Fresh from his sixth career FedEx ChampionshipSeries victory at the April 30 Rio 200, Adrian Fernandez of Patrick Racingtravels across the Pacific Ocean and heads into some really uncharted watersin Saturday's Firestone Firehawk 500 at Twin Ring Motegi, Japan.

Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) has won thefirst two FedEx Championship Series events contested on Twin Ring's1.549-mile oval, which began hosting Champ Cars in 1998. Now, Fernandezseeks to become the first driver to win the first three events contested atany FedEx Championship Series venue, current or inactive, in Saturday's500-kilometer (312-mile) test.

Fernandez' victory at Rio de Janeiro - the fourth different country in whichhe has recorded a Champ Car triumph - moved him into fifth place in thechampionship with 20 points. Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOLGreen leads with 48 points, built on consecutive podium finishes of third atHomestead, first at Long Beach and third at Rio de Janeiro. Tracy'scareer-best finish in two appearances at Motegi is fifth in 1998.

With successive finishes of fourth at Homestead, third at Long Beach andsecond at Rio, Jimmy Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) of Target/Chip GanassiRacing holds down second in the championship with 42 points. Vasser is aformer pole winner at Japan, having claimed the 1998 pole position whenqualifying was rained out and the starting grid was based on combinedpractice times. He has also scored championship points in both of hisappearances at Motegi, with finishes of seventh in '98 and 12th last year.

Fernandez' Patrick Racing teammate, Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard)stands third in the championship with 28 points. He has scored in all threeevents to date with finishes of second at Homestead, matching a career-best,ninth at Long Beach and sixth at Rio de Janeiro.

Max Papis (Miller Lite Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal, winner of the seasonopener at Homestead, holds down fourth in the championship with 20 points.Though he and Fernandez have each scored 20 points, Papis is ranked higherbased on next best finish, 16th at Rio.

The Firestone Firehawk 500 will mark the return of rookie Walker Racingdriver Shinji Nakano (Avex Honda Reynard), who has been sidelined sincesustaining several small brain contusions during a March 31 testing accidentat The Milwaukee Mile. Nakano made an impressive FedEx Championship Seriescareer debut with an eighth-place finish in the season opener at Homesteadfive days prior to his accident.

Meanwhile, Brazilian Tarso Marques (Panasonic/Swift Ford Swift) makes his2000 season debut in a new entry formed by Swift Engineering and Dale CoyneRacing. Marques made his FedEx Championship Series career debut at Japanlast year with Marlboro Team Penske, starting 22nd and finishing 14th.

Following the Firestone Firehawk 500, the FedEx Championship Series returnsstateside, where it will resume with the Miller Lite 225 on Sunday, June 4at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis.

WHO'S HOT

Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) has finished on the podium in eachof the three FedEx Championship Series events contested in 2000, withfinishes of third at Homestead and Rio de Janeiro sandwiched around avictory at Long Beach. He has an impressive run of eight podium finishes inhis last 13 starts, dating to a runner-up effort at Toronto last year. Tracyleads the FedEx Championship Series with 48 points, six ahead ofsecond-place Jimmy Vasser.

Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) has finished among the top four driversin his past three starts while improving on each occasion. He took fourth inthe season opener at Homestead, improved to third at Long Beach and wasrunner-up to winner Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick RacingFord Reynard) at Rio de Janeiro. Vasser stands second in the championshipwith 42 points.

Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard) has scored championship pointsin each of his three starts this season to rank third in the championship,with 28 points. He matched a career-best finish with a runner-up effort inthe season opener at Homestead, then added finishes of ninth at Long Beachand sixth at Rio de Janeiro. In six previous seasons of full and partialFedEx Championship Series competition, Moreno's best finish is 14th, lastyear.

Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) has earned two pole positionsthis season, at Homestead and Long Beach, and has gone on to race-high lapsled totals of 41 at Homestead and 30 at Long Beach. He stands second in theseries with 71 laps led and stands seventh in the championship with 18points.

