Fisher races to get back on track

Sarah Fisher is speeding ahead with plans to do at least two more Indy Racing League races this season. Despite the defection of two main sponsors and a crash at last month’s Indianapolis 500, Fisher still thinks her team will be ready to hit the track in August.

“We’re working hard to get the car prepared,” said Sarah Fisher Racing spokesman Klint Briney. “The goal is still to do Kentucky and Chicago.”

SFR officials are working with some new sponsors that came aboard in May, that are considering expanding their relationship with the team through the end of the season and possibly into next season, Briney said.

“Some of our sponsors saw a huge return during May, and they are responding to that,” Briney said.

Fisher, long a fan favorite of open-wheel racing followers, got some additional press when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stopped by the Speedway to show support for the driver.

Fisher last week got an unexpected boost from Andretti Green Racing. AGR officials donated an underwing to the team, a car part that costs about $18,000. AGR driver Tony Kanaan crashed at Indianapolis and took out Fisher on lap 106. Kanaan put part of the blame on AGR teammate Marco Andretti, who passed Kanaan on the inside, sending him into the wall. Kanaan then slid into Fisher’s path. But Fisher’s team wasn’t expecting the handout.

“They didn’t owe us anything,” Briney said of AGR. “It was a racing accident. This just speaks to the type of person Tony Kanaan is.”

Briney said the tub, or the main part of Fisher’s car, was unharmed in the crash.

“When we saw the crash, we all gasped. But it wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Briney said.

AGR didn’t stop at a mere parts donation. Kanaan also put a logo of one of Fisher’s biggest sponsors, Milwaukee-based Direct Supply, on his car during Sunday’s IRL race at the Milwaukee Mile. Due to financial constraints, Fisher was unable to race at Milwaukee.

“That was quite a gesture, and I can’t tell you how much it meant to our sponsor,” Briney said. “That kind of support is just going to help us get back in the race that much faster.”