Fisher

I cannot believe another season has ended. It felt like just yesterday that the green flag dropped in Miami. And what a way to end it with an exciting points battle that came down to the last few laps at another incredible race at the Texas Motor Speedway.

October has been a busy month for us, both on and off the track starting with my 23rd birthday on Oct. 4. From there, it was time to head down to Texas for the final race.

We made a big splash at the Fan Jam held Thursday evening prior to race weekend. I couldn't believe how many fans came out for the autograph session. We also attended a benefit for Speedway Charities.

Friday was another busy day. After an interview with some Dallas radio DJs, I participated in "Lee National Denim Day." Denim Day is the world's largest single-day fundraiser for breast cancer research. The Indy Racing League Family participated by donning their favorite pair of denim jeans in exchange for a $5 donation to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I wore my Lee jeans when I could during the weekend, and the #23 car was adorned with pink ribbon decals.

So many IRL employees and IRL teams contributed, as well as 23,000 companies across the country -- it was really beautiful. At the end of the day we raised over $2,700, and the entire cross-country effort raised over $7 million. Feel free to continue support for this great cause by visiting their website at www.denimday.com.

During our first practice session of the day, the car was pretty stable right out of the gates, we worked on tweaking to see if we could get more speed. For the most part we qualified with a good car setup although it was running flat with a little bit of push. This planted us in the last row in the 18th position after qualifications.

To start Saturday off, we had a brunch sponsored by GM to thank all the media for their hard work all year! This was a great opportunity for me, as well as my fellow drivers to interact with the hundreds of individuals who cover all of our events and races throughout the season.

During our final practice session, we were experiencing a heavy push coming off of turn two. We were still able to run the high line, but it wasn't comfortable. Our team made a rear ride height change which helped. The set-up was working for us as we took advantage of some drafting opportunities that helped the feel of the car after running in a pack of traffic.

Throughout the day, we urged fans to take part in the Chevy Champion's Challenge where fans filled out questions about the new Impala and Trailblazers. A couple hundred fans turned out for a meet and greet. We did an 'invitation only' autograph session for about 300 fans who took part in the great activity all on behalf of Chevy racing.

Sunday was quite a day. Texas is my favorite track even though we haven't had much luck here -- we were hoping to change that streak on race day. We were able to run as high as fifth place, which felt pretty good. My engineer and I were pretty happy with the race car and only had to make some minor adjustments to tire pressure throughout the race because of the changing track conditions. We managed some great racing and hung in there after a mechanical problem slowed us up a bit for a 12th place finish.

As I mentioned before, the championship points battle came down to the last few laps. But unfortunately there was a serious wreck involving Kenny Brack and Tomas Scheckter that forced the race to end five laps early. Gil De Ferran in his last race ever held off Scott Dixon for the win. With his second-place finish, Scott locked up the 2003 IRL championship.

During the off season, my management team and I are working really hard on getting the right sponsorship package in place for next season. I can't get into any specifics right now but we are exploring a variety of different opportunities and we should be in great shape for the start of the season at Miami next year.

In the meantime, I will be traveling to Utah and Illinois for Smartblade and Raybestos appearances and promotional work. We will also be making stops at the Women's Sports Foundation Dinner in New York as well as the IRL Championship Celebration at Disneyworld.

Thank you, the fans, for your support all season long. For the third consecutive year, you have voted me the Most Popular Driver in the IRL, I really appreciate that.

I would like to personally thank all the sponsors that made it possible for me to race: Raybestos, GMAC, AOL and Smartblade. Big thanks also go out to ESPN for allowing me to share my thoughts and aspirations with the readers. I hope these diaries have provided some insight into what I do on and off the track. See you next season!

Love, S