Sarah Fisher Racing to debut at Indy 500.

Sarah Fisher has announced the formation of Sarah Fisher Racing, which will begin competing this year at the Indianapolis 500.

Fisher made the announcement this week at a press conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 27-year-old, who has made 67 IndyCar Series starts and who will drive the #67 car in honour of her successful USAC midget car, explained that while it is still early days she is hopeful that she will do at least three more IndyCar series events in 2008.

"We're trying to build outwards from [Indy]," said Fisher. "We have things in place. We're in final negotiations contract-wise with our primary sponsor. Things are looking really good.

"We would love to run Texas, Chicago and Kentucky. We would love to have some more opportunities, and we're working on those constructively.

"As a first-year start-up team, we know it's small. We want to build the right way though. Our 2009 programme actually looks a lot better than our 2008 programme. That's real exciting to us and hopefully we can be in a lot more races come that time."

Fisher, who raced with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2007, added that she has been thinking about setting up her own team since the summer.

"Going into the off-season this year, I kind of looked at all my options and evaluated sort of where I wanted to go and what my plans were big picture-wise. The best option for me was to start my own team because I think in the long run that's a better plan for us and for me going forward," she continued.

"It didn't start just one day in January that we decided we were going to start Sarah Fisher Racing. It's been in the plans and it's been in the works since around August. I didn't just wake up one morning and do it.

"I consulted a lot of the partners that I have in the league. I have consulted a lot of the partners in marketing that I've worked with and said, 'Do you think this is going to be a good idea? Am I crazy for doing this or is this something that everybody thinks would be a good plan?' I had absolutely no negativity going forward. I was very excited to continue on those plans."

Fisher meanwhile was joined in the press conference by fellow female racers, Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James. Guthrie was the first woman to start the Indianapolis 500 in 1978 while St. James earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honours in 1992.

"It's hard to believe that 30 years have past since I was in Sarah's shoes, doing what she is doing, grappling with the mind-boggling complexities and details of forming and managing my own team for the Indianapolis 500," added Guthrie.

"Well, times have changed. Technology has changed. The rules of the game have changed. Back then, we didn't have onboard telemetry, spec chassis or spec engines, and differences between the cars were much greater back then than they are now. But drivers haven't changed. It still takes a ferocious desire plus concentration, judgment, emotional detachment, not getting angry or excited behind the wheel of a car, and concentration again and again. Sarah Fisher is a driver, as she has demonstrated beyond any doubt."