“Sarah to Complete IRL Season with
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing”

(Indianapolis) Fan favorite Sarah Fisher will race the remainder of the 2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) season in an Indianapolis-based Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (DRR) entry beginning with this Saturday night's SunTrust Indy Challenge at the Richmond International Raceway. Fisher will be competing in her third IRL race this year.

“It’s no secret that we’ve had an interest in getting Sarah back in the car,” said DRR co-owner/driver Robbie Buhl. “We want to make sure she’s competing. The best way to grow our professional relationship, and present her to new sponsorship opportunities, is to have her compete on the track.”

SunTrust Bank will be the primary sponsor of Fisher’s car for the Saturday night Richmond race. Beginning in Kansas, primary sponsorship will be provided by SmartBlade Premium Wiper Blades, a brand of Northbrook, Illinois-based Old World Industries. Associate sponsors include Allegra and Purex, who are continuing their support from the team’s earlier run at Indianapolis. Other associate additions include Jack K. Elrod and Company as well as Old World Industries’ brands Splitfire Spark Plugs and Peak Antifreeze.

“I’m thrilled to be back in the car and to be renewing my affiliation with the Dreyer and Reinbold team,” said Fisher. “We’ve developed a good chemistry and I know they share my commitment to fielding a first-class race team that produces results. I’m appreciative of the new partnerships with SmartBlade and SunTrust, as well as support from Allegra and Purex, in allowing us to rejoin the competition.”

Fisher finished 4th at Nazareth in her first race with DRR this season, filling in for the injured Buhl following his concussion at the Fontana, CA track. In May, she became the fastest woman ever to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, averaging more than 229 mph, and starting ninth on the grid in the #23 DRR entry.

“We’re fortunate to combine long-term Dreyer and Reinbold partners with new sponsorship additions for Sarah’s car,” said Dennis Reinbold, co-owner of DRR. “It’s been a time-consuming process, but our integrated marketing efforts with the team, the league, and “PROtential,”our external marketing company have solidified a strong race program.”

SmartBlade premium wiper blades is a new product for Northbrook, Illinois-based Old World Industries and has a revolutionary safety feature that allows a driver to be warned about wiper wear. “Sarah Fisher and the Indy Racing League are a perfect fit to help us launch the SmartBlade brand,” stated Jeffrey Stauffer, Vice President of Marketing for Old World Industries. “We have a rich history in motorsports and look forward to having Sarah and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing represent us professionally both on and off the track.”

SunTrust Bank was eager to become involved with Fisher’s return to the track for this race. In addition to serving as title sponsor for the Richmond race and as sponsor of an additional promotion that includes Fisher’s teammate Robbie Buhl, there was strong company encouragement by the Richmond-area SunTrust staff to assist Fisher’s return to RIR.

“Last year was our first year as the title sponsor for an IRL race, and we’re all a little new to this,” explained William C. Thornton, Jr., Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing for SunTrust Bank, Mid-Atlantic. “We met Sarah through casual interactions with our employees last year, and admire the way she handles herself both on and off the track. When we saw the reaction by fans and employees to Sarah, both locally here last year and at Indy this May, we knew we had to pull out all the stops to make this happen.”

A new addition to the car, both for Richmond and the remainder of the season is the Indianapolis-based Jack K. Elrod Company, an established Indiana company providing a variety of event structure services for sporting events and mass special events. Elrod also erected the first Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this spring, and hopes to market its ability to erect the walls, as well as its traditional grandstand business, at racetracks around the country.

“Sarah Fisher has the ability to fill grandstands, and we’re among the best in the business of building them-- it’s just a natural fit,” said Jeff Elrod, President of Jack K. Elrod Company. “We saw a young talent sitting on the sidelines and wanted to ensure she had the ability to compete in the major leagues of professional auto racing by providing sponsorship support to the Dreyer and Reinbold team.”

With Fisher’s ride with the team now cemented throughout the 2002 season, Buhl and DRR are ready to concentrate on the competitive arena.

“It’s time for us to take care of the issues at hand,” said Buhl. “We’re in this business to win races, and with most of the administrative process now behind us, we’re all ready to focus on putting our cars into the winner’s circle.”