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©2000 SpeedCenter
Interview/CART Teleconference, August 30, 2000 |
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T.E. McHALE: Good afternoon to everybody. Welcome to the CART Media Teleconference and thanks to all of you for being with us today. Our guest today is driver Adrian Fernandez of Patrick Racing who stands fourth in the FedEx Championship Series Championship heading into this weekend's Molson Indy Vancouver at Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, British Columbia. Good afternoon, Adrian, thanks for being with us today.
T.E. McHALE: Adrian, the driver of the No. 42 Tecate, Quaker State Patrick Racing Ford Reynard is in his 8th season in the FedEx Championship Series and his third with Patrick Racing. He owns six career victories; including one earlier this season at Rio de Janeiro and one career pole position. Beginning with that earlier victory at Rio, Adrian has scored championship points in 11 of his past 12 FedEx Championship Series starts with podium finishes of 2nd at Toronto, and 2nd in his most recent start at Road America. He owns 10 Top-10 finishes; five Top-5s, and has been running at the finish in 11 of 14 events this season, more than any other driver in the FedEx Championship Series. Adrian has finished 6th or better in 30 of his past 50 FedEx Championship Series starts dating to the 1997 season finale at California Speedway. He stands fourth in the FedEx Championship Series in laps completed, with 1,784 of a possible 2,012 and third in miles completed with 2,888.497 of a possible 3,309.751. Heading into this weekend's Molson Indy Vancouver, he stands fourth in the Championship with 103 points, but is only 3 points behind third place, Gil deFerran, of Marlboro Team Penske who has 106. The Molson Indy Vancouver, Round 15 of the FedEx Championship Series will be televised live on ABC this Sunday September 3rd beginning at 4 P.M. eastern time. With that, we will begin opening it up to questions for Adrian. Question: Often by the time you guys get to Vancouver the Championship is almost decided. This year it is up in the air. I wondered if you have ever seen it this competitive?
I think what is happening is just that -- well, firstly, Toyota got up to speed very strongly this year and most of the teams, their teams are running very strong. And everybody is just running better than ever. So it makes it a very, very competitive series. I am just glad we are consistent and we have been able to stay on the top of.
I like the city, it is one of my favorites. The track, unfortunately, has been changed for the last few years and I haven't driven this new section -- there are two sections that I haven't driven. I remember the last time I was there in the very fast section into the pits, I had a huge crash there. Now I think there is like a Chicane there and also into the back straight now, instead of having that Chicane, it is fast corner going into the back straight. I haven't been there. But I know most of the track; it will be nice to be back in Vancouver.
I can't tell you which side I am leaning more towards either towards doing my own team or being with another team or staying with Patrick Racing. I have talked to Pat about it. I have talked to different teams and to be honest, I have very good opportunities in both sides and at this time what I have to think is what is the best -- what does Adrian Fernandez want to do in the future. Where do I want to go. For how long I want to keep racing. Am I just going to be a driver or at some stage -- I have always been interested in doing my team, maybe not -- maybe not this early, but sometimes opportunity comes at times where you can't refuse doing those steps. So I have to consider all those things and there is some issues that have to be resolved in the next couple of weeks for me to be able to make my decision. What it is, I can tell you that it is going to be first-class.
I would like to see something happen after whenever I decide to retire. For me it will be very important to help other young Mexican drivers but also the key thing is to make the team competitive. It is not just going to be based on Mexican drivers. It is going to be based on the best talent that we can find. If that is what we decide to go, of course, with one big aim is to help Mexican drivers also. But at the same time, I have to -- with the team, it is a separation where you can control your destiny a little bit more and I think learned a lot of things where I can apply it in a way that I can do it directly instead of, you know, instead of through secondary people which you don't directly control. I think it's a challenge, but I have always have changes. You know, I am a driver that -- I am not just a driver. I have been dealing with my sponsors and the other side of the business for all my life. Doing a team will not be something strange to me since -- when I was in Mexico I used to own my team. Of course, this is a much, much higher level but at the same time everything is about people. I believe that if that happens I have the right people.
We were running competitive, but things were not happening. Just now I think everything is just getting into place where we should be, and this championship is very, very strong; it is very hard to finish in the races in the Top 6 consistently, and I think we have done a very good job in terms of -- with our team, with our pit stops, with our consistency on the track, and to be able to, I think, to win this Championship I believe we need to win a couple more races. But if we keep finishing also in the Top-5, I think we have a wig chance of winning it.
