Sarah Fisher fully realizes she is the only woman and youngest driver on the Indy Racing League circuit, competing this weekend at Joliet's Chicagoland Speedway in the Delphi Indy 300.
The 21-year-old from just outside Columbus, Ohio, is just tired of talking about factors she can't control or change. Instead, Fisher focuses on the confidence she has gained this season in only eight races.
Fisher's 134 points rank her 18th in the circuit's standings, the same place she finished during the previous two IRL seasons. But she started this year without a sponsor or a team until Dennis Reinbold brought her in as part of Dreyer and Reinbold Racing in the Indianapolis 500.
Smart Blade wipers and Raebestos brakes have since joined as sponsors, and Fisher settled on a crew after using three different teams for her first three races. Through all the turmoil and consternation, including her eight months of unemployment, Fisher has posted two top-10 finishes and earned her first pole,clocking a course-record 221.390 m.p.h. at Kentucky Motor Speedway in early August.
Fisher also has begun establishing the consistency needed to be considered a serious contender next season and for years to come.
"I didn't have the cars to run with the other drivers last year, and if you can't do that, they don't really know you," Fisher explained. "Now we talk more, and I really feel like I'm more respected.
"My confidence has come back a lot faster than I thought it would after losing what I had last year. You need to have confidence in the car, the people working around you and just knowing you have a job. If you can't trust what's around you, it's very difficult going 230 m.p.h."
This year she has become involved in the marketing and sponsorship end of the team.
It was a responsibility she didn't have last season with Walker Racing, which dropped Fisher before this season.
Joining forces with engineer Mark Weida has made the difference in Fisher's mind. She says the two have a perfect working chemistry, despite meeting just two days before their first race in Richmond.
Fisher has one more race in Texas, before it's back to college full time as a sophomore at Butler University.
But Fisher doesn't want to be known as the only college student competing in the IRL. The plans already have begun for next season, and her drive to becoming a viable championship threat is slow but steady.