Alex Tagliani (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard) comes toJapan off a performance which saw him record the first pole position of hisFedEx Championship Series career at Rio de Janeiro, then go on to lead arace-high 76 laps before a pair of late race spins relegated him to a13th-place finish. His fourth-place effort a Long Beach stands as thehighest for a rookie this season and he leads his five fellow rookies in theJim Trueman Rookie of the Year Award standings, with 18 points, ranking himsixth in the championship overall.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Adrian Fernandez has been the dominant driver en route to victory ineach of the first two FedEx Championship Series events contested at TwinRing Motegi. He led 102 laps en route to victory in the inaugural event in1998 and led 153 laps last year. Fernandez has led 255 of 402 laps (63.4percent) contested at Japan over the past two years. In addition, he startedon the outside pole in 1998.

Gil de Ferran owns a pair of podium finishes and a pole position inhis two career appearances at Twin Ring Motegi. He finished third in 1998and was runner-up to Fernandez last year, when he won the pole at an averagespeed of 219.000 miles per hour (25.463 seconds). He has led 29 laps in hiscareer at Japan, four in 1998 and 25 last year.

Tony Kanaan (Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Mercedes Reynard) has finishedsixth in each of his two career starts at Twin Ring Motegi, in 1998 and '99.His top start of 10th at the venue came in 1998.

Jimmy Vasser has scored championship points in both of his starts atTwin Ring Motegi, with finishes of seventh in 1998 and 12th last year. Hewas also awarded the pole position in 1998 after qualifying was rained outand the cars were gridded according to practice times. Vasser led 44 of 201laps at Twin Ring Motegi in 1998.

Helio Castro-Neves (Marlboro Honda Reynard) has scored championshippoints in both career appearances at Twin Ring Motegi. He finished 11th in1998 and ninth last year.

MANUFACTURING SUCCESS

Thanks to Adrian Fernandez' two victories, Ford has been thedominant engine manufacturer at Twin Ring Motegi to date. In addition toFernandez' performance, Ford also received a podium result from ChristianFittipaldi, who finished third last year.

Honda-powered drivers have claimed both pole positions at Twin RingMotegi, with Jimmy Vasser being awarded the pole in 1998 after qualifyingwas rained out and the starting grid was based on practice times, and Gil deFerran qualifying on the pole last year.

Thanks to Vasser, Toyota has improved its "best-ever finish" in fiveseasons of FedEx Championship Series competition through each of the firstthree rounds of the 2000 championship. Vasser finished fourth in theseason-opener at Miami, matching Toyota's best-ever finish established byCristiano da Matta at Nazareth last year. Vasser followed up with Toyota'sfirst podium result, a runner-up performance at Long Beach, then improved onthat with a runner-up result to Adrian Fernandez at Rio de Janeiro.

MILESTONES

Michael Andretti's next triumph will allow him to set a CART recordfor most seasons with at least one race victory. Andretti(Big/Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola), CART's all-time victory leader with38, is currently tied for the top spot with Rick Mears. Both have notched atleast one victory in 12 seasons. Andretti is in his 17th season of FedExChampionship Series competition.

NOTEWORTHY

Adrian Fernandez' consecutive victories in the first two FedExChampionship Series events contested at Twin Ring Motegi have put him in aposition to become the first driver ever to win the first three eventscontested at any FedEx Championship Series venue, active or inactive.Already, Fernandez is in some pretty heady company with his back-to-backvictories in Japan. The last driver to win the first two CART eventscontested at a given venue was Mario Andretti, who won at Long Beach in 1984and '85 before his son, Michael won in '86. Others include Bobby Unser, whowon twice at Trenton in 1979 and at Watkins Glen in 1979 and '80; RickMears, who won at Mexico City in 1980 and '81 and at Riverside (Calif.) in1981 and '82; Johnny Rutherford, who won twice at Atlanta in 1979; and AlUnser Jr., who won at Denver in 1990 and '91. In addition, Teo Fabi won thefirst FedEx Championship Series event contested at Laguna Seca Raceway in1983 before Bobby Rahal won the next four in succession, from 1984-87.