I just need to make the right choice at the end and hopefully I will make the good one.
So I am very proud of what we have done and achieved and, you know, this has been a very good example for my country in Mexico. That is what I have been talking about the possibility of doing our own team, that it will be a little sad just to -- all these things that we have been able to achieve through the years and learn, you know, all these experiences to just let it go like that. I think all this experience, all these things that I have been able to learn through, you know, hard work, through the years, it will be very useful if that manages to happen. Then I can pass that into whoever is part of the team and future of Mexico in racing.
Roger had a tough few years in the last seasons and he rebuilt completely his team and he has done a very good job and he deserves to be where he is because, you know, they worked very hard for it. Now what we have to do is try to stop them. The job they have been doing in modifying or just making that Reynard better, they are doing it really well. So what we have to do is try to beat them about what we have and that is the consistency; that is the -- you know, the strategies that we use in our races that have helped us to stay with these top teams. Newman/Haas, also Michael has been very consistent. But I believe Patrick Racing has the tools to be able to, at the end, to have the average and the opportunity to beat them.
As I say, the main thing is to be consistent. You may not be the quickest every weekend, but if you can qualify in the Top 6 to Top 8 every race, I think you have a good chance of finishing on the podium each race and that would put you in a very good way to fight for the Championship at the end.
So that is what we have to create in Mexico to be able to bring talented drivers for the future. And I am a big part of that. I have been trying to help as much as I can and when my opportunity comes I will be able to influence that into our future drivers.
What I have to prepare myself is for next year when I go to Mexico and race because that is going to be totally different and there is going to be so many people in Mexico, so many people that want to be with you that we sort of have to draw the line at some stage otherwise it will be very, very hard for us to perform. I think people at the end will understand.
In the last few years that is what I have been trying to do and I have spoken to our sponsors and they have been helping me and slowing down in some of the appearances, things like that, so I have more time to prepare myself to have time to relax and -- because sometimes you just need breaks. Especially with the season like it is now, it is very, very intense. You race one weekend; then you go testing; then you come back and you come home and basically you are unpacking and packing again. Sometimes you need a little break and recharge the batteries and keep going and get the excitement back into your body.
We don't need to be at this level that we are, we don't need to be on the track everyday. If we go on Friday and test for four hours, whatever, same for everybody, it is fine for us. The testing off-season is good. We just have to make sure that there is no loopholes. And everything is done in a fair way for everybody. But I think it is fantastic and I think if we even create more races in the future, we have to keep decreasing the testing. I think CART is in the same mind and I am very happy about that.
But I think the important thing is that some of them, they have made the jump too quickly and I mean, they went from, you know, small series in Mexico from other parts, and they went into Indy Lights which was a little bit too much. We need to -- I think in America we have great series like Formula Ford 2000 and all things like that that they can follow those steps before they even jump to Indy Lights. I remember when I was in Europe driving for Motor Ford 1600 people used to say you are spending too much time in this series, all that. I think most important thing, every time I made the step to a bigger series, you know, step up, I was always competitive. The problems sometimes when you go up into a series, you don't perform, it is very hard to keep your name and keep your momentum going so sometimes it is good to stay in lower series; once you win them, go to the next level; that way you can get to the top. That is what I am trying to help some of these Mexican drivers that they are coming along. In Mexico we have some series, after, that as I say, they can follow these steps in Formula 2000, things like that. America is doing it now, and trying to build up some American talent in that respect. And I think pretty soon we will see not just Mexican, but a lot of American talent coming up from lower series that they have in America right now.
I think it is a good decision and anything that goes in making safety better is a good thing. As I say, Michael has suggested that they have to be more testing or more maybe modification to the device to make it more comfortable. What happens is that for road course sometime it caughts your breathing, it caughts a little bit your movements and it a little bit con (inaudible) -- in the way you can be also bad in that respect. So they are trying to make some changes, some modifications, where we can use them in a road course in the same manner we can use them in -- on the ovals without affecting our driving and our mobility in the cockpit.
Adrian, thanks for being with us this afternoon. Best of luck in the Molson Indy Vancouver this weekend and through the rest of the FedEx Championship Series season.
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