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Thursday, May 3  Team starting to put it together By Adrián Fernández Special to ESPN.com The postponement of last Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway was very unfortunate, but I would have to say it was one of the best decisions that CART has made in a long time. As drivers, we are the first ones to feel sorry for the fans and everyone that was there. Unfortunately, there was nothing that we could do to prevent this. It was a phenomenon that has never happened before. It wasn't an issue about driving. It was a medical issue that put the life of all of the drivers in a very risky situation. Personally, I experienced some dizziness after different periods of runs when I got out of the car. It was a type of dizziness that I had never felt before. In talking to Shinji Nakano, my teammate, we compared that he was having those problems as well. We didn't experience these problems on the track as other drivers did because our runs were limited to no more than around 10 laps. We commented that there were going to be some unknown situations for us in racing for 250 laps, and we were a little concerned. The drivers that went and tested at Texas never felt this. Technology in racing, especially in our series, goes so fast and the speeds from when they were testing to now were increased considerably. As the doctors -- Dr. Steve Olvey and Dr. Trammell -- started asking questions, we realized it wasn't just us. It was a lot of other drivers plus bigger issues than what we thought with longer runs. I applaud CART for looking after us, listening to our input and to the doctors', and making a really tough decision. It was CART's decision -- not the drivers because we would have gone out there -- and it was the right one. Hopefully, CART and the manufacturers will find a formula of technical changes so we can go back there and give a good show for the fans. Qualifying in Texas was good for the team after a few races of struggling. I think we will be improving all the time. It will take a few more races to get the team up to speed, but as long as we keep improving every race then that is what we are looking for. The next two races are going to be important for the team as part of our development. Nazareth is a track that I know very well. You need a very good car there to be able to perform well. I have finished fifth there the past two years, so I am looking for a good result. Detroit is the next race where we qualify based on points, and it is going to be hard for us since I have a penalty for causing a red flag in Long Beach Gran Prix that is going to put me in a tough situation for qualifying. I definitely need to be in the fast group and to do that I need to get good results in the next three oval events. Shinji's picking it up very quickly. As I said from the beginning, I know Shinji is going to surprise a lot of people as he already did in Texas when he qualified fifth. Nazareth is a track he doesn't know, so we are going to work very closely to make sure that he understands the art of driving these ovals. One of the main things that I have been trying to teach him is that sometimes you just have to be patient. Most of the time you don't have a perfect car and you just have to learn how to go around it and, if you make the most of what you have, you will get a good result. I am pretty optimistic about the next few races. Japan is going to be a very important race for us also. Shinji is obviously going to be a big attraction, and I have won there twice, so hopefully we can bring back the memories that made us untouchable in the first two years in Japan. It has been difficult in the first few races because there has been too many gaps and down time. Now the races are going to be more often. Once we get into a roll of races, I think that is going to be very important for the team. Getting into a rhythm I think will help us in terms of our performance. I am looking forward to Nazareth this weekend, but I think Texas is still very much on everyone's mind. It was an unpredictable and unfortunate situation, and we are all looking forward to returning once a solution is found. We owe the fans. 2000 CART runner-up Adrián Fernández, who drives the No. 51 Tecate/Quaker State/Telmex Honda/Reynard car, provides a weekly diary for ESPN.com throughout the 2001 season.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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