Ameriquest 300 - Adrian Fernandez Notes

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
NO. 5 LOWE’S / HITACHI POWER TOOLS CHEVROLET
CALIFORNIA PREVIEW

Adrian Fernandez will drive the No. 5 Lowe’s / Hitachi Power Tools Chevrolet Saturday in the NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway. The race marks Fernandez’s first oval race in NASCAR. He is the winner of the 2004 Indy Racing League race at the Fontana track and the winner of the 1999 CART race on the two-mile oval. Fernandez tested with the Hendrick Motorsports team at the track on Aug. 15 and 16. He was the only driver on the track.

Q&A WITH DRIVER ADRIAN FERNANDEZ:

HOW BIG IS THE TASK YOU'VE TAKEN ON? "I'm so excited for this opportunity. I have not been driving a lot this year. I have just done two races: the Mexican race with Hendrick in the Busch car on a road course and I did the Indianapolis 500. Aside from that, I have not been doing much in the driving seat. I have been looking after Fernandez Racing, but that's it really. I'm excited for this opportunity. I felt great in the car during the two-day test we had at Fontana. It's going to be quite a challenge for me since a lot of things are going to be new. But also I feel I have the best team behind me. There are great people leading the team like Jim Long and older mechanics that I have known over the years going to different races and I feel very good chemistry there. I've always felt that to be successful you have to have good chemistry and I think we have that. We have great sponsors -- especially Lowe's. I feel really welcome and that gives me a huge boost to do well this weekend."

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND, DO YOU LOOK AT IT WITH NERVOUS EAGERNESS OR A BIT OF ANTICIPATION OR SOME OF BOTH? "To be honest, I'm not nervous. It sounds silly (but) this is totally different to me in some respect, but in others I have been racing for too many years and Fontana is a track that I know. There are a lot of things that I don't know here, but I have really prepared myself in all aspects with the team and testing and I've been asking a lot of questions. If you hear me talking to Jim Long I sound just like a kid. I ask all types of questions. That's the way I always approach things. I want to make sure I confirm things even though I think I know them. The procedures of restarts and things like that. I even watched the Bristol race where Kyle Busch came into the pits and they had a red flag and the pits were not open yet. Things like that -- little things that can put you out of contention for the race. Sometimes those little things are really the things that matter at the end of the day to get a good result. Those are things I have been trying to pay attention to. I've been talking to Jim Long a lot of that. Any question, any doubt, I have been asking. But the car felt good. Obviously I haven't felt the car in traffic. I expect the car to be moving more as all the race cars I have driven in ovals. But at the end of the day, my main goal is to finish the race. I feel if we finish the race, we'll be fine."

ON THE DIFFERENCE IN SPEEDS BETWEEN THE IRL CARS AND THE NASCAR STOCK CARS ON THE OVALS "It did feel very slow -- especially on the corners. It doesn't feel slow on the straight, but it does feel slow on the corners, especially after a few laps when the main grip of the tire has gone. But also the car moves a lot more so it's all relative. The car is a lot heavier and has a lot smaller tire. The way it moves is different than the way our cars move. The first few laps, I was saying to myself, 'What am I doing here?' It just doesn't feel right. But I had a few problems I needed to fix on the car. I was lifting. I felt I was lifting all the way to zero and I was not doing that, I was lifting 50 percent. The throttle was too long. The position of the pedal was not right for me. All of that was not letting me feel the car. These races are so long that the pedals are very soft -- especially the throttle. When you push the throttle, you don't really feel much of the acceleration on the spring load. So we fixed all that and after I came back the next day I felt really good. Then I could feel I was really learning a lot of things and that I could give some good input to the team about what the car was doing. The first few laps don't feel very good, but that's the same when we jump into the IRL. At Phoenix the first time, I had not tested. I just went straight into the car. And I just did not feel comfortable at all. The more laps I did -- close to 300 -- was really good. At the end of the day, I really felt good."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ INFORMATION: Adrian Fernandez is a familiar name to race fans, as the Mexico City native built a successful career spanning over 12 years at the top levels of open-wheel racing. Fernandez most recently competed in the Indianapolis 500 on May 29, and owns Fernandez Racing, the team that fields two Indy Racing League (IRL) entries for drivers Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsuura.

