Fisher hooks ResQ for return.

The ResQ Pure Power energy drink brand has agreed to sponsor Sarah Fisher's eponymous IndyCar Series team when it takes to the track for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 next month.

Having decided to branch out on her own this season, Fisher will undertake a limited programme including the events at Kentucky and Chicagoland, with a view to expanding the number of races in 2009. The Indy 500 on 25 May, however, remains her main focus for the coming campaign, and the deal with ResQ ensures that the #67 Dallara-Honda will be in pit-lane ready for qualifying.

"I am very excited to welcome ResQ to SFR to help them leverage the excitement of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500," the category's only female owner-driver, who announced the formation of Sarah Fisher Racing in February, commented, ""ResQ is an all-natural energy drink, and that aligns perfectly with what my brand represents. ResQ is very big-picture orientated and understands the value of the IndyCar Series, and we are happy to provide that platform to them for their marketing efforts."

Recently launched, ResQ jumps into the growing energy drink market with a carbonated non-alcoholic, all-natural product, and sees the partnership with SFR as a key platform to raising awareness.

"The opportunity to be associated with the second female driver/owner team to enter the Indianapolis 500 is a monumental event, one that we know many sponsors would love to be presented with," Anthony Venturoso, president of ResQ business partner Gravity Motorsports, said, "Further, to be associated with a female-owned team works perfect with our brand, as ResQ Pure Energy Power Drink's primary market is to the female population.

"We view the Indianapolis 500 audience and Sarah Fisher as the perfect place and avenues in which to roll out, market and promote the newest and most unique energy drink on the market today."

Addressing the media, Fisher admitted that being a team owner was something that she had always had in her sights, but stopped short of talking long-term while she focused on the Brickyard this season.

"When you're racing as a driver, and when you have a big group of people in your family that has input and knows what they're doing, you think about the way that you want to maybe move forward and some things that you would do differently," she explained, "I married my crew chief, Andy O'Gara, and, obviously, our year last year went well because we went through with the wedding.....

"But, in thinking our plans for the future as a married couple, we got to thinking about taking it [running a team] ourselves and being able to make the decisions that we wanted to make. I think he's the one that originally brought it up - so it's all on his shoulders, right?

"It's something we're very passionate about, and we started to talk to a bunch of people, all of our marketing partners and the people from the Speedway and [whether] it would be ridiculous to do, or could we fully execute it? It was very positive feedback, everybody was behind it and so we went to start selling it. But it wouldn't have happened without Tony [Venturoso] and our partnership with ResQ. That's a very important partnership going forward because it's very difficult, in your first year, to get rolling."

Asked whether she envisaged a bigger operation in years to come, Fisher admitted that it had crossed her mind, but been confined to the back of it for now.

"I would love to be a two-car team - man, that would be amazing, right?" she smiled, "But, right now, we have to focus on our first car effort and make sure it's a solid one, that we have solid results. We have solid expectations, so we need to meet those first. If there would be an opportunity at Indy to run a second car if it makes sense to our team financially, we'll do so. We're not afraid to branch out - we weren't afraid to start here and go forward."

Whilst acknowledging the bonus money on offer for completing the entire season, Fisher admitted that it would have been foolhardy to try and do too much in 2008, but revealed that there were plans in the pipeline for a bigger programme next year.

"We're going to start our season at Indy and finish up with just Kentucky and Chicago right now - that's the plan," she confirmed, "I think that's great, the [bonus money] structure they've put in place, but it certainly doesn't support a team for the whole year. That doesn't equate to the sponsorship dollars that you need to run every single race. It's in addition and it helps, but it's not the whole bucket.

"[Going full-time next year is] our plan right now, and some of what we're looking at with Tony and going forward. He said there's more exciting stuff we want to release here soon, so.we would love to do that. This isn't just a start-up year that's going to end at the end of the year. We're a full-fledged team going forward. We have big plans for the future, and this is the start.

"This gives us the year to build on, gives us a year to sort out who's running the team, who does what. Fortunately, for myself as the driver/owner commitment goes, I don't run the team on a day-to-day basis, so that makes the commitment to being a driver a hundred per cent, as it was before."

In addition to ResQ, AAA Hoosier Auto Insurance and TAG Heuer watches will continue to sponsor Fisher, who's presence on US billboards rivals that of Danica Patrick.

"AAA has put a lot of emphasis and activation thought into the market, especially Indianapolis," she commented, "We're working on growing that relationship - they even stepped it up this year to become part of our on-track programme as well as myself, personally. So that will continue to grow - you'll continue to see more commercials than you can stand! TAG Heuer is going to do some billboards this year, so that's going to go back where that relationship was in 2003. So [the amount of exposure is] going to get worse - sorry!"