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IndyCar
INDYCAR: SFR Signs Rahal
Sarah Fisher has snapped Graham Rahal off the unemployment line for the races at St. Petersburg and Birmingham, Ala.
Robin Miller  |  Posted March 10, 2010   Indianapolis, IN
Sarah Fisher and sponsor Dollar General will have American ace Graham Rahal for the second and third rounds of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series championship. (LAT)
In a series woefully short of red, white and blue, one American has come to the aid of another.

Sarah Fisher, who knows all about being abandoned by the IndyCar series, has snapped Graham Rahal off the unemployment line for the races at St. Petersburg and Birmingham, Ala.

Rahal, the fastest rising star in IndyCar who was left rideless when Newman/Haas couldn't find a sponsor, will wheel Fisher's No. 67 Dollar General Dallara/Honda in the first North American events of 2010.

"I was very impressed when I came to visit the shop and I really respect Sarah for what she's put together because she doesn't have a huge budget but she's got a good little team," said Rahal, who was in Fisher's Indianapolis shop on Wednesday being fitted for a seat and will test next week at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

"I appreciate her giving me this opportunity and I'm going to do everything I can to make a splash for her and Dollar General."

The 21-year-old son of the three-time CART champion has been trying to put something together with Chip Ganassi for the past two months but nothing has materialized yet so this was perfect timing.

"I was sitting at Buffalo Wild Wings in OxFord, Ohio with my girlfriend watching television when Andy (O'Gara, chief mechanic and Sarah's husband) called me a few days ago," related Rahal, who captured his IndyCar series debut at St. Pete and was on the pole there a year ago.

"It's been a pretty frustrating winter and now I can get back to being a race driver."

Fisher, who had been approached to make this announcement on WIND TUNNEL last Sunday but had to decline because the deal had not been finalized, has done a nice job of recovering from IndyCar's philosophical changes. She was the IRL's most popular driver in 2000-2001-2002 after becoming the first female to ever win an IndyCar pole and score a podium (third at Kentucky in 2000 and second at Homestead in 2001).

But, despite her popularity, the IRL didn't step in to find her good rides and following 2004 when she made only one start, Fisher tried stock cars in 2005. She formed her own team in 2008 and made three starts before running six times last season.

Because IndyCar is now top-heavy with road races and she's an oval tracker, Sarah hired Jay Howard for five races this year and she was planning on driving St. Pete and Alabama herself (in addition to seven ovals) before deciding that getting young Rahal could be a benefit to everyone.

"Dollar General's home office is in Goodlettsville [Tennessee] and obviously Graham is a helluva talent so it makes a lot of sense," was Fisher's stance last Sunday.

Also, Dale Coyne revealed the worst-kept secret in IndyCar today, confirming they've hired Englishman Alex Lloyd to drive the Boy Scouts of America IndyCar...

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