We don't mean to indicate that Sarah Fisher isn't a capable driver or team owner, it's just that she's never won a race and her best finish is 17th. We think that "top woman" honors should go to Danica Patrick, who actually won a race. Still, after this we predict a 15-point spread for Hillary in Indiana. (h/t Hyman_Decent)

[NYTimes]

"Could you do me a favor? In our motor home, in the bedroom, go to my closet. All the way in the back of the closet, there's a blue dress. Maybe you should wear it next time you qualify!"

"the IRL is not real racing. Not real good racing, anyway. It's not the best car circuit in this country — that would be NASCAR ... what is the IRL? It's a training ground for decent drivers who hope to be good enough to race somewhere important some day ... Winning in the IRL isn't a matter of talent..."

"The IRL is the junior varsity of racing, is what I'm saying. Danica Patrick finally won herself a JV race, and that's good for her, and it's a neat story. The first woman to do anything — the first man to do anything, too — is always cool. But let's not take this too far, OK?"

According to F1-Live, the 37-year old de la Rosa said:

"There are less and less obstacles because there are now many women in kart racing ... The base of the pyramid is expanding ... I would be delighted to see it happen sooner or later, but it is more difficult for women because of the important physical elements of racing in Formula One,"

The top six, that's the "Firestone Fast Six" by the way, since everything from the trash cans to the retaining walls are sponsored in racing, will duke it out in a ten minute race for pole position. Naturally we expect next year to have a car carrier race off to determine pit road position and a pit bike race to settle who gets power to the trailers hooked up first. Seriously, how many races before the race must there be? [TSN]

All of this is still gossip, though it's been confirmed that Helio and his wife fiance are no longer living together. You can surf over to With Leather to see more pics of Helio's new ride. We'd show them but we've just run out of energy to talk about anything Dancing With The Stars-related any further. [With Leather]

Chavez Congrats Milka [trackforums.com]

Related:
Holy Shit! You Can Run Racing Cars on Alcohol! [Internal]

We have to say, we can't not back Alex Zanardi, who lost his legs five years ago in a CART wreck with fellow Alex — and fellow vowel-ending-surnamed racing driver — Tagliani. For the first time since his stint with Williams in '99, Zanardi got back into a Formula One car, trading his normal size-9 prosthetic feet for a pair of 4 1/2s (how rad is being able to change your shoe size on a whim?) and whipped four laps around the Valencia circuit. That guy must have more chest hair than Donkey Kong. R k. [Thanks to Scott for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson

Alex Zanardi Makes Heroic Return to F1 [Contra Costa Times]

Related:
Out of Step, With the IRL! [Internal]

The domain-name registrars at Go Daddy have signed on to help fund Danica's Motorola-marqueed Andretti-Green car for next season. They find her "edgy, innovative and fun!" according to some guy named Bob who helms the company. H sker D was edgy, innovative and fun. Danica is not H sker D . Meanwhile, in more interesting news, Bumbeck began the initial stages of a Jet-Valvectomy on his Starion up at the place we like to refer to as "Robin Masters' Compound East." Boss pic, non? Danica? Potential. Starion? SUPER POTENTIAL! [Thanks to Haller for the tip.]

Go Daddy Press Release On the Dealy. Only click if you want another useless PDF cluttering your machine. Trust us, we gave you the best bits. We gave you Starion! [Go Daddy]

Related:
WaPo Co. Slipping? Recruiting Subpar Writers? Danica in Newsweek [Internal]

The man only known by the moniker of MyNameIsIRL steps up and makes a compelling argument as to why the IRL and Champ Car shouldn't merge. He posits that a merger would tilt the series in favor of Cosworth (which Champ Car maven Kevin Kalkhoven controls), that Champ Car fans won't watch oval races anyway, (which is likely true, besides the Indy 500), and that Americans prefer watching three-wide oval action.

We're not so sure about that. Open-wheel racing was the deal in America for years. Stock-car racing was what you watched when Indy wasn't on TV. And that's back when stock-car racing was actually cool. It's where the top-flight heroes of American motor racing competed. Sure, guys like Andretti and Gurney would run F1 on a bit more than a lark, and Europeans like Colin Chapman would send a Jim Clark over to change the game. But honestly, the only breakout hero we really see in a faceless mass of American open-wheel drivers is Marco Andretti. Danica scores the attention, and she was a smart marketing move for AGR. But Marco seems to have a bit of his granda' in him. And Mario was a guy who knew how to build a brand, speak his mind, make the ladies swoon, kick Burt Reynolds' ass in a street fight and drive the living snot out of pretty much anything with a steering wheel.

