all."
"Yeah, I've really appreciated all the help and that he looks after me," Fisher said with that smile again. "When Al Unser tells you something, it has to be the truth."
Still, teaching is one thing, doing is a whole new tank of gas. The Indianapolis 500 will quickly humble even the most battle-tested of drivers, guys that have escaped from crashes on that whitewashed concrete wall and had the fortitude to get back in there the next year. A.J. Foyt driver Eliseo Salazar, who starts on the outside of Row 1 on Sunday, became the ogre of the league this year after a crash in Las Vegas with Fisher. He said she didn't belong, but has since backed off here after she qualified. She hasn't finished higher than 17th this season in two career Indy races.
We'll see if Sarah's Indy education pays off on Sunday. Let's face it, at this point a lot of people will be cheering for her the moment the green flag is waved. She's charmed a lot of people.
"The thing I'm gonna be thinking about when coming down for the green at my first Indy 500 is to make sure that we get through the corner," Sarah said matter-of-factly. "The first corner very clean, good clean start and that we don't knock wheels with anyone.
"Also, that it would be just an awesome feat that I'd be there."
