Sarah Fisher's has been awarded this year's Scott Brayton Driver's Trophy Award:
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INDIANAPOLIS May 25, 2009 Dollar General driver Sarah Fisher was selected as this year's recipient of the Scott Brayton Driver's Trophy Award, presented annually to the driver best exemplifying the character and racing spirit of the late driver Scott Brayton. Fisher received the award at the 2009 Indianapolis 500 victory banquet on May 25. The Scott Brayton Drivers Trophy is voted on by local, national and international media attending the race.
"I cannot believe I am receiving this award," said Fisher, who will count down the most current musical hits on FUSE TV's No. 1 Countdown Tuesday at 3 p.m. EDT. "This is such a huge honor for me. Thank you very much."
Brayton, a 14-time Indianapolis 500 starter, was killed in a practice crash in May 1996 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway just days after winning his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 pole.
Fisher qualified for her eighth Indianapolis 500 on May 10, 2009, and started from the outside of Row 7 on Memorial Day weekend, marking the most number of starts for a women in the 93-year history of the race. Fisher advanced four positions in Sunday's race to finish 17th, her career-best Indy 500 finish.
"I was really happy for all the guys on the team and to bring the Dollar General No. 67 home with four wheels, was huge for our small team" said Fisher. "Most people probably thought we wouldn't be back after last year, but I hope we've given people that extra hope in their own lives to keep moving forward regardless of the obstacles they encounter.
That extra hope was passed along to Fisher and her team when she was awarded the prestigious Scott Brayton Drivers Trophy. John Paul Jr. was the first recipient of the award in 1997 followed by Roberto Guerrero, Eliseo Salazar, 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever Jr., Davey Hamilton, 1990 and 97' Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, 2001, 02' and 09' Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Kanaan and Vitory Meira.
"I'm honored to follow in the footsteps of those that have came before me," continued Fisher.
Fisher's 2009 IndyCar Series season continues June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition (HD) at 9 p.m. (EDT) on VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. The radio broadcast also will be carried on
www.indycar.com, with broadcast coverage summaries available at
www.indycar.com and
www.sarahfisher.com.
Tagliani was named Rookie Of The Year:
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NDIANAPOLIS(AP)—Not bad for a guy whose qualification speed wasn’t good enough to make the Indianapolis 500.
Canadian driver Alex Tagliani, reinstated in the lineup after qualifications in place of veteran Bruno Junqueira, drove from 33rd to 11th in Sunday’s race and was selected rookie of the year at the victory banquet Monday night. His gain of 22 spots was the most of any driver in the race.
“As a driver, you know the car is fast enough to compete in the field, but you know from an exceptional situation we just got bumped,†he said of his original race car. “Obviously, with the (Junqueira) car we had, it was just unfortunate that we started so far back. The car was really, really good.â€
Tagliani, the regular driver for Conquest Racing, was bumped out of the starting field by Ryan Hunter-Reay on the last qualification attempt May 17.
At first, team owner Eric Bachelart said he would stick with Junqueira, who was a late hire for Indy only and had already qualified. But then he decided he couldn’t afford to jeopardize the sponsorship Tagliani had for the rest of the season. So Junqueira was out and Tagliani was back in, although as a replacement he had to start last.
“The only conversation I had with him was just to thank him, to be understanding, and that’s all,†Tagliani said of Junqueira, a former Indy pole starter who doesn’t have a full-time ride this season. “After that, I just spent a lot of time with the engineers to get settled in the second car and pretty much go forward from that.â€
Tagliani, who drove in the former CART/Champ Car series from 2000 until last year, has two 10th-place finishes, both on road courses, to go with his 11th place on the 2 1/2-mile oval at Indy in his three races for Conquest this season.
He received a prize of $295,305 at the victory dinner Monday night, including a $25,000 bonus as the race’s top newcomer. The other first-year drivers were England’s Mike Conway, who wound up 18th; Brazil’s Raphael Matos, who ran as high as fourth before a late crash left him 22nd; France’s Nelson Philippe, who was 25th; and Robert Doornbos of the Netherlands, who was 28th.
Hunter-Reay, who was the 2008 rookie of the year, crashed on the 20th lap Sunday and finished 32nd.
“I guess the consolation was just to win that rookie of the year trophy,†Tagliani said, “and showing that the team is not only good on road courses now, but is also pretty good on ovals.â€