Then again, we don't know if all of this pontificating really matters. The mass-sponsorship and driver-grooming classes of top-level motorsport have sucked the life out of almost all of it. Even the lengendarily tell-it-like-it-is-in-too-many-words John Force has been reduced to a televised buffoon. So what if Champ Car and the Indy Racing League merge? It might help them take on NASCAR in terms of TV deals and sponsorship dollars, but it won't bring back the "Let's just try this, motherfucker!" spirit that ran though motorsport from its lowest rungs to the top levels.

Still, we like the road races. More Sears Point and Laguna Seca, less Talladega and Daytona. We won't say that effectively turning left at 200 mph doesn't require some driving skill that most don't have, but we'd rather watch people turn both directions at around 120. That said, we can totally get behind half-mile oval and dirt-track action. There should be at least one Cup race run on dirt as an homage to the sport's roots. If you want some Jalopnik love, France family, get that in the hopper, stat. It's a way better idea than the "Chase for the Jehosephat" or whatever you guys call that new-fangled points thingy you've got going. Maybe the mandate should just be for everyone to give up the corporate teat and let the asses that fill the seats pay your way. And that? Well, that'll happen right about the time Rush Limbaugh starts a Bikini Kill cover band.

Indy Star Begs for Series Merger [MyNameIsIRL]

Related:
Foyt Wins the Indy Five Hunnert! [Internal]

Awesome! Newsweek wants to compile a list of 20 women leading their fields. The downside? Well, we picked up an issue of the magazine the other day and it felt a bit light. Has the diluted ad revenue that seems to be endemic across the print-publishing board these days inspired the elimination of the copy desk? Or having interviewees whose finest skills may not be at the keyboard write their own stories? Case in point: Danica Patrick's profile in the September 25th issue of the august newsweekly. What do we get? Subpar writing coupled with the misspelling of "go-kart" as "go-cart," followed by "nerve-racking" instead of "nerve-wracking." We'd at least expect Danica to be able to correctly spell the types of cars she's driven.

We've got a bet with Money CJ of SO. DAMN. INDY going as to whether the Newsweek people will fix the errors online. If he wins (he thinks they will), he gets an eighteener of Miller Lite. If Jalopnik wins (we think they won't), Jamie Little gets our phone number. Readers, encourage the Washington Post Company to stick to their guns. Meanwhile, Duffy Livingstone is pissed.

Twenty Top Women on Leadership [Newsweek via SO. DAMN. INDY.]

Related:
Danica 'Burning Bridges' With Rahal-Letterman [Internal]

Danica Patrick hosted a press rendezvous with her new IRL car on the streets of Chicago yesterday, offering the first look of the black, Motorola-sponsored No. 7 car she'll be driving next season for Andretti Green. Breaking from the script, Parick raced up State street, dodging cars and pedestrians, before pulling a four-wheel drift on to Wacker Drive, where she clipped Oprah, who coincidentally had been crossing the street at the time, then stopping near Lake Shore Drive to do doughnuts until the car's tires exploded, sending fragments of rubber right into the poppy seed hot-dog buns of several onlookers. Right. Actually, she did a quick burnout in the rain before posing for pictures for six or seven hours.

Danica Patrick Unveils New IRL Car [Associated Press]

Related:
No NASCAR for Danica: She's With Andretti, Leather [internal]

Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Sam Hornish, Jr. A podium finish for Hornish — our man Wert's fast-driving doppelg nger — not to mention a championship for the Indianapolis 500-mile champ and his boss Roger Penske. Congrats to Sam and Roger, not to mention more incentive for Ray to walk around the Detroit Metro area in a Marlboro-emblazoned firesuit. Oh, also, Michael Schumacher announced his end-of-season retirement today, but we figured you probably already knew that.

Chicagoland: The LiveBlog! [SO. DAMN. INDY.]

Related:
Hornish May Run Busch Series Next Year [Internal]; Schumacher, Seven-Time Champion, to Quit Formula One (Update1) [Bloomberg]

IRL racer Sam Hornish, Jr. claims he's not hanging up his Indy machine yet, but he has been talking to his boss, Roger Penske, about possibly running a limited Busch Series schedule next fall. For Hornish, it's primarily about curiosity: "If you're competitive with what you're running in right now, you want to be competitive in something else. I can't tell you if I'll be good or not.'' We like the multidisciplinary drivers — Gurney, Andretti, Boris Said; guys is who can seemingly get in anything and go fast. We'll see if Hornish is one of those guys.