Swift Engineering and Dale Coyne Racing announced last week thatthey have formed a new FedEx Championship Series entry which will debut atthis weekend's Firestone Firehawk 500. The Ford-powered Swift will be drivenby Brazilian Tarso Marques (Panasonic/Swift Ford Swift) with sponsorshipfrom Panasonic. Team management personnel will be supplied by Swift from itsSan Clemente, Calif.-based operation. Peter Scott and Casper van der Schoot,formerly of Hogan Racing, will serve as team manager and chief engineer,respectively. Marques made his FedEx Championship Series debut at Twin RingMotegi last year and finished the season with six starts for Marlboro TeamPenske. His best finish was ninth at Rio de Janeiro in his homeland ofBrazil. He also did some testing for Dale Coyne Racing during the 1999pre-season. Swift competed for the FedEx Championship Series Constructor'sChampionship from 1997-99, with four victories and 21 additional podiumfinishes in 157 starts. Its best championship finish came from MichaelAndretti, who finished fourth last year.

Walker Racing driver Shinji Nakano (Avex Honda Reynard) has beenadded to the entry list for the Firestone Firehawk 500 in his homeland ofJapan. Nakano has missed the past two events after sustaining several smallbrain contusions during a March 31 testing accident at The Milwaukee Mile.He made a strong start to his rookie campaign, finishing eighth in the FedExChampionship Series season opener at Homestead on March 31.

Player's Forsythe Racing announced last week that driver PatrickCarpentier (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard) will be sidelinedfrom this weekend's Firestone Firehawk 500 while he continues hisrecuperation from a slight fracture in his left wrist, sustained in anaccident last month at his Las Vegas home. It had been hoped that Carpentierwould be back in the car at Motegi, but his return was delayed followingexamination by Dr. Terry Trammell, CART's chief orthopedic consultant, lastweek. "I really expected that I'd get the go-ahead from the doctor, becauseI didn't have any trouble when I moved my wrist, and there was no pain whenI lifted weights during my rehabilitation," said Carpentier, who now figuresto return to competition at the rescheduled May 27 Bosch Spark Plug GrandPrix Presented by Toyota at Nazareth Speedway. "My wrist did feel a bitdifferent when the doctor removed my cast ... but when he told me hecouldn't clear me to come back right away, it caught me off guard. I'mextremely disappointed, but all I can do is abide by his judgement. Hesimply didn't want me to take some unnecessary risks that might aggravatethe injury and delay my return even longer." Despite missing two of threeFedEx Championship Series events contested to date, Carpentier stands 13thin the championship with 10 points, built on a strong fifth-place finish inthe season opener at Homestead.

ON THE AIR

The Firestone Firehawk 500 will be aired via tape delay by ABC-TV onSunday, May 14, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

FIRESTONE FIREHAWK 500 "QUOTEBOARD"

MARK BLUNDELL (MOTOROLA PACWEST MERCEDES-BENZ): "We have proven we can run at the front, we just need to get our qualifying performance together so we don’t waste all our energy on fighting our way through the field.We have all the ingredients, we just need to put them together.Mercedes-Benz have been working hard to give us the best engine package possible and it would be a great reward for them and the PacWest team if we could come up with a win and upset the Japanese manufacturers this weekend."

MAURICIO GUGELMIN - (NEXTEL PACWEST MERCEDES-BENZ):"We have been struggling in qualifying and it is no secret that that’s an area we have to improve on if we are to score some serious points. We qualified on the front row at Motegi last year and there is no reason why we cannot do that, or go even one better this weekend.We may not have won a race so far this year, but our performances have not been as bad as the points table may indicate. We are getting closer (to a win) every time we go out."

