Arizona 200 - Adrian Fernandez Notes

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
NO. 5 LOWE’S / SHOP VAC CHEVROLET
PHOENIX PREVIEW

Mexico City native Adrian Fernandez, who now lives in the Phoenix area, is making the fifth start of his NASCAR career in the No. 5 Lowe’s / Shop Vac Chevrolet this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Fernandez’s first race in America came in an Indy Lights victory at PIR in 1992. Fernandez is driving the Hendrick Motorsports entry in selected races this season in the Busch Series.

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ QUOTES:

Phoenix: “Phoenix is a very special place for me. The first time I came to America to race was in Indy Lights. I won the race. I had never been on an oval in my life and never driven a car so powerful. That was a breakthrough for my career and took me to the next level. That three-race deal turned into a full season. It is a special place to me not just because of that. Phoenix is where I have lived for eight years. We love the city, we love the people there. It’s been a great home.

“We tested there last week and really had a good test. I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable each week in this car. I want to have a good run there. When you are used to running at the front of the pack, it’s hard to be at the back. But I am staying patient trying to learn everything I can. This is going to take time, but I feel as confident about Phoenix this weekend as I have about any of the races so far.”

NASCAR Experience: “Well it has been difficult but we knew it would be difficult. The competition in NASCAR is amazing. Just a few tenths of a second separates the guys at the front of a 43-car field from the guys at the back of the field. But everyone has been incredibly nice to me and my wife Catalina. The drivers have all come over and talked and Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports have been very support. NASCAR is a lot more modern and sophisticated than I thought it was. Driving these cars is so different from what I have been doing in racing over the last 23 years. It’s a challenge. I am here to have fun and enjoy myself. I want to run well, but I’m doing this for fun.”

Bringing New Fans to NASCAR: “I hope we can do that. The Mexican fans are just learning about NASCAR. The Mexico City Busch race was such a huge success and I hope we have brought attention by running the races we have run. I think you will see more and more Mexican fans take an interest in NASCAR in the coming years especially if you see Mexican drivers get involved. You are starting to see NASCAR everywhere. Lowe’s made a commercial with me the other day that has been airing on the Spanish television channels. I think NASCAR’s exposure is growing every day because of things like that.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF CHAD WALTER:

HOW DID THE TEST SESSION GO AT PHOENIX? “It went extremely well, even better than I expected. We got to try all but one thing I wanted to try. I don’t know how well we’ll qualify, but I feel really good about our race setup.”

THIS WAS A TWO-DAY TEST SESSION. DID THE EXTRA DAY HELP? “Oh, absolutely. The extra day gave Adrian a chance to kind of digest everything from the first day, then he came back and was able to apply what he learned, instead of it just being ‘go, go, go’ the whole time. It was extremely helpful.”

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU AND ADRIAN HAVE WORKED TOGETHER. HOW IS YOUR COMMUNICATION? “I think he and I got up to speed with each other very quickly. It probably only took us the first half of the first day. I never had a problem understanding what he meant when he talked about how the car felt to him. You know, I think there are just guys who just know how to communicate that info, and there’s guys who just can’t. He’s one of the ones who can.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 327- Chassis No. 327 is new to the Hendrick Motorsports stable of cars for 2005.

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: In four Busch Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, the No. 5 team has three top-five finishes. In 2002, David Green drove the No. 5 to a fifth-place result, while Brian Vickers started sixth and finished third in 2003. Kyle Busch won the pole position and led all but 53 laps on his way to a runner-up finish in last year’s event. In April, Boston Reid posted a 39th-place finish after being involved in a wreck on lap 83 of the 200-lap event.

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ’ HISTORY AT PHOENIX INT’L. RACEWAY (PIR): Adrian Fernandez competed in Championship Auto Racing Team (CART) events at PIR in both 1994 (finishing 10th) and 1995 (finishing 12th). Last season, Fernandez started 13th and finished 20th in the Indy Racing League (IRL) race at PIR.

TEST SESSION: Adrian Fernandez and the No. 5 Lowe’s team tested at Phoenix International Raceway on Monday, Oct. 31, and Tuesday, Nov. 1.

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ: Fernandez is a familiar name to race fans, as the Mexico City native has spent the past 12 years at the top levels of open-wheel racing. A lack of sponsorship has kept Fernandez from driving full-time in the Indy Racing League (IRL) this season, but he did compete in the Indianapolis 500 in May, and owns Fernandez Racing, the team that fields 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 premiere 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.

Fernandez’ first stock car race on an oval track came at California Speedway in September, where he finished 28th. Last month, Fernandez drove the No. 5 to a 40th-place result at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Last weekend, Fernandez finished 43rd at Texas Motor Speedway. He is also scheduled to drive the Lowe’s car in the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

MULTI-DRIVER TEAM: The No. 5 Lowe’s team has worked with seven different drivers this season, including Kyle Busch, who scored the team’s first win of 2005 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.

Boston Reid and Blake Feese each made six starts in the Lowe’s entry.

Jimmie Johnson drove the No. 5 in three races, scoring the team’s first pole position of 2005 at Darlington Raceway in May.

Kyle Krisiloff made his Busch Series debut in the No. 5 at The Milwaukee Mile in June, and also drove the Lowe’s Chevy at Michigan International Speedway and Memphis Motorsports Park.

In his NASCAR debut, open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez drove the No. 5 to a top-10 finish in the Mexico City Busch Series race. Fernandez also drove at California Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. He will also drive the No. 5 in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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

POINTS: Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 5 Lowe’s / Shop Vac entry, sits 25th in the NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points standings after 33 events of the 35-race season.

SPONSOR: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing Chevy will carry the logos of Shop Vac on its quarter panels this weekend. Shop Vac is the recognized world leader in wet/dry vacuum cleaners. Shop Vac is one of six Lowe’s vendor partners (with Sta Green, Spectracide, Hitachi Power Tools, Briggs & Stratton, and Pella Windows and Doors) sharing placement on the No. 5’s quarter panels this season.