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Fisher crashes out after only 14 laps Posted: Sunday May 25, 2003 2:20 PMINDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- With Annika Sorenstam's adventure complete, Sarah Fisher had a chance to be the woman of the day in sports. Her opportunity lasted about 10 minutes. The lone woman in the Indianapolis 500 got knocked out of Sunday's race after only 14 laps -- about the time it took Sorenstam to get through one of the 36 holes she played against the men earlier on Thursday and Friday. "It stinks," Fisher said. "A lot of people worked really hard, and to have this happen ..." Fisher's story wasn't nearly as dramatic as Sorenstam's. The LPGA's best golfer became the first woman in more than a half-century to compete against the men. She shot a 71 on the first day, and although she missed the cut, and had to go home for the weekend, she captured the imagination of the galleries and the sporting public. Fisher would have had to do something more than just show up to cause such a stir. Women, after all, have been a presence at the Indy 500 since 1977, when Janet Guthrie broke the gender barrier. Guthrie and Lyn St. James raced in 10 Indy 500s since then, and this was the 21-year-old Fisher's fourth start here. She has only finished the race once, and this -- her third 31st-place finish -- may have been her most disappointing showing of all. Fisher was coming off a week in which she secured sponsorship for the rest of the year after having to piece together deals to keep her team alive in the beginning of the season. She said her car was running "fast and perfect," although she knows that's not enough. Consistency is also a key piece in these 21/2-hour races. Fisher guessed the rush to make Chevrolets competitive with front-runners Honda and Toyota this year might have had something to do with her early exit. "We've been so focused on making the cars fast, but I don't know if we had time to focus on the other stuff," Fisher said. Last week, Joe Negri, racing group manager for General Motors, conceded as much. "You have to take risks to get more power," Negri said. "The pace of development has been so quick in the last month we've been unable to go through our normal plan. Unfortunately, that means you see more mistakes." After spinning out, Fisher spent about 45 minutes in the infield care center, then hobbled out the door with ice and a heavy wrap around her left foot. It was the same foot she whacked in an accident last month in Japan. What hurt more, however, was an opportunity squandered -- on a weekend in which women were in the sports spotlight. "It's all about winning races," Fisher had said earlier in the week. "If you're in there just because you're a girl and you can get in a race car and run circles, that's not cool." Surely, however, Fisher would admit that simply running circles is better than watching the end of the race on TV.
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