Hornish Seeking a Run With Stock Cars [Miami Herald]

Related:
Doriftorama! NASCAR Gets Sideways at Irwindale [Internal]

We're not exactly sure why IRL racer Jeff Simmons' PR guy Karl berbacher had to go list his three favorite records as Fun House by the Stooges, Sabbath's Master of Reality and then poison an until-then fantastic list with Gene Simmons' "I Am Indy" single. But then again, that's why we're broke-dick bloggers who jet-set around the world as Denton permits and Karl jet-sets around the country getting into near bar-brawls and apparently boffing twins while promoting clients. Oh, and there's good Danica dirt, too. Click through, because CJ over at So. Damn. Indy. got Karl to ladle the gossip on the side of racing the sponsors don't want to know about.

Meet Karl. [So. Damn. Indy.]

Related:
This Shit is Genius, They Are Indy, Etc. [Internal]

CJ over at SO. DAMN. INDY. had readers send in questions for Rahal-Letterman driver Jeff Simmons, who shed light on the organization's chassis situation, race-day activities, and of course, women. Simmons mentions that he thinks the potential for open-wheel returnee Sarah Fisher at Kentucky tomorrow is high, considering she'd taken a pole there, but of course, the burning question on everyone's mind is Danica Patrick's situation with Rahal-Letterman's organization after the announcement of her departure to Andretti Green for next year's IRL season. Click through for Simmons' comments.

SoDamnIndyFan: How many times, roughly, has Danica Patrick talked directly to you? I'm thinking it has to be less than five...

Jeff Simmons: I've talked to Danica a lot of times, but after some things I heard she was saying on the radio in Michigan, I'll be less likely to engage in casual conversation with her. She's definitely burning all her bridges with the team. (Ed. Note: WOW!)

Note, that when Simmons references "the radio in Michigan," he's talking about the car-to-pit radio, rather than AM/FM broadcast airwaves.

You Asked, Jeff Anwered [SO. DAMN. INDY.]

Related:
No NASCAR for Danica: She's With Andretti, Leather

Amusingly-monikered blog My Name is IRL adds to what So Damn Indy broke earlier today. Danica is indeed leaving Rahal-Letterman, but she's not, as has been rumored, headed to NASCAR. Rather, she's apparently off to the land of Andretti-Green, where she'll be paired with the series other Golden Child, Mario's grandson. We'll likely be seeing Mario in a little over a week, so see if we can't ply him for some info then, unless of course, Michael keeps him out of the loop on this stuff.

2nd Report: Danica moving to AGR in 2007 [My Name is IRL]; BREAKING: Danica And RLR To Part Ways For 2007! [So Damn Indy]

Related:
Danica Inching Toward NASCAR? [Internal]

"My biggest thing in everything is that I want to win, and I don't care who it's with," says everyone's favorite Twinkie-package star. With every article we read, it seems as if Danica Patrick is thinking more and more about rubbing up against Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart in the France Family Circus. Just don't get any of Junior's Drakkar on you, Danica.

Patrick: NASCAR's Too Big to Ignore [Forbes]

Related:
Is Menstruation the Key to Danica's On-Track Success? [Internal]

According to IRL racer Ed Carpenter, Danica Patrick would do just fine in NASCAR, commenting "I mean, you know especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there." Danica, for your career's sake, here's hoping a hysterectomy isn't in your immediate future. [Thanks to Kelly for the tip.]

The right stuff? [CNN/SI]

Related:
Danica Moving to NASCAR? [Internal]

Danica Patrick's contract with Rahal-Letterman is up at the end of this year, and while it's purely speculation at this point, rumors are starting to float that she may abandon the IRL for some paint-tradin' stock-car-type action. Apparently, Patrick's father, T.J., has been in exploratory conversations with several NASCAR teams, and attended Sunday's race in Chicago as a guest of Roush Racing. Roush's people claim it was merely a courtesy extended to Danica's family and that there have been no discussions as to whether Danica could be doing seat time in a Ford Fusion stocker. First Montoya and now this? It's only a matter of time before the France family's "persuaders" recruit Jenna and Barbara Bush to drive. [Thanks to Daniel for the tip.]

