Indy's women take each other out early
ESPN.com news services
INDIANAPOLIS -- The two female drivers in Sunday's 84th
Indianapolis 500 had a bit of a catfight in turn one -- and it
was caused by a man.
The accident between rookie Sarah Fisher and Lyn St. James on
lap 74 happened when another rookie, Jaques Lazier, made a move
under Fisher going into Turn 1 and forced Fisher up the track,
where she collided with St. James.
Lyn St. James' car hits the wall in Turn 1 after making contact with Sarah Fisher's car during on Lap 74.
St. James smacked the wall at the exit of Turn 1. A second
later, Fisher hit the concrete in the short chute with a
glancing blow. Neither driver was hurt, but both cars were too
badly damaged to continue. Fisher was credited with a
31st-place finish, one spot ahead of St. James.
As St. James radioed to her crew that she was OK, the
19-year-old Fisher was tearfully apologizing to her team on the
radio.
"I'm so sorry," Fisher said. "Guys, I'm really sorry."
Fisher's car owner, Derrick Walker, consoled his heartbroken
young driver, telling her it wasn't her fault.
"Lyn was going around with a boat anchor tied to her car and
(Lazier) didn't give you enough room," he said.
A few minutes later, Fisher returned to her garage in Gasoline
Alley riding on the back of a motor scooter driven by another
team member. She disappeared into her garage for some 10
minutes, then emerged to talk.
When Lazier moved below her, "I was in Turn 1 trying to pass
Lyn on the inside," Fisher explained. "Things do not happen
very nicely when you try to go three abreast. It was not my
fault. I was stuck in the middle. I was a sitting duck in this
case."
St. James said her car wasn't handling well before the accident.
"I was driving with my mirrors a lot," she added. "I saw a car
coming behind me into Turn 1. I took a defensive line but
wanted to stay out of the loose stuff. Whoever it was, I was
surprised they would try to force a pass at that point. I'm
extremely disappointed that it happened, but I'm even more
disappointed it happened under these circumstances."
Fisher was asked if it was ironic that the two female drivers
were involved in the collision.
"I don't think it was ironic at all," she replied. "Lyn and I
are both race car drivers and that's how we expect to be
treated."
Before the accident, Fisher's car stalled out on nearly every
pit stop, costing her at least one lap and prompting more
apologies to her team. But Walker said the stalls were not her
fault, either.
"Something was wrong with the engine," Walker said. "Almost
every stop she made, it died. So we were dealing with that --
bringing her in early to try to stop it from happening. These
engines are quite easy to stall when you get them into idle when
they're all hot. So she was taking the blame for it, but it
wasn't her fault."
Walker and Fisher hoped to get her back out in the race, but the
suspension damage caused by the encounter with the wall --
although minor -- would have taken too long to repair.
Walker rated his driver's performance as "absolutely excellent."
"Next year, she'll come back and she'll have a lot more
confidence," he said. "And she'll take her next step. This is
only her fourth IRL race, so she's got a long way to go.
"The atmosphere that's here in Indianapolis is special.
Sometimes that can rattle a driver the first time here. So
she's experienced the delays, the rain and the audience. And
she did it in style and got on with business. And it's a damn
shame she didn't have a chance to bring it home with a result."
A glum Fisher added, "It's been wonderful. I've had a great
time. We love all the attention we have been getting. I've
learned a lot of things here. You can't learn unless you do it.
I've got more experience for next year."