PAUL TRACY (KOOL Honda Reynard), on leading the FedEx Championship Seriespoints race: "It's great to be leading the championship heading to Motegi,but everyone on Team KOOL Green knows that the only time it really counts isafter Fontana [season finale]. That's our goal, and we know we're onlygoing to get there by taking it one race at a time. Next up is Motegi, andwe're just looking to stay consistent. Our plan is to get a good setup onthe car in practice, qualify as best we can and avoid making any mistakes inthe race. If we can do that, and good luck continues to smile on us, we'llbe there in the end with a chance to rack up some more points. I alwaysenjoy racing in Japan. Twin Ring Motegi is an awesome facility and theJapanese fans are just incredible. They really follow the series and arevery nice about asking for autographs and stuff. Motegi will always be aspecial place for me to race because it was the first place I turned laps inthe KOOL car, when we went over there for a demonstration in late '97."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (KOOL Honda Reynard), on turning his season around at TwinRing Motegi: "I'd like to think we've gotten all of our bad races out of theway for the season and that we can get back on our game at Motegi. With itbeing Honda's home track and a Firestone-sponsored race, it certainly wouldbe a good time to turn things around. But as bad as things have gone I'vegot to say I'm really proud of the guys on Team KOOL Green. They've notgotten down and lost their focus or any of their will to win. If anything,they miss the good times that come with winning and are that much moredetermined to get back on top. Motegi is one of the best racing events inthe world in or out of Champ Car racing. The facility is second to none -and I don't just mean the circuit and garages, but the hotel, road course,dirt oval and Honda museum - it's just fantastic. And the fans always amazeyou with their knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport. It really makes youfeel good to be a part of this series and you want to go out and put on agreat race."

BARRY GREEN, Team KOOL Green owner, on the first-class Twin Ring Motegifacility: "You just can't say enough good things about racing at Twin RingMotegi. Everyone at Team KOOL Green looks forward to the race because theorganizers always do a first-class job and the fans are as devoted to ChampCar racing as any in the world. What more could you ask for? Well, I guessa win would be nice for either of our drivers. Paul has got a good seasonunderway and you can't score too many points. For Dario, this would be theplace to get that first oval win and start putting some big points on theboard this season. And for Team KOOL Green, it would be especially sweet towin the race for our partners at Honda and Firestone."

GIL de FERRAN (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on his past performance at Twin RingMotegi: "In the two years we've raced in Motegi, I've achieved a reasonableamount of success. Given my record there and most recent form with MarlboroTeam Penske, I look forward to another good showing. Our yearly trip toJapan is always a great pleasure because it's Honda's home and a lot ofpeople associated with Honda come out to support us. The Japanese fans areextremely knowledgeable, polite and kind."

HELIO CASTRO-NEVES (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on his memories of racing inJapan: "Japan will always be a special race for me because it's where Iscored my first CART points [with an 11th-place finish in 1998] and I hadthe fastest lap of the race [25.830 seconds] there last year. Marlboro TeamPenske has been working really hard and overall, we're pleased with theprogress the team has made so far this season. I look forward to racing inMotegi with Honda power this year. I'd love to get my first win there andgive Honda its first victory at home."

MICHAEL ANDRETTI (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola), on capitalizing onthe strength he has shown at Twin Ring Motegi in the past: "I think the BigKmart/Texaco/ Havoline team will be very competitive in Japan this year.We've done well in the race the last couple of years but have had a lot ofbad luck so we feel we are due to win one. We built a big lead on secondplace in 1998 but I ran out of fuel on my 'in' lap due to a miscalculation.Last year, we were in second place on the last stop and second gear brokewhich cost us a podium finish at the least. We have had some bad luck interms of equipment this year but we know the Ford-Lola combination is one ofthe best and we know the team is capable of winning. We just needeverything to come together in Japan and get the ball rolling."

