Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Fisher on fast track at Kentucky facility

Friday, Aug. 25, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Sarah Fisher has ample reason to be confident heading into Sunday's Belterra Resort Indy 300 at the new Kentucky Speedway.

Besides posting the fastest time among eight Indy Racing Northern Light Series drivers who took part in a two-day test at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway last month, Fisher has enjoyed most of her success on tracks of similar size.

The 19-year-old qualified a career-best fifth for the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July, ran well at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in April before crashing and her career-best finish of 12th came at Texas Motor Speedway in June. All three tracks are 1.5-mile ovals -- although the Texas and Atlanta tracks are more steeply banked than Las Vegas or Kentucky.

"They're just the right size for me," Fisher said of the intermediate ovals. "Not having a lot of experience in an Indy car, the real small, short ovals ... (require) an aggressiveness that I have to get used to, mostly because when I go there, I'm too aggressive.

"When I have a car that's working well on the racetrack, I'm too aggressive. I need to back off on the short ovals but on the big ovals, I've really got a good amount of aggressiveness there and it seems to fit me perfectly."

Fisher said that Kentucky Speedway reminds her of a lot of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I think it is a mix between Las Vegas and Texas," Fisher said. "There is enough banking to hold the car really well and it won't lose traction. On the other hand, it will not be as hard on equipment as a higher-banked track."

During an open test last month at Kentucky, Fisher was the fastest driver with a top speed of 218.517 mph. Part of the reason for her success during that test, Fisher said, was her ability to take instruction from team owner Derrick Walker and her "mentor," Al Unser Sr.

"I have learned quite a bit since (the race at) Texas and I think partly that has to be being a teenager and being young," she said. "When you're young, you catch onto things a lot quicker and you learn to adapt.

"In my situation, I can't even begin to list the amount of things I have learned. It's endless the amount of knowledge that you gain and I'm still learning; there's a lot to learn out there and hopefully I can capitalize on that here in the next few races."

Although crashes have knocked her out of four of her six races this season, Fisher said those incidents have proven to be learning experiences as well.

"That has been one of my problems this year ... (but) all the crashes that I have had haven't all been my fault, but one or two of them have been and that's mainly because of my aggression," she said.

"I come from Sprint Cars and Midgets where if you're not aggressive, you're going to go straight to the back. Here in Indy Cars, it takes a lot less 'try to stuff it in any hole you find' and a lot more patience."

Casey Atwood will make his Winston Cup debut Sept. 9 for Evernham Motorsports at Richmond International Raceway -- but will be driving a Ford Taurus and not a Dodge Intrepid. Atwood, 20, will drive a Dodge next year for team owner Ray Evernham in the Winston Cup Series but will compete in three races this year in a Ford. ...

According to the Station Casinos' sports books, Kurt Busch is listed at 5-2 odds to win Sunday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Chicago Motor Speedway.

Another native Las Vegan, Brendan Gaughan, is listed at 65-1 in the same race. Gaughan has competed in four truck races this season and has three top-13 finishes. Series points leader Greg Biffle is the favorite at 2-1.

Veteran driver Bryan Herta drove a car owned by Walker Racing for several demonstration laps on the two-mile oval as part of the speedway's weekend-long grand opening celebration, and said he was overwhelmed by the turnout.

"Wow, that was unbelievable," Herta said. "There were just under 100,000 people (there) and there was no racing at all -- just demonstrations by different types of cars. We did two ceremonial laps first thing (in the) morning, then ran eight more later in the day and to finish, we did some doughnuts just for fun, and the audience was on its feet and yelling the entire time." ...

CART's Franchise Team Owners recently mandated that effective with the first race of the 2001 season, all Champ Car drivers must wear the HANS (Head and Neck Support) Device for all oval-track testing and race-event activities. The restraint device also is recommended for road-course events.

Buddy Lazier holds a 23-point lead over Eddie Cheever and a 33-point margin over Scott Goodyear going into Sunday's Belterra Resort Indy 300 at the new Kentucky Speedway.

The 32-year-old Lazier, who won the 1996 Indianapolis 500, admitted he is unsure about how to approach Sunday's race as the series leader.

"I'm not sure how to treat it," Lazier said. "There's no stress here; it's only the championship, it's the Northern Light Cup, a million dollars in the last two races. Yeah, there's a lot of pressure. "If we can win this race, that would really help us. I've never won the championship in my five years in the IRL. It's a career goal, something I've always wanted to do. There's a lot of pressure. You just have to keep doing what got you there."

Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Seeling have combined for 32 victories and 51 final-round appearances in their NHRA Winston Drag Racing careers, easily making them the most recognizable and successful female talents ever to compete in the NHRA.

Muldowney announced earlier this month that she would attempt to qualify for the U.S. Nationals, marking her first foray into NHRA Winston Drag Racing since the 1997 Revell Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.

Muldowney, whose 18 career NHRA wins rank sixth all-time in Top Fuel, became the first woman to earn an NHRA Top Fuel license in 1973. In 1975, she became the first woman to advance to a national event final at the Spring Nationals at Columbus, Ohio. The following year at Columbus, Muldowney made history by becoming the first female national event winner.

Krahenbuhl, a student at Selma Bartlett Grade School, captured the prestigious title in the 51cc division. He joins Jason Partridge (1990 and 1994) as one of only two local residents ever to capture a Grand National title. ...

Buick Grandnational, E.T. Bracket racing and Junior Dragsters will highlight Saturday night action at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gates are scheduled to open at 3 p.m. ...

Motocross Night Series Round 6, hosted by Club MX and LVMS, will take to the LVMS Motocross track on Saturday evening. Gates open at 3 p.m., practice starts at 4 and racing begins at 5:30. ...

The IMCA racing card scheduled for Saturday at the LVMS half-mile dirt oval has been postponed due to the installation of a modern irrigation system and a new racing surface. The new date has not been determined. The next IMCA show is scheduled for Sept. 16.

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