Sarah Fisher Racing Struggles To Land Sponsors, Rev Up Financials

Fisher Struggling To Find Sponsors For IRL Team

IRL driver Sarah Fisher, who in February formed Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR), has "struggled to kick the fledgling [IRL] team into gear financially," according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. SFR had signed an energy drink company as a "primary sponsor for the Indianapolis 500 and races at Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway," but Fisher said that a "deadline passed last week without payment." Fisher: "It's a very stressful situation. My attorney has been talking to them, and it's a friendly conversation right now. I don't have anything against them, but pay your bills." Attempts by USA Today to reach the company were unsuccessful. Fisher said she "spent everything I have" to start SFR, which she co-owns with father-in-law and SFR team Manager John O'Gara. Ryan notes Fisher's No. 67 car was "lacking for logos" on Tuesday, the first day of practice for the Indy 500, but Fisher believes that she "has marketable qualities that counter [IRL driver Danica] Patrick's glamorous persona." Fisher: "I'm the girl next door, and I can relate to everybody in some sense. I feel I'm a normal person who gets to do a really cool job. I'm just a country girl who gets to race Indy cars." Some predicted that Fisher "might receive a jolt of sponsor interest after Patrick's win" at the Indy Japan 300 last month, but Fisher said the victory "hasn't had any upside" for SFR's budget (USA TODAY, 5/8). Fisher had signed ResQ Pure Energy Power Drink as a primary sponsor (THE DAILY).

NASCAR DRIVERS ALSO FEELING PINCH: NASCAR driver Travis Kvapil, who drives the Yates Racing No. 28 Sprint Cup Series Ford, appeared on ESPN2’s “NASCAR Now” last night to discuss the team’s lack of primary sponsorship. Kvapil: “As the season started, there wasn’t a whole lot of sponsor leads going on, and as we started running good and the performance was on the racetrack, the phones started ringing and people started having a lot of interest in what Yates Racing was doing. We put some one-, two-race packages together and we’re still really looking for that long-term sponsorship. But it’s going to be hard to do that in the middle of the season” (“NASCAR Now,” ESPN2, 5/7).