Sarah Fisher Named Team Principal Of The Year

By Anne Proffit

Anne Proffit

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Anne Proffit has worked in the automotive field since - well, not telling you that. She's been a car salesperson (before it was popular to hire... More

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1 1,548 views Nov 17, 2011

Sarah Fisher on the pit stand at Las Vegas - Anne Proffit photo

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2011 has been quite the year for Sarah Fisher and her eponymous Sarah Fisher Racing.  The Indy car team owner had her first daughter with husband Andy O'Gara; her team won its first IZOD IndyCar Series race with Ed Carpenter at Kentucky Speedway; and Fisher won the prestigious Team Principal of the Year award - beating out three contenders - during the Professional MotorSport World Expo 2011 in Cologne, Germany.

Just 31 years old, Fisher has competed in nine Indianapolis 500 races and been voted  most popular driver four times (three in INDYCAR; once in NASCAR).  She was the first woman to earn pole position in a major North American open-wheel race and is the fastest woman to ever qualify for the Indy 500.  She formed her own team in 2008 and made her first start as a team owner/driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

The other impressive nominees for this award were Arnato Ferrari of AF Corse, Olivier Quesnel, of Citroen Racing and Peugeot Sport and Frank Wrathall, DynoJet racing.

"What an incredible honor to receive such a prestigious award.  When I heard they had selected me from a tremendously talented list of people, I was so proud," said a very humbled Fisher from her Indianapolis-area home.  "What I do, day to day, wouldn't be possible without the support and dedication of the very talented people here at Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR).  Our team is built on the leadership from every individual here," she said of her small and closely-knit squad.

"This award means a lot to my husband Andy, the COO of SFR, who has been a rock solid leader for the team, especially during my temporary absence in delivering our first child, Zoey, in September.  The success of SFR wouldn't be where it is today without him."

Fisher would have loved to make the trip to Germany to accept the award, but with a very young child, "It would have been extremely tough to make the trip."

"I love an underdog.  Working for a large, multimillion-dollar team has never interested me and in giving Sarah Fisher my vote, I am giving it to all the all teams that have the vision and determination to work through all the hardships that will come their way, to put one over on the big boys," noted Gary Anderson, technical consultant for Status Grand Prix.

Journalist David Tremayne said, "To take your first win shortly after you've lost your major sponsor, in an arena as competitive as Indy cars, and to do it while going through childbirth… That takes a lot of spirit, determination and refusal to be daunted.  My hat's off to Sarah Fisher."

© 2011 Anne Proffit