The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 237, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 20, 2000 Page: 11 of 16
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Thursday, July 20,2000 '
The Baytown Sun 3B
Motor Sports
Fisher wants to win, but
first she must finish race
By PAUL NEWBERRY
The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — Sarah
Fisher looked tired.
The 19-year-old had just taped a
TV program for schoolchildren.
She already had made an early
morning TV appearance, stopped
by a radio station to chat and con-
ducted several interviews at
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Oh, yeah, she also found time to
drive an Indy car at more than 200
mph.
“You get used to it,” said Fisher,
escaping from the hectic schedule
— albeit briefly — in the privacy
of her trailer. “You learn to catch a
nap when you can.”
After only seven races, Fisher
already is one of the Indy Racing
League’s most recognizable dri-
vers. Just listen to the cheers when
her name is announced. Just watch
the crowds descend on her as she
tries to walk through the paddock.
Not bad for someone who has
made it to the checkered flag only
three times, never finishing higher
than 12th.
“It hasn’t been as good a season
as I wanted it to be,” said Fisher,
22nd in the points standings head-
ing into the final two races of the
year. “I’ve made a few mistakes.
But what’s important is that I’ve
learned from each and every one
of them.” ,
At a glance
The 1RL seems to have
pinned its hopes on Sarah
Fisher to escape mediocre
attendance and lackluster
TV ratings. She’s the only
woman driving full time in
any of the three major
American-based series.
The IRL, struggling to gain a
toehold on the American racing
scene, seems to have pinned its
hopes on Fisher to escape the
abyss of mediocre attendance and
lackluster TV ratings. She’s the
only woman driving full time in
any of the three major American-
based series.
“She’s big for motor racing, not
just the IRL,” said Eddie Cheever,
the 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner.
“I have an 11-year-old daughter
who just loves Sarah.”
Now, his daughter wants to be a
race car driver.
Cheever smiles.
“I wish she’d never heard of
Sarah Fisher,” he said.
The 5-foot-2, 120-pound Fisher
demonstrated plenty of potential in
the midget and sprint car ranks,
winning five feature races in 1999
before making the big jump to the
IRL.
Last week, she became the high-
est-qualifying rookie in Indy-car
history, starting fifth in the Midas
500 Classic. But Fisher quickly
dropped back in the field and spun
into the wall late in the race after
her engine blew.
It was her fourth wreck in six
races this season.
“She’s is more than capable of
driving fast,” Cheever said: “But
she hasn’t learned what racing is
yet. If she’s patient and continues
to learn, there is no reason she
can’t be running with the lead
pack sooner or later.”
Like most teen-agers, Fisher
finds it hard to be patient. Her
main goal is completing races, but
almost in the same breath she
expresses a burning desire to make
it to victory lane—the sooner, the
better.
“Certainly, my goal is to win a
race and not just finish it,” she
said.
Cheever can relate to that sort of
attitude. After all, he got his big
break as a 19-year-old test driver
for Ferrari’s famed Formula One
team.
“She needs to set some different
goals,” he said. “First, try to finish
the race. Then, try to lead a lap.
Then, try to be in the lead group.
“I remember what it was like at
that age when people ‘expect so
much out of you. It takes time, but
she’s the real deal.”
Driver has nice job with Earnhardt
By CHUCK BURTON
The Associated Press
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Troy
Cole secures one of die Chevrolets
of NASCAR driver Steve Park
inside the trailer and gets ready for
another long haul.
Then he leaves the Dale Earnhardt
Inc. shop, blends into the traffic and
heads for Daytona Beach, Fla.
Although some of his trips —
more than two days nonstop with a
relief driver — cover nearly 3,000
miles, he is alone on this 550-mile
drive. He has plenty of company —
on the radio, that is. Nothing bear-
ing Earnhardt’s name escapes notice
for long in the heart of stock car
country.
Thirty minutes into the trip, the
CB radio banter begins.
“Is Dale Earnhardt in there with
you?”
“Got any hats for a good
buddy?”
Then the clincher:
“How do you get a great job like
that?”
Cole laughs.
“Being in the wrong place at the
wrong time and saying the wrong
thing,” he answers.
This 48-year-old jack of all trades
has what many long-haul drivers
consider one of the great jobs in the
industry. He drives the transporter
that hauls two cars and a porta-
garage to every Winston Cup race.
Each weekend, he refuels the cars
during pit stops and finds time to
grill pork chops, chicken, hot dogs
and hamburgers for the rest of the
team.
A retired Charlotte firefighter,
Cole began his racing career in
1990, not long a misunderstanding
caused him to quit a job as relief
driver for another team before he
ever turned a wheel. The primary,
driver didn’t want a stranger in the
cab for long hauls, and Cole said he
understood.
After stints hauling cars to testing
sessions, he went to work for Dale
Earnhardt, Inc. when it started its
Winston Cup team in 1997.
“I really didn’t mind,” Cole said
of the aborted try with another
team. “I got a better job.”
Now, he covers more than 55,000
miles annually to races all over the
country. He drives an 80,000-pound
hauler that doubles as headquarters
for the team each race weekend.
The rig holds everything the
team thinks it will need. There are
almost enough spare parts to build
a race car: extra engines, sheet
metal, suspension parts and paint-
ing equipment.
