Lowe’s and Hendrick Motorsports announced that open-wheel racing star Adrian Fernandez will drive the #5 Lowe’s Chevrolet in four additional Busch Series races in 2005. Fernandez made his NASCAR debut March 6, leading four laps and finishing 10th on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in his native Mexico City. The 42-year-old is Mexico’s most popular driver and one of the country’s most popular athletes. Fernandez will drive the #5 car on Sept. 3 at California, Nov. 5 at Texas, Nov. 12 at Phoenix and Nov. 19 at Homestead.
“I am honored by this opportunity to be part of Lowe’s, Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR,” said Fernandez who plans to test in the coming weeks. “I had such a good time with Jim Long and the Hendrick team in Mexico that I wanted to do this again. I am really excited about getting a chance to race on an oval in NASCAR. I understand I have a huge learning curve ahead of me, but I think we can run respectably and have a lot of fun.” Fernandez is a familiar name to racing fans with a successful career that spans over 12 years at the top levels of open-wheel racing. He most recently competed in the Indianapolis 500 on May 29, and also owns the cars driven by Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsuura in the Indy Racing League. Fernandez is Mexico’s premier driver. He was nominated for Mexico’s National Sports Award – the 2004 Premio Nacional del Deporte – for his career achievements in auto racing. Fernandez has been the past recipient of numerous awards including “Athlete of the Year” in Mexico. He was most recently recognized at the Premios Fox Sports Awards for his contributions to Latin American auto racing. Fernandez joins Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Blake Feese, Boston Reid and Kyle Krisiloff as drivers of the #5 Lowe’s Busch car in 2005. Jim Long serves as the team’s crew chief. The #5 team won the NASCAR Busch Series championship with driver Brian Vickers in 2003 and finished second in points with driver Busch last season. This team won the Busch race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte in May [with Busch].(Team Lowe’s Racing/Hendrick Motorsports PR)(6-29-2005)
