With no Sprint Cup Series to deflect attention this weekend, the focus for NASCAR will fall on the Nationwide Series' annual trip south of the border to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
Determined to put on a good show, and give the locals something to cheer in face of opposition from American regulars, the Mexicans have welcomed the news that both Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain Jr will be in the field on Sunday.
Team Lowe's Racing will field former Champ Car and IndyCar stalwart Fernandez for the fourth straight year, but it will be the first time that he will drive a JR Motorsports entry in the event. After team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr signed a contract to drive for Hendrick Motorsports this season, the two organisations merged their Nationwide Series operations, and Fernandez will run chassis number 389 in his homeland, having already tested the machine at Sebring last November.
“This is a car that I have run before in Mexico and I know these cars pretty well on a road course," he stressed, "I would say, by the fourth lap, [I'll be okay] in terms of getting used to my braking points and things like that. Even though most of the other drivers run these cars more than me, they mostly run on ovals.
“It is just patience. You can't push these cars like you can an American Le Mans car. You have to be careful with braking, careful with tyres. The cars roll a lot and they are very heavy. There can be a lot of contact in the race, so you just have to be more patient and more relaxed and you will go quick."