Also aboard are boxes filled with
nuts and bolts, and video equipment
the team will use to record pit stops
for later analysis. The trailer dou-
bles as a lounge area where the dri-
ver and crew can get away from the
frantic pace of the garage.
While Park runs the car around
the track during practice, Cole fires
up the grill.
During the race, when it’s time for
a pit stop, he climbs over the wall as
the gas man. In about 16 seconds -
while the other crew members
change four tires and make any
needed setup changes — Cole-
dumps two cans of fuel weighing 80
pounds each into the car and climbs
back over the wall as Park speeds
back onto the track.
“It’s challenging and exciting,”
Cole says. “There’s a rush you get
that’s hard to explain.”
When die race ends, Cole and the
rest of the crew scurry to pack the
truck for die trip home. It takes only
a few minutes to again load every-
thing from pit carts to shocks and
springs, chairs, crew uniforms and
the cars.
Then Cole heads back to the shop
unload the car, load a new one set
up for the upcoming race and begin
the next chapter of his lonesome,
nomadic career.
“That’s my favorite part, driving
the truck by myself,” he says. “On
the road I can think about things, or
think about nothing and just drive.”
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‘Big kid’ Tracy coming
of age on CART circuit
ftMKEHMHBS
The Associated Press
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Liisa
Tracy calls her husband a big kid
Looking at Paul Tracy, with his
bleached blond hair and a penchant
for baggy shorts, mototbikes and jet
skis, ift hard to argue with her.
The 31-year-old driving star from
Canada definitely is growing up on
the race track, where he has over-
come some bad breaks and a fiery
temper. Now, he appears ready to
challenge for his first CART cham-
pionship.
Team owner Barry Green, who
two years ago took a chance on the
series’ bad boy despite his reputation
for crashing race cars and loudly
voicing his opinions, is one of
Tracy’s biggest fans.
“I don’t know anybody who works
harder and I think you could ask just
about any driver in the pit lane, and
they’re concerned about Paul Tracy,
no matter where he starts,” Green
said “He’s always a factor.”
Going into Sunday’s Michigan 500
— the beginning of the second half
of the 20-race season — Tracy is
fourth in the standings, trailing leader
Roberto Moreno by just 17 points.
After being the only driver to score
— finish in the top 12 — in each of
the first five races, Tracy was leading
the points. But qualifying and
mechanical problems, and being
caught up in the mistakes of olhers,
kept him from scoring in four
straight races. He fell into a tie for
fifth place, 31 points back.
In the past, such things would have
infuriated Tracy. No more.
He came back strong Sunday in
Toronto, finishing third despite start-
ing 12th.
“In the past, I didn’t think I had
any weakness,” Tracy said quietly.
“Now I understand what my weak-
nesses are, and I’m able to not fall
into the trap of doing something over
my head
“I know what my strengths are,
and I play off those. I think it’s just
more race time and understanding
the car better and knowing when to
pull the trigger and when not to.”
Give some credit to Green and
Tony Cicale, Tracy’s race engineer
since the beginning of last season.
“Maybe he’s matured a little bit,”
Green said. “But I don’t think it’s so
much that. I think it’s that Team
Green and particularly Tony Cicale,
have got him looking at the bigger
picture instead of just at the lap in
front of him.
«I’m in a position now
where I make really, really
good money and life is
good. But the competition
level is still what drives me.
I still get as mad as ever. ”
Paul Tracy
CARTdriver
“That means if there is a mistake
or an accident that he’s involved in,
it’s sometimes not even his fault. It
certainly doesn’t upset him as much
as it used to. I would say that’s the
big difference.”
Tracy reflects fondly on a CART
career that began in 1991 and
includes 16 victories. He feels lucky
because he’s been with three strong
teams. Two stints with Penske sand-
wiched a run with Newman-Haas
before Tracy came to Green.
Don’t get the impression Tracy is
too mellow. The fire still bums. Now
it’s under control.
“I’m in a position now where I
make really, really good money and
life is good” he said “But the com-
petition level is still what drives me. I
still get as mad as ever.”
Tracy’s verbal battles with Wally
Dalienbaeh, CART’s now-retired
chief steward were almost a constant
skirmish the past few seasons. Tracy
is the only driver in 22 years to be
forced to sit out a race because of
rough driving.
Even with Dalienbaeh no longer
calling the shots on the track, Tracy
isn’t pleased with the officiating.
“I still get mad about how CART
is running things,” he said “I don’t
want to say too much, but some of
the stuff that is going on right now is
getting out of control.”
Warmed up, he sounded more like
the Tracy of old
“The reason I’ve been vocal in the
past is not because I want to be a jerk.
I want it to be right for everybody,”
hesaid “I want it to be better.”
Tracy, whose best points finish is
third wants to win a championship.
“Individual achievements are
great,” he said. “I’ve won a lot of
races and I’ve got a lot of tilings in
the press book that are nice and flat-
tering, but the championship is what
everybody is here to win.”
Even here, Tracy shows his new-
found maturity.
“I’m not treating it like I have to
win it this year,” he said “Trying to
force something to happen is the
wrong approach.”
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 237, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 20, 2000, newspaper, July 20, 2000; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1020367/m1/11/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.