Danica Patrick next to join NASCAR? [TSN.ca]

Related:
Que Pasa, Bubba? Juan Pablo Coming to NASCAR [Internal]

AutoWeek is reporting that the Indy Racing League and CART (aka Champ Cars, the old Indy Cars, and Who Are All These Forgein Drivers?) might finally merge to form a single open-wheel racing series. IRL honcho Tony George and CART captain Kevin Kalkhoven agreed that the two of them will share ownership of one series. At this point it doesn't go beyond that, other than both men being committed to working out the differences and calling in a third-party mediator if necessary. Both series have yet to announce their 2007 schedules, so there's an outside chance that a few of next year's races will feature cars from both series. But it looks like this isn't being paraded as "merger of equals" since IRL has the Indy 500, more sponsorship, and, in general, more attendance. We're going to go ahead and break it to you right now — if and when this happens, the resulting cars will look a lot more like today's Indy cars than today's CART cars.

The Screw Turns [AutoWeek]

Related:
More IRL [internal]

Go ahead. Call Richard Petty a relic. Call him back-asswards on women's issues. Fair game, of course. But never let it be said that the man doesn't have personality. The kids over at thefirehouse.biz, Chrysler's media-only blog, posted a podcast featuring some short interviews with NASCAR drivers past and present, and while Petty was diplomatic, at least he was instructive and human, explaining the post-Second-War origins of motorsports in general. On the other hand, Kurt Busch, Jeremy Mayfield and Casey Kahne were roughly as fascinating as potting soil blended with bleached flour, and honestly, recently-retired Rusty Wallace wasn't much more interesting.

Where are the two-fisted adventurers? Why is it now a requirement that a racing driver be as bland as a two-bit pile of mashed potatoes with skim-milk sauce? Of course, the answer is money, but the biggest deal in racing lately has been the Andrettis and Danica Patrick referring to Eddie Cheever as an idiot. Where are the A.J. Foyts, the Cale Yarboroughs, the Connie Kalittas of years past? Even when Doug Kalitta hit on our then-girlfriend, he did it in a lame, smarmy way that smacked of desperation instead of suave, swaggering racing-car-wrestling masculinity. When the most entertaining motorsports-personality-related thing one has seen in the past week is Helio Castroneves giggling like a schoolgirl after winning at the Texas Motor Speedway, something is definitely wrong with top-level motorsport.

Bring back the hairy-chested mofos (see #14 on this list who would brawl on the streets of New York City with Burt Reynolds...and win.

Related:
Coop Vouches for the '70s [Internal]

Having lived in the Lone Star State and having fallen in love with at least two too many women from it, we still don't quite claim Texas. Sure, we've got a bit of Tejas cred, and we love the place. We're anxiously looking forward to our forward-til-death Route 66 roadtrip out there in two months which will be co-liveblogged for tha Jalop with notorious rock writer Tim Stegall (we're kicking it off with a Buzzcocks show). But when Sam Hornish, Jr., no doubt still slightly addled by his understandably brain-melting win at Indy, says of the Foyt-Rutherford trophy, "I used to say that between us, we had seven Indy 500s," Hornish said, referring to the Texas racing legends for which that trophy is named. 'Now, we have eight,'" we kind of wanna rock a Lloyd Bentsen and say, "Sam. We know Texas. Texans are friends of ours. And you, our dear Ohioan, are no Texan."

Indy 500 winner won't rule out NASCAR jump [MSNBC]

Related:
I am Indy: Ride, Sammy, Ride! [Internal]

This has been in the works for a year or so, but this weekend's 500-mile race in the Polis of Indiana will be the first Indy Five-Hunnert in history where the cars run a 10% ethanol blend, ahead of a full-bore switch from methanol to ethanol next season. Partially veganated!

Corny? Indy Cars Are Moving to Ethanol [Forbes]

Related:
Indy Racing LEague to Run on Ethanol [Internal]

Scion of the Mighty Mario, Michael Andretti, has entered 10 cars in the Indy qualifying derby, including two cars for himself, and two each for his son Marco, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta. That's a grip of open-wheel racers, yo. Andretti's not run at the Brickyard since retiring in '03, but he'll be back on the track for Marco's rookie 500, carrying on the Foyt-and-Unser-stomping Andretti legacy of Mario, John and Jeff (although, to be fair, the Foyts and Unsers have more Indy wins, just less cannon-fodder).

