Adrian Fernandez began his
career by racing motorcross at age eight. He entered his first auto race in
1981 at the "24 Hours of Mexico" and at the age of 15 he made the permanent move to
cars in 1982. From 1982 to 1984 Fernandez competed in the Formula Vee
Championship taking the title in '83 and '84. He also raced in the Formula K
Series in 1984, competing in that series through 1986. He finished in the
top four in the standings all three years in Formula K.
In 1987 he ran one race in the Benelux Formula Ford 1600 Championship, one British RAC Formula Ford 1600 Championship race and competed in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. From 1988-89 he ran the British RAC and Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship series before moving to the International F3 Championship for 1990 and 1991. He captured the Formula 3 title in '91.
In 1992 Fernandez came to the United States to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights Championship (now the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship). He finished third in the points winning four races, a rookie record, and took the "Indy Lights Rookie of the Year" honors and made more than two million dollars in prize earnings.
His talent apparent, Fernandez made the jump to CART cars in 1993 competing in five races for Galles Racing International. He ran his first full CART season in 1994 with Galles finishing 13th and capturing the "Marco Magania" and "Luchador Olmeca" awards and the "JAC" trophy for "Best Driver" outside Mexico. Competing again with Galles in 1995, Fernandez finished 12th in the standings placing in the top ten nine times.
Fernandez moved to Tasman Motorsports in 1996. He had six top ten finishes, including his first career CART victory, en route to a 12th place finish in the points. The win in Toronto made him the first Mexican to win a CART event since Hector Rebaque in 1982. However, 1997 was a disappointing season for Fernandez. The Tasman team ran a Lola chassis which failed to perform to expectations. Through force of will, determination and talent, Fernandez battled to three top ten finishes and 18th place in the PPG Cup standings.
Fernandez joined Patrick Racing for the 1998 season and proved his ability to challenge for the championship. He enjoyed 14 top ten finishes with eight top five placements and two victories, Japan and Mid-Ohio, en route to a fourth place showing in the PPG Cup race during the 1998 Fed Ex Championship. He captured his first career pole at Michigan and led the championship race for the first time in his career. However, it was his victory during the Miller Lite 200 that gave Patrick Racing one of its most memorable moments when Fernandez stood atop the podium next to his teammate Scott Pruett. Fernandez was also named the "Athlete of the Year" in Mexico.
In 1999, enjoying his most successful season in the CART series, Adrian Fernandez behind the wheel of the #40 Tecate/Quaker State Reynard Ford-Cosworth completed the year fourth in the championship battle although he lead the points series early in the season for the first time in his CART career. He won in Motegi, Japan at the Firestone Firehawk 500 and at the Marlboro 500 Speedway in Fontana, California. In addition, he was selected to participate in the IROC series during 1999 where he competed against other top-named drivers including NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt. Fernandez solid racing career which began in 1993, now has 80 total starts in the series. Of those starts he has finished in the top ten 41 times throughout his seven-year career.
