Fernandez working on championship season

Mike Harris

Thursday, Sept. 7, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

MONTEREY, Calif. - Adrian Fernandez is nervous and excited nowadays.

Not only is the 35-year-old Mexican driver right in the middle of one of the best championship battles in CART history, but he's about to make the biggest decision of his racing career.

Fernandez, who drives for Pat Patrick, is negotiating to start his own team in 2001. The announcement is expected within the next week.

"I have always been interested in doing my own team," he said. "Maybe not this early, but sometimes opportunity comes at times where you can't refuse."

This does seem an unlikely moment to be making momentous changes, considering Fernandez is having the best season of his eight-year CART career.

Since starting the season with finishes of 21st and 24th, thanks to a pair of engine failures, Fernandez has thrust himself into the championship race by finishing in the points - the top 12 - in 12 of 13 races.

He won the sixth race of his career early in the season in Japan and, after a few inconsistent performances, has finished no worse than seventh in the last seven races.

Coming off a third-place run last Sunday in Vancouver, Fernandez goes into Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of Monterey third in the season standings, trailing leader Michael Andretti by nine points and runner-up Paul Tracy by three.

"Things are going very well and I think we have as good a chance to win the championship as anyone," Fernandez said. "It's going to take consistency - finishing in the top five or six every race, maybe win a race or two - and we've shown we can do that."

Patrick, one of the founders of the CART series and one of its most successful team owners, also has Roberto Moreno solidly in the title fight, just two points behind Fernandez and one behind fourth-place Gil de Ferran.

The longtime team owner doesn't seem upset that Fernandez is working on leaving Patrick Racing just when he is ready to reap the success of three years of hard work with the team.

"He is looking at his future," Patrick said. "I understand that. He wants to have control of his own destiny. You can't blame him for that."

It's more than just control that Fernandez is looking for, though.

"I have to think: What does Adrian Fernandez want to do in the future? Where do I want to go? For how long do I want to keep racing? Am I always going to be a driver?"

Just as important for one of Mexico's national heroes is what he can do for young drivers from his native country.

"I want to give drivers from my country the kind of opportunity that is so hard to find in open-wheel racing," Fernandez said. "If things go the way I plan, I'll have the resources to make that happen.

"The big aim is to help Mexican drivers, but also the key thing is to make the team competitive," he added. "It is not going to be based just on Mexican drivers. It is going to be based on the best talent that we can find."

Fernandez is sure he won't be totally out of his element as a team owner.

"I'm not just a driver. I've been dealing with my sponsors and the business side of racing all my life," he said.

Meanwhile, he has a job to do for Patrick.

"I have had a lot to deal with, but my focus in the car is total," Fernandez said. "No matter what happens outside the car, we will be ready for every race. We want to win that championship."