Andretti's 10 cars among flurry of Indy 500 entries [Chronicle Herald, Canada]

Related:
Six Rahal-Letterman Cars Entered at Indy, Six Degrees of Separation [Internal]

We were somewhat surprised, though not shocked, when Rahal-Letterman decided to pull Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick out of the race at Homestead last weekend after the death of their teammate. Their words were fairly boilerplate, but they did make one point that we thought was worth noting — in defending Dana's right to be on the track.

Put it this way, Rahal-Letterman's the most high-profile team in the IRL right now, thanks to Dave Letterman's involvement, Rice's win at Indy two years ago and Patrick's high finish a year ago. A lot of drivers would forgo their manly equipment for a place on the team. So if Rahal decided Dana was good enough, he probably was. It's just a shame his career ended before it really had a chance to start.

Rice, Patrick Speak Out on Dana [Speed]

Related:
Soldier's Requiem: AutoWeek Remembers Paul Dana [Internal]

The AutoWeeks take a look back at Paul Dana's time with them as an intern, noting that he turned down a position as their motorsports editor when his internship ended to go racing. The tone of the piece is a bit odd — the 'Week guys all seem a little weirded out that he chose racing over them. Frankly, though, we can't say we blame the guy. And y'know, when you exit this world doing something you love, to bite some Naked Raygun, there is no shame in dying.

Following His Dream [AutoWeek]

Related:
A Bit More on the Paul Dana Incident [Internal]

We've seen some pretty horrific wrecks in our time. We've borne witness to road accidents that left vehicles flaming. We've had bodies carried past us with sheets over them by emergency crews. We've had a drift car smack into the K-rail not ten feet from where we were standing. We've watched dragsters explode. But the Paul Dana wreck yesterday really shook us. It was like watching a kamikaze attack where the pilot really didn't want to die. Dana was exactly our age, and something about that crash really got under our skin and into our soul. That said, the man died doing what he loved. Meanwhile, we're waiting for our Macintosh to suddenly go kiloton on us.

Dana spurned journalism to race cars [USA Today]

Related:
Dana Paul is Not Paul Dana [Internal]

Related:
IRL Driver Paul Dana Killed in Crash During Warmup [internal]

Open letter to those looking for information on the tragic Paul Dana crash at Homestead-Miami today. Jazz vocalist Dana Paul is a completely different person from late Indy racer, Paul Dana:

"Dana [Paul] is not only the singer's singer - he's the musician's singer. His vocal wizardry and interpretations of the Great American Songbook have made him one of the most talked about performers anywhere."

Paul Dana, 30-year-old racing journalist turned Indy driver, was killed in a crash this morning in a warmup at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dana's car hit that of Ed Carpenter, who had spun out and hit the wall. Carpenter was injured. Homestead was to have been Dana's inaugural race for the Rahal-Letterman team. [UPDATE: Video on ESPN.com] [UPDATE 2: We've got video here.]

IRL driver Paul Dana dies after crash [USA Today]

Related:
Six Rahal-Letterman Cars Entered at Indy, Six Degrees of Separation [internal]

One afternoon, nearly six years ago, at a backyard barbecue in Benicia, we got involved in a game of six-degrees one-upmanship. A girl was winding her way through some convoluted explanation of something or other when our friend simply says, "Well, we know Joe Strummer, and he knows Letterman, and Letterman knows everyone." Which, we suppose puts us three degrees from Danica Patrick, Buddy Rice and rookie Paul Dana, all of whom have two cars each entered in the Indy 500 under the aegis of Rahal-Letterman racing.

Rahal Letterman Racing enters six cars for Indy 500 [CBS SportsLine]

Related:
Gene Simmons Hearts the IRL [Internal]

Riley Technologies, based just outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is headed south to Mooresville, SC in a bid to gain more NASCAR business. The company, who've built open-wheel racers, sports prototypes and USAC cars and won the Grand Am championship last year, sees fewer and fewer opportunities in Indy and greener pastures in stock car racing. Admittedly, we'd rather live in the South than the Midwest, but somehow, this really bums us out.

