Sarah Fisher's Retirement a Cautionary Tale For You-Know-Who
by fleshwound_NPG on Dec 2, 2010 7:31 AM EST
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It started out so well for her. She was fast at Indy. She was also quick at many other tracks. Records were set for women in auto racing with her podium finishes. She was the sport's most popular driver. If you said "IndyCar" to anyone her name instantly came up in conversation. It was as if she could do no wrong.
Then she tried stock cars. After her stock car career didn't work out she drifted back into IndyCar racing where it just wasn't the same. Meanwhile another young woman started to upstage her and became the main attraction. She was no longer the most popular driver amongst the fans and it was as if IndyCar racing had passed her by....
Sound familiar?
To one driver it does. To another it better.
When I read this article shortly after Sarah's retirement I couldn't help but think Danica Patrick is starting to go down the same path that Sarah Fisher did just a handful of years ago. Sure, Danica has the best racing teams, equipment, an IndyCar victory and now also competes in the Nationwide Series (Sarah did not), but it's as if the same script is being read all over again. Danica's short stock car racing career hasn't been good and her IndyCar racing career seems to have suffered a bit. She did have a good finish to the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season, but overall this was her worst season since her early days with Rahal-Letterman Racing.
Now, no way am I saying that she should quit racing stock cars all together. I kind of like her switching back and forth racing in as many races as she wants to (yes, I know this is a sponsor-driven gimmick... sadly). AJ Foyt made a living racing (and winning) in anything with four wheels. The last time we saw a driver go back and forth between IndyCars and stock cars was Tony Stewart (until the 800-pound gorilla got the best of him and he hasn't returned to IndyCar since). What I'm saying is that Sarah left IndyCars behind and went on to start a full-time stock car career... and when it didn't work out her racing career basically ended because of it. Danica should be taking notes.
Just before Sarah left IndyCar racing the CART teams were invading the IRL, yet the IRL teams were still winning races AND championships. When she came back the CART teams' total dominance of the IRL and its oval races were complete, there were now road course races on the schedule and, of course... Danicamania.
In 2009, Danica was the highest finishing American in the IndyCar Series championship and the only woman racing full time. After her brief stint in stock cars during the winter of 2010 and her return to IndyCar for the 2010 season she was no longer alone. For the first time in her professional racing career Danica Patrick now had a full-time rival that was also a woman.
Danica may take the plunge into the world of NASCAR full time in 2012 (she can opt-out of her IndyCar deal after the 2011 season). In 2012, IndyCar will undergo the most significant car change its seen since the CART/IRL split of 1996 when underpowered Dallara/G-Force chassis' (dubbed "Crapwagons" by CART fans) replaced the 900+ HP 240 MPH turbocharged monsters at Indianapolis. Should she ever have to return to IndyCar racing (should her stock car racing career should go bust like Sarah's) it's very possible the sport would've passed her by too with more powerful cars and possibly more women racing full time with greater talent and accomplishments taking what was her spotlight.
Being an IndyCar driver and part-time stock car driver is okay. I have no problem with it overall, nor should many fans... even if it's mostly sponsor-driven. But making the jump to go full time and leaving Indy behind has its consequences.
Just ask Sarah.
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"You know who?"
When I saw the headline, I thought of “Serious Sam” Hornish, and when I saw the #7 car I thought of Robby Gordon :)
by schraderfan on Dec 2, 2010 8:14 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I keep wondering when Hornish is going to “get it” and understand that he’ll never be a great stock car racer. Gordon’s won some races, Allmendinger is on the verge of a major breakthrough, but Hornish is like this generation’s Mike Skinner – in a top level ride for too many years with nothing to show for it, and no inkling that they don’t belong in Cup.
I think he's know it all along
but this is what he wants.
What boggles my mind is that Danica’s handlers would still have her convinced that NASCAR is the place to be when there’s an obvious decline there, and obvious growing interest in IndyCar, especially with 2012 around the corner. Maybe there’s more immediate recognizability and money right now in the stock cars, but wouldn’t it benefit her brand more, especially long term, to focus in on Indy and get some wins where she knows she’s competitive?
I see your point...
…and yet I wonder if Sarah’s walkabout in slab-siders (sorry, just can’t say the N-word – it makes me ill), has put her in better frame of mind for being a team owner, which is what seems to be her primary passion at this point. Well, that and possibly starting a family.
It’s one of those things that, for better or worse, is an experience that shaped her future to some degree. At the time it (foray into stockers) was unlikely to be seen as preparing her for Indycar ownership, however like all good kids, they need time to spread their wings to see what they can and can’t do, then they will have fewer questions to answer when they get older about what might have been.
As for Danica, I didn’t want her to leave Indycar in any way, because I thought she’d be gone for good – much like Stewart and Hornish who I believe have recently stated their total lack of desire to return to Indycar. Now I’m not so sure, and her forays into stockers will at least help answer some of the questions she may have had about the stock-car world and with that experience, can better make decisions about her long-term future.
Ultimately, if they don’t want to be in Indycar, I don’t want ’em here either.
Now if we could get Robby Gordon to quit dinking around with cabs and get an Indycar team together…
This is a little different, though...
Sarah never had the side-show appeal that Danica has. Sarah was always just a tom-boy race driver. When the racing performance went away there wasn’t really anything else to keep her in the spotlight. Danica is also a swimsuit model, GoDaddy girl, etc. She will always have the sponsor support to get into a good ride, whether in Indycar or NASCAR, because she can drive a little AND she’s sexy. Simona or Bia are not going to challenge her in that regard. It might not be fair, but its true.
Danica knows that she’s going to have a lot of flexibility for a few more years. She’ll need to be worried someone like Maryeve Dufault comes into the series and has some success, though.
by Mathieu McGowan on Dec 2, 2010 10:18 AM EST reply actions
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