In a move that many of us were sort of anticipating would happen for 2011, Sarah Fisher has announced her retirement as a driver and will focus her efforts on being a team owner. There was much speculation amongst us fans as to who would eventually be selected for the #67 seat, although we all knew it was NOT going to be Jay Howard. In a press conference held at the Sarah Fisher Racing shop, we find that Ed Carpenter will be racing in nine events in 2011 sporting the Dollar General colours.
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“This change in my career is a direction I have been thinking about very hard. The timing is perfect for the strategy of SFR in its future endeavors. To have the support of all our partners in this direction is incredible. I am glad to have the support of our partners, including Dollar General, who have led us to where we are today. I know this team has what it takes to perform and I am hoping with the decision to put Ed in the seat, that we can do just that. By stepping out of the seat, I will be able to spend more time growing this team in the right directions both on and off track.” — Sarah Fisher, owner/CEO Sarah Fisher Racing.
We’re not certain exactly where the Fuzzy’s sponsorship situation is at the moment, but perhaps we’ll see Mr. Zoeller step up and sponsor Ed for the remaining eight races on the calendar, or at least the North American races. For right now, Dollar General will be sponsoring Sarah Fisher Racing’s efforts at the following nine events:
- St. Petersburg
- Indianapolis
- Texas
- Iowa
- Mid-Ohio
- New Hampshire
- Baltimore
- Kentucky
- Las Vegas (oh, I mean TBA)
I find it odd that Ed will be racing on the road and street circuits. He’s shown repeatedly that he has major skills on the ovals and is a serious threat to win, but he’s never shown strong on the twisty circuits, and neither has SFR for that matter. Perhaps for those events, Dollar General see the value of using the racing event as a vehicle for doing business with other clients. I’ll be very surprised if we see Ed any where near the sharp end of the grid at Mid-Ohio. At Kentucky, however, what a feel good story would it be for him to win there? It could happen! And that’s really the magic of this partnership, what the team can do on the ovals. Hopefully, the team can find enough sponsorship to at least run the #67 car on the rest of the oval circuits and give Ed a chance at competing for the AJ Foyt trophy.
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Big fan of Sarah! Big fan of Ed! I am going to own me some SFR merchandise this year!
Now with two former USAC drivers on staff at SFR and some young up and coming O’gara family members running on the short tracks, now is the time for SFR to add a midget or sprint team to their shop…. One can only hope.