Riley Technologies to leave Indy [Indianapolis Star]

Related:
IRL-NASCAR Coalition Wins 24 Hours of Daytona [Internal]

The Man of Tongue and Thunder pops 'round for an interview with Racing-Live.com vis a vis his relationship to the IRL and denies that it's solely about money: "The God's honest truth is KISS is going to Japan - Mount Fuji; I'll make more in one night than the entire year here." He goes on his experience at a race at the Texas Motor Speedway, saying, "I saw some real cornball things that I think are missing from America," and you know, The Artist Formerly Known As Chaim Witz is nothing if not about the cornball.

Gene Simmons is crazy about Indy

Related:
Gene Simmons Points Love Gun in Indy's Direction [Internal]

Punkey tossed a heads-up on this one, and well, since we're listening to Minor Threat at the moment, we figured now would be an appropriate time to post it. Apparently, open-wheel mucky-mucks Tony George and Kevin Kalkhoven have been spending a bit of time together lately, talking about how much a deal could work. Salient points? Panoz chassis, Honda and Cosworth 2.5 turbo mills, Bridgestone/Firestone tires. We've come to regard Kalkhoven as a pretty savvy operator, and both men are obviously worried about what was once America's premier motorsport. Here's to hoping it happens. But please, keep Gene Simmons out of it.

Agreement to merge the IRL and Champ Car may finally be at hand [AutoWeek]

Related:
Gene Simmons Points Love Gun in Indy's Direction [Internal]

The rock 'n' roll legend, breather of fire, God of Thunder, wielder of the axe-shaped bass formerly known as Chaim Witz has teamed up with the IRL in one of those unique marketing alliances that somebody thought was a good idea. We're slightly frightened of his new song, "I Am Indy," which apparently through "its growling affirmations and foot-stomping, 'We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions' sensibility...forges a resonant link between the drivers and the IndyCar Series fans." No word on whether access to Danica Patrick's panties was part of the deal for Simmons.

Indy Racing League Partners With Gene Simmons

Related:
Mercedes-Benz to Tour With Motley Crue [Internal]

IRL drivers Buddy Rice and Brian Herta will be testing a 90% methanol/10% ethanol blend on December 7th at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The trial, to be conducted in conjunction with Firestone and Honda is a stepping stone toward switching the entire IRL field from methanol over to grain-distilled ethanol for the 2007 season. According to IRL senior technical director Phil Casey, "Our cars won't sound different, smell different or run different to have they have in the past." We're still waiting for a racing car that runs on sour mash, but so far our kneeling drunkard's plea has fallen on deaf ears.

First ethanol blend to test next week. [Crash.net]

Related:
Indy Racing League to Run on Ethanol [Internal]

Al Unser, Sr., he of mad Brickyard fame, is cooling his heels in a hospital bed right now as a result of an inflamed pancreas. The 66 year-old Unser checked in on Tuesday due to the condition, which was likely caused by gallstones. Our best to Al and his pancreas. Man, we are so not looking forward to pancreatic and gall-bladder related problems as we get older. Erf.

Unser Sr. in hospital [Arizona Daily Star (2nd item)]

Related:
Herbie: Fully Loaded Update Filming Continues, Lohan Recoups [Internal]

Although she was consistently a fan favorite in the IRL and holds the highest podium finish for any woman in the series, 24 year-old Sarah Fisher had trouble attracting the top-flight teams and big-bucks sponsors necessary to be consistently competitive. Just as Danica Patrick has become the story of the year in open-wheel racing, Fisher's taken her show to NASCAR. But not to the top-flight NEXTEL Cup Series, or even the Busch Series; rather, Fisher's running the Grand National West Series; short-track races in less-sophisticated cars.

However, Fisher claims that she's not bitter about the success afforded Patrick, noting that she was tossed into the IRL while Patrick was training in Formula Atlantic. Plus, if Fisher's able to successfully break into the Busch Series and eventually move on to Cup, it'll ultimately prove to be a bigger coup, with more exposure and more ducats than one can shake a stick at.

With NASCAR heavy Richard Childress' weight behind her, it seems like Fisher could be poised to set the stock car world on its ear; personality and backstory seem to be as important in NASCAR as the ability to win races, as sponsors trip over themselves trying to find drivers that'll stand out from the pack, but not too much. Although she's a wild card right now, if Fisher's able to adapt successfully to stock car racing, she could end up being another ace in the pocket of a team well-stocked with aces.

Fisher Starting From Scratch in Stock Cars [SFGate]

Related:
When Red Turns to Blue: Nascar Takes Manhattan [Internal]

sarahfisher.com