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI (Big Kmart/Route 66 Ford Lola), on last year'sthird-place finish at Japan: "I was surprised when Greg [Moore] spun onthe last few laps last year but I was more than happy to move up to a podiumfinish from fourth place. We were competitive all afternoon in the race,though, so I am confident that we will be competitive again. I didn't runmuch in the 1998 race because we had an engine problem early on. I learnedsome good tricks during the race last year and I think we can capitalize onthe experience this year. Not only did I learn a lot in the race but Ithink the team has learned a lot about the Motegi track and I think we canmake an even better racecar out of the knowledge. I'm looking forward torunning there and putting the Big Kmart/Route 66 car on the podium again."

ALEX TAGLIANI (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard), on thedisappointment of being denied his first career Champ Car victory at Rio deJaneiro: "After we were so close in Rio, a lot of people have told me tohang in there and not get discouraged. I appreciate their words ofencouragement and, believe me, I'm not down at all. In fact, there were somany positives coming out of the last race that I'm convinced we're closerthan ever to getting that first win under our belt. I know that winning thefirst one is always the toughest, especially when you're a rookie, buteverything is clicking with the Player's team. I think the fact we were ableto get the pole and lead for most of the race in Rio is a sign that we'reright there. We just need to put in that extra effort and maybe get a luckybreak to put us over the top. Hopefully, that will be at the Twin Ring inMotegi. I've never raced there but I know the Ford-powered cars like ourChamp Car have won both of the races held there thus far."

MEMO GIDLEY (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard), on continuing inhis role as a replacement driver for the injured Patrick Carpentier: "I lookat the race at Motegi as another opportunity for me to perform to the bestof my ability and try to contribute to a win for the Player's team. I wasn'tsure how many races I'd have when Player's called on me to fill in forPatrick [Carpentier], but right from the start I was determined to give iteverything I've got. I'm pleased with the way things have gone so far. Itwas nice to get into the points in Rio in my first-ever CART race on an ovaltrack. Being up with the leaders at Rio gives us a big boost of confidenceas far as handling the oval circuit at Motegi. When you come in as areplacement driver, you want to be able to contribute so the team canmaintain a certain continuity in the driver's absence. With the help of thetop-notch Player's crew, I think I've been able to do that. If I've scored afew points with people in the CART series in the process, so much thebetter."

CRISTIANO da MATTA (Pioneer Toyota Reynard), on continuing the momentumgenerated by a fourth-place finish in Brazil: "I am really excited to returnto Japan for a lot of reasons. We had such a great finish [fourth] inBrazil, matching our best ever. The whole Pioneer team is really pumped upto break that record as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to spendingsome time with Pioneer and Toyota at their headquarters. It meant a lot to me to be the highest finishing Brazilian inRio, and I hope to honor Pioneer and Toyota by bringing home another specialfinish for them in their home country. And finally, because I love the fansin Japan. I can't believe how many fans remember me and the team from lastyear, so to see them again should be a lot of fun."

LUIZ GARCIA JR. (Hollywood/Embratel/Tang/Banco Sofisa Mercedes Reynard),looking to build on back-to-back points-paying finishes at Long Beach andRio de Janeiro: "I'm really looking forward to Japan. I had a lot of fun atMotegi last season and it's a track that let's you fly. The first corner isreally quick and you have to be careful all the way around. The fans arealso fun. In many ways it's a lot like Brazil with the track and fans.They are like my countrymen, very passionate about racing. They are alsopolite and do their homework because they recognize us at the track. Theyare very exciting and a little crazy, too. As for the race, we are gainingmomentum. Scoring two points in two straight races has been great and Ifeel we can only go higher with more time in the 2000Hollywood-Embratel-Reynard car. The Mercedes-Benz engine has been a goodone as has the car and Firestone tires. My expectations are higher and verypromising. We want to show the fans a great race."