Ms Fisher to miss season opener

H

HardScrabble

Guest
Seems the oval track ladies are getting no breaks this year.

Seems the ladies of motorsport just can't catch a break.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Second Team to Miss IndyCar Series Opener

(Indianapolis, Indiana)--February 19, 2003 – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing today announced that a second team entry for the IndyCar Series opener at Homestead-Miami would not be submitted to the Indy Racing League offices. Dreyer & Reinbold has been working feverently to complete the requisite sponsorship program that would have allowed IndyCar series standout Sarah Fisher to pilot the team’s #23 Chevrolet Dallara at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 2.

“We have spent considerable sums testing and preparing the #23 Dreyer & Reinbold team for the 2003 IndyCar Championship independent of any outside support, but we are not at a point where we are able to complete the necessary sponsor partnership program to currently make it a reality,” said Dreyer & Reinbold Racing co-owner Dennis Reinbold. “We are naturally disappointed to reach this conclusion, but we are committed to a first class effort, deserving of Sarah and the on-track competitiveness she demonstrated last year. We only want to enter an effort that has the proper support for Sarah and the crew of the #23 team.”

While being forced into the decision to keep the #23 team at home for the season opener, Reinbold and Dreyer & Reinbold

Racing are still hard at work with completing arrangements to run Fisher and the #23 team in 2003. “We have some proposed marketing partnerships that have not yet matured and we anxiously are awaiting good news,” added Reinbold. “In the meantime, we must make sensible business decisions that are best for our team.”

Reinbold reinforced the choices that he and co-owner Robbie Buhl had made to get Fisher on the track during the recent pre-season test sessions. “With a new chassis and a new engine package, we felt it was critical to provide the seat time she needed to be competitive right out of the box,” Reinbold said. “There’s a learning curve for all the drivers with the new packages, and we believe the best thing for the team—and for Sarah---was to get her into the car.”

“Obviously I’m disappointed to miss the first race of what is shaping up to be the IndyCar Series’ most competivite season ever,” said Fisher, the IRL’s most popular driver for the second straight season in 2002. “I believe we have most of the tools in place for the #23 Dreyer and Reinbold team to be very competitive in this series, but in the end it comes down to money – and while many, many people have been working extremely hard to find enough funds for us to run, we’re not there yet.”

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing also fields the #24 Team Purex/Aventis Chevrolet Dallara Firestone entry for IndyCar Series veteran Robbie Buhl. The 2003 season marks the fifth consecutive year with sponsors Purex and Aventis Pharmacuticals.

Test in the West Quotes

Sarah just completed the test in the west with Dreyer & Reinbold. The test was conducted at California Speedway in Fontana and Phoenix International Speedway. With all the questions being ask about this season, here are a couple of quotes: Sarah: I'm truly excited because this year I get to drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing again, hopefully if we get everything secured by the first race, which is kind of abnormal to everyone else.

It's a great opportunity for me because I get to have the same engineer that I've had last year. We bonded quite well. It will be exciting and hopefully we can catch on just as quick as everyone else.
Robbie Buhl, when ask about being a owner driver and fielding a car for Sarah. "You have to wear a couple hats, but it's all for the same end. Last year we had a tough year from a reliability standpoint. We're excited last year is over, and we're concentrating on this year. We're excited to have Chevy power, all our same sponsors are back, Dial and (inaudible) are back with us.

We're working hard, like you said, to put a car together for Sarah this year. She'll be here running this weekend, and Phoenix, as well, for the open test. Hopefully we'll get things all finished up on her car and focus on the whole year." (Source, IRL Web Site)
 
Fisher Finds a Ride
Posted Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Sarah Fisher, voted by fans as the most popular driver in the IRL IndyCar Series the last two years, will drive in the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 on March 2 after Dreyer & Reinbold Racing secured a primary sponsor for Fisher’s entry for the event, team officials announced Feb. 25.

WeGotGear, a female-owned business founded in 1999, will be the primary sponsor of the No. 23 Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone driven by Fisher at Homestead-Miami Speedway. WeGotGear offers corporate premium and promotional products for major clients.

“We Got Gear stepped in to help get the season started,” team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. “We’re grateful for their support in making this first race possible for the No. 23 team.”

Additional supporters on Fisher’s car include Chevrolet, and longtime team sponsors Purex and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

WeGotGear clients include Coca-Cola, with 2.5 million Olympic Torch Pennants for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and AT&T, with 2.5 million carabineer clips for the AT&T “back to college” promotion. WeGotGear also has provided uniforms for ski areas and teams, and promotional materials for NASCAR.

Maintaining offices in Manchester, Vt., Atlanta and Shanghai, China, WeGotGear offers high-performance adult and kids’ outerwear and accessories exclusively at www.amazon.com/wegotgear.

“Our partnership with the Indy Racing League, Sarah Fisher and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team is part of our commitment to the Indy Racing League and its support of women in sport,” said Susan Driscoll, executive vice president of WeGotGear. “WeGotGear enthusiastically sponsors Sarah and her team as part of this growing racing fan experience called the Indy Racing League.”

Talks continue with multiple sponsors for the long-term support of Fisher’s entry, Reinbold said. The focus remains on a full-season effort to ensure her participation with the team, he said.

Fisher, 22, from Commercial Point, Ohio, has made 32 IndyCar Series starts since 1999, with a best finish of second in 2001 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. She became the first woman to win a pole position in major open-wheel racing in August 2002, capturing the MBNA Pole for the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

Source: RacingOne.com
 
Back
Top Bottom