Fisher

Sunday's Chicagoland race was really incredible. It is amazing how close some of the finishes have been this season. The tightest three-way finish in IRL history -- one hundredth of a second separated first and third. What a nail-biter!

For our team, things didn't work out as well as we hoped but it was great to be back in the race car after my crash in Nazareth. Here are some highlights from the week leading up to the race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The IRL cleared me to drive early in the week, and I shared the good news with my mom and my dad. The last couple of weeks have proven to me how important family and friends are. My parents have helped me though the ranks and are behind me 100 percent.

Chicago…What a great city! Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, downtown in general, we hit all of the hot spots. Our race weekend started out Thursday with a Chicago media tour put together by our friends at Raybestos, one of our sponsors. Raybestos is based just outside of Chicago, and the Midwest is one of their biggest markets. I started off the day making a live appearance on a local morning television show. Before my segment started, I got a chance to meet basketball great Magic Johnson who was also making an appearance on the show. I've always been a big fan of Magic's and it was great to finally meet him. Magic is a pretty tall guy and for once in my life I really did feel short.

For my segment on the morning show, I was supposed to provide colorful commentary as one of the station's sportscasters drove our 'show' IndyCar Series car around the parking lot. It was a lot of fun watching a sports guy try his hand behind the wheel. And I had an even better time pretending to be a commentator -- now I know how Jack Arute feels!

Wrigley Field is still one of Chicago's best attractions. They don't make ballparks like this anymore…WOW! My next interview that morning was outside of the stadium by the local 24 hour news channel. It went well, and I talked about my accident at Nazareth and my outlook for the Chicagoland race. During my day in Chicago, it struck me how much the IRL has grown over the past few years. The people of Chicago knew a lot about the league and our team

Friday morning, I was in Joliet and at the track bright and early. Right out of the box, the car had a good setup -- unfortunately we were only running in the middle of the pack. We started with the same set-up we ended up with in Kentucky and just made a few adjustments and did a little tweaking. We were managing some push in a couple of turns, and smoothing out the rotation of the car. Greg Ray, of Trim Spa Racing, wrecked after four laps in the first practice session and was unable to race due to damage to his car. I could definitely feel his pain, as I was in the same situation just two weeks ago.

Saturday was qualifying day. My car was running pretty good but we only managed to snatch the 15th spot. My team and I would have loved a faster time but we weren't too disappointed with our performance. To finish out the day, I participated in a driver autograph session for the fans. We had a great crowd as usual and I really appreciate all the people who showed up and waited patiently in line.

On Sunday after our morning practice session, I participated in my weekly web cast segment for AOL and later, following the IRL driver meeting, I made a stop at the Raybestos hospitality tent and greeted fans.

The green flag dropped just after 1 pm. Early on, the team fell to the back of the field. We made an early pit stop and made a couple of tire pressure changes during our stops, then wing changes and the car was good the rest of the race. Everything started to come together and I was finally able to pass some other cars. We were dealing with a heavy push for the remainder of the race which was trying at times. We had thought we had a good setup going into the race, and definitely expected some drafting and traffic strategy to pull us through to the end.

I know the fans appreciated yet another razor thin finish. Watching the replays after the race, I couldn't believe how close the finish was. And once again, Sam Hornish is there at the end to barely pull it out with Scott Dixon and Bryan Herta very close behind. Regardless of my 18th-place finish, it was great to be back in the car racing. As well, with Chevy's dedication and support to our engine equipment, the practices and races are now so close -- spread over only 2-3 mph -- that everyone can be the best at their game and still not pull out a top 10 finish. So for that, we're thankful, and we accept the challenge to rank up there with the best of the best.

As well, the Dreyer & Reinbold GMAC/AOL Crew has been great to me and it is really neat to have a close-knit group like our team. They support me out on the track, and they don't get the recognition they deserve. So my props go to them after a tough race weekend!

After the race, I spent some time with a group of girls who started their own fundraising campaign last year to help my team be financially able to run. They painted rocks with the #23 and sold them to make money. Last year they raised $63, and this year, $140. All proceeds were donated to Racing For Kids, my teammate Robbie Buhl's charity partner. I always say it, I have the best, and sometimes most creative, fans in the world!

It will be back to racing in about a week. The team is heading to California Speedway where we will have an exciting race week ahead of us. I will be flying out to California on Monday, Sept. 15 to participate in a Monday Night Football Media Night at the ESPN Zone Los Angeles. I look forward to seeing some of my West Coast fans out there. And with the right set-up and some good luck we can do pretty well at the race. What better place to do it than in Hollywood!

In the meantime, we are running a few things on my website about fan club names and about web site content. Be sure and check that out and put your two cents in at www.sarahfisher.com!

Take care,

S

IRL IndyCar Series driver Sarah Fisher drives the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing No. 23 Dallara/Chevy. She is providing a diary to ESPN.com. For more on Sarah, go to www.sarahfisher.com.