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Wednesday, September 5, 2001
Due for a good result
By Sarah Fisher
Special to ABC Sports Online
We left for Nashville early Wednesday morning on a puddle-jumper plane. I don't really like small turbo-prop planes, but it was a direct flight and it wasn't too bumpy. After we landed, I headed out to the racetrack with my crew guys. We got lost on the way -- there were no signs saying where the track was. When we finally got there, we hung out and waited for the track to open.
|  | | Engine touble forced Sarah Fisher to pull out of Saturday's Harrah's Indy 300 after 82 laps. |
While we were waiting, our truck driver, Paul Sheehan, gave me a lesson in driving the Walker Racing transporter. We were parked on a side road away from everyone else, and I got to back the rig up and then drive it forward while he stood on the running board beside me and gave me some pointers. That was fun and gave me a new appreciation for his skills.
We left the track and headed back to the hotel to check in and then left for a Kroger autograph session in Murfreesboro, Tenn., just outside of Nashville. The store did a great job of publicizing the event and there were a lot of kids there with their parents. I have the most fun seeing how kids are interested in Indy car racing and ask me questions. The most common question that I get is, "What's it like when you crash?" followed by, "How can I get into racing?"
The answer to the first question is -- it hurts. And the answer to the second question is -- to have parents that support you, but don't push too hard. First of all, it has to be the kid's decision to race, not the parents'. The other bit of advice I can give is to start when you are as young as possible, racing quarter-midgets and then move up to midgets and sprint cars.
Since Nashville was a night race, I got to sleep in the next morning and headed out to the track at around 1 p.m. to meet with my engineer. I really look forward to the IRL night races since I've had a lot of experience racing sprint and midget cars growing up under the lights.
We had tested at Nashville earlier in the summer so we had a baseline to start with. After the drivers' meeting, we hit the track and worked on a set-up for the race. The car was fairly comfortable by the end of the night, but we still had some work to do to make the car better.
On Friday, we were in the first practice group. It started raining after our group was done, so qualifying was delayed for a while. I spent some time in front of my transporter signing autographs for fans and did an interview for ESPN since qualifying was supposed to be on live and they needed to fill some time.
We finally qualified after the track was dry and we did the best we could (17th), given the circumstances. That was the best we'd done all weekend. After that, there was an hour-long autograph session with all the drivers right behind the pit wall, which had another great turnout.
Our final practice was that evening after the autograph session it and was very hectic. The car behaved differently than it did before and we weren't quite satisfied with the final set-up heading into the race.
Saturday night was race night, so we got out to the track at about 2 p.m. Derrick Walker flew in from our team's CART race in Michigan on a private plane with his former driver, Scott Goodyear, who came to Nashville to be with Team Cheever. When Derrick arrived, we met with him to go over our pre-race strategy. Derrick spots for me on raceday when he doesn't have a CART race (Tora Takagi drives the Walker Racing CART car), and I really appreciate his input when he is at our races. It means a lot.
My Grandma Fisher came to this race too, which was great. She hasn't been to a race since last year's event at Kentucky, and I love seeing her. I hope when I am her age, I'm just like her. She says what she thinks and doesn't take anything from anybody. She is one of my biggest supporters and I'm glad she came.
When the race started, it was pretty hot, but the sun had started to go down, so it wasn't as warm as our last race in Kansas City. The car was unpredictable, so we came in on our first stop and changed tires, added fuel and added some front wing. We made some cross-weight changes on our next stop and that didn't make enough of a difference, so we came back in and changed springs on the car in an effort to make it comfortable enough to drive.
There wasn't enough of a difference when I went back out, so we decided to park it since I kept being lapped by the faster cars, and I didn't want to be in their way. I think we made the right decision because a couple of laps later, there was a six-car accident that involved a lapped car. That could have been me, and I am thankful that none of our drivers were injured.
I watched the rest of the race, and it was very exciting to see. Congrats to Buddy Lazier and his team on another well-run race. They did a great job.
This week we will be testing at Kentucky Speedway and then will go to the IRL open tests at St. Louis and Chicago the following week. Our next race will be on Aug. 12 at Kentucky Speedway where we finished third last year, so watch for us. We are more than ready for a good result.
IRL driver Sarah Fisher drives the No. 15 Walker Racing/Kroger Special. She pens a diary for ABC Sports Online throughout the season.
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 Buddy Lazier crosses the finish line at Nashville for his seventh IRL win.
avi: 2040 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Eddie Cheever and Greg Ray touch in Turn 2, setting off a series of crashes and sending Airton Dare airborne.
avi: 2240 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Buddy Lazier passes Billy Boat to take the lead on lap 149.
avi: 1510 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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