Fernandez began motocross racing at the age of eight in Mexico. He raced open-wheel cars in Mexico and Europe before joining the Championship Auto Racing Team (CART) series in 1993, posting eight career victories and 21 podium finishes through the 2003 season. In 2004, Fernandez joined the IRL, where he won three races, including two of the series’ final three events.

Fernandez is Mexico’s premier driver, and was nominated for Mexico’s National Sports Award – the 2004 Premio Nacional del Deporte – for his career achievements in auto racing. Fernandez has received numerous awards, including “Athlete of the Year,” in Mexico. Most recently, he was recognized at the Premios Fox Sports Awards for his contributions to Latin American auto racing.

In March, Fernandez made his first start in a stock car in the NASCAR Busch Series event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City. Starting 40th, Fernandez led four laps on his way to a 10th-place finish.

TEST SESSION: Adrian Fernandez tested at California Speedway with the No. 5 team on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 15 - 16. The session marked the first time Fernandez ever made laps in a stock car on an oval track. Members of the Team Lowe’s Racing crew attending the test said it only took Fernandez a handful of laps to get comfortable and begin posting competitive lap times.

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY: In five Busch Series starts at California Speedway, the No. 5 Lowe’s team has two top-10 finishes, both coming in 2004 with driver Kyle Busch. Last year in this event, Busch started fourth and finished ninth. In the February Busch Series event at California Speedway, Boston Reid qualified 30th and finished 22nd in the No. 5.

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 318- This chassis was added to the Hendrick Motorsports stable last season. Kyle Busch drove this chassis to a victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Most recently, Busch drove this car to a 36th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in July.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING: Howard Shipwash, the engine tuner for the No. 5 team, is originally from Long Beach, Calif., but moved to North Carolina at the age of seven. Shipwash has been with Hendrick Motorsports since 1996, and served as the engine tuner for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Jack Sprague, who won truck series championships for Hendrick in 1997, 1999 and 2001. Shipwash is not the only family member with a championship to his name. His brother, Doug Toland, who still lives in the Long Beach area, is a celebrated motorcycle racer, having won the World Endurance motorcycle championship in 1993.

MULTI-DRIVER TEAM: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew is competing for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points championship with seven different drivers.

Kyle Busch has driven the No. 5 in seven races, including a win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Boston Reid and Blake Feese have six starts apiece in the Lowe’s entry, with Reid’s best finish being a 17th-place result at Nashville Superspeedway in June, and Feese’s best finish being a 23rd-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

Jimmie Johnson drove the No. 5 in three races, scoring the team’s first pole position of 2005 at Darlington Raceway in May, and qualifying eighth the following weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Johnson’s best finish was a fifth-place result at Dover International Speedway in June.

Kyle Krisiloff made his Busch Series debut in the No. 5 at The Milwaukee Mile in June, and finished 40th in the Lowe’s Chevy at Michigan International Speedway in August. Krisiloff’s next start in the No. 5 is scheduled to come at Memphis Motorsports Park in October.

Open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez posted a top-10 finish in the Mexico City Busch Series race, and will drive the No. 5 at California Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Brian Vickers only scheduled start in the No. 5 this season came at Watkins Glen International earlier this month, where he finished third.

POINTS STANDING: Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 5 Lowe’s / Hitachi Power Tools entry, is 25th in the NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points standings after 26 events of the 35-race season.

SPONSOR: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing Chevy will carry the Hitachi Power Tools logo on its quarter panels this weekend. Hitachi Power Tools carries an extensive line of professional grade tools and accessories for residential construction, commercial construction, tradesman and Do-It-Yourselfers. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Hitachi Power Tools supplies nearly 4,000 retail locations and supports nearly 1,000 authorized service centers. Hitachi Power Tools, Spectracide and Sta Green join returning Lowe’s vendor partners Briggs & Stratton, Shop Vac and Pella as sponsors of the No. 5 team this season.