In for the full season

Dreyer and Reinbold Racing have confirmed Sarah Fisher for the entire season. The team had previously only committed to running Fisher on the oval tracks, but after significant off season road course training by Fisher, team owners Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl decided that she will also contest the five road/street circuits on the 2007 calendar.

“Sarah tested for the first time on a road course in an IndyCar after the Homestead-Miami (oval) open test and really proved herself and her abilities,” said team co-owner Dennis Reinbold. “She really impressed us and because of this, we are making a commitment to put all of our efforts behind her as the driver of the No. 5 car. We want to continue to develop her overall talents which can only make us stronger as a team as we move forward."

Fisher has never raced any type of formula car on a road course, though she did a lot of karting before moving to winged sprint cars in her early teens.

“I can't tell you how excited I am to also be competing on the road courses,” said Fisher. “My first test on a road course went extremely well and I learned so much. I've never had so much fun in my life; running on an IndyCar road course reminds me of my sprint car days. Karting is all road courses and a lot of the theories and techniques translate to the big cars. I've been working out and practicing on road courses in my shifter kart and at Skip Barber during the off season. I very much appreciate the opportunity Dennis and Robbie have given me and by also putting me in the car on the road courses, show the commitment they both have to our team and our future.”

The original reason for not confirming Fisher for the road courses was both her experience level and a general lack of sponsorship for her program. Buhl said that the team still needs $1.5million dollars to round out the budget for Fisher, but they have picked up the other three-quarters of the budget already and they still have the valuable side pod space available.

Team budgets for 2007 are generally thought to be in the $5 million to $7 million range for a competitive program, though it's presumed that both Penske and Ganassi are greatly exceeding that amount.

ORS / CAPSIS International