This May, Sarah Fisher left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in tears. Never a simple month for an open wheel driver, Fisher found her first month as an owner/driver trying to run the Indianapolis 500 particularly trying.

The month started with Fisher's self-owned team finding out that her announced sponsor was willing to attend the press conferences, but unable to cut the check Sarah Fisher Racing was counting on to finance their operation. After scrambling to land some associate sponsors and even taking over $50,000 in money directly from her fans, Fisher?s month ended with her car hanging from the back of a tow truck. She had collected the spinning car of Tony Kanaan when he slid in to her path on lap 103 of the 200 lap classic.

Down, but not out, Fisher and her team put their heads down and got to work. They had planned all along to race at Indy, Kentucky, and Chicagoland, and now all they needed to do was fix their only race car. Problem was, the team did not have a sponsor and they were on the verge of folding before they really got established.

But, Fisher accepted Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing?s offer of a used underwing to replace the one destroyed in the crash, and the team, led by Fisher's father-in-law Johnny O'Gara, stayed busy doing whatever was necessary to keep the shop doors open. This included doing work for some full-time IndyCar Series teams that were so busy with the actual racing schedule they did not have time to properly prepare back-up equipment. Among the work done by SFR was prepping the road course car used by Mario Moraes of Dale Coyne Racing.

All of this hard work has now paid as Sarah Fisher Racing announced on July 16 that the team has signed Dollar General Stores as the primary sponsor of her races at Kentucky and Chicagoland.

"Dollar General's sponsorship of SFR for two races this year has energized my team. We're all excited to be racing for Dollar General," said Fisher, who was credited with a 30th place finish at Indy. "It's great to return to Kentucky with my own team. I've done well there in the past, and I believe I can do just as well or better with my own team behind me. We're going to do our best to bring home a victory for the team and Dollar General."

Joining Dollar General on the #67 will be TAG Heuer, AAA Hoosier Insurance, Hartman Oil, Direct Supply and a host of Dollar General vendors.

Fisher's debut with the Dollar General backing will come August 9th, when the IndyCar Series runs under the lights at Kentucky. The team will test their car before that race, a solid indicator that the Dollar General backing is strong enough to allow the team to put forward a first-class effort.

"Dollar General is excited about sponsoring Sarah Fisher Racing in these two races," said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General's CEO. "Sarah has

had a remarkable history-making journey in IndyCar racing, which has inspired many, both in and outside of the sport."

Sarah Fisher Racing is planning to run the full season in 2009, should sufficient sponsorship materialize.

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