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Thursday, April 19
Fernández still working out the kinks
By Adrián Fernández
Special to ESPN.com
We are coming off our last major break in the schedule before the CART season really gets underway with the Firestone Firehawk 600 next weekend – the start of back-to-back race weekends and our trip to Japan next month.
I have been fairly busy this past week and a half. Three days after Long Beach, I went to Texas Motor Speedway for a media day. The facility is very impressive. It's a fantastic place, and I think this is an extremely important market for our series.
|  | | Adrián Fernández spent his time off getting acquainted with Texas Motor Speedway. |
It's a great opportunity for our fans in the area to visit us and see us in person, which sometimes they don't have the chance to do. As people get more familiar with the series, our following there will grow.
Obviously, we have never raced there before, and it's another kind of racing with the banking. It is much more steeply banked than Michigan or California. It's going to be quite different and exciting.
We weren't one of the teams that tested there, but any time you run on a new circuit it is challenging because everyone is starting more or less with a blank sheet of paper. Hopefully, we will be able to dial the cars in quickly.
I think it should be good racing. The IRL have had some good races there, and I think our cars will put on a good show too. We are all very excited to go there.
After my visit to Texas, I went to our race shop in Indianapolis for a few days. We are working very hard on a lot of issues, and Tom [Anderson] and I sat down and went over where we need to improve and what we need to focus on next. We are still learning and growing as a team. We have two races under our belts now, and I expect in another two or three races that we will be 100 percent.
It's taking more time than I thought. Why? Because I've never done it before and it is more complex than I thought. (And I can't complain any more about team owners!) It's nobody's fault - it's a brand new team and it just takes time. There are so many details to work on. I think Texas will be a big step for us, and we are planning to make every race a big step to get more organized and to get more settled.
The next four events are oval races and, hopefully, we will be able to pick up the pace. By the time we are in Detroit, we expect to be in the top 12 with both cars. That's our aim. Shinji [Nakano] scored the first championship point for Fernández Racing at Long Beach, and there's definitely more to come.
I've spent the last five days in Phoenix, and I'm leaving today for a few days - a birthday break. My birthday's tomorrow and I'll be, what, 28? Just kidding. That's in racing years! I am going to take a few days with completely no work.
Actually, with the first two races being separated by such a long time, it seems like I have more time this year to work out and focus on various projects. In that respect, I feel pretty fit. I feel good. After next Wednesday, it is going to start getting hectic so we better enjoy it while we can.
2000 CART runner-up Adrián Fernández, who drives the No. 51 Tecate/Quaker State/Telmex Honda/Reynard car, will provide a weekly diary to ESPN.com throughout the 2001 season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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