Fast Track to Fame : Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 Has Put Mexico’s Adrian Fernandez in the Limelight

When Adrian Fernandez qualified for the Indianapolis 500 late last Saturday afternoon, it was headline news in Mexico City and headed the nightly TV newscasts throughout the country.

“I can’t count the calls I had,” the personable Mexican driver said while signing autographs in front of the Galles International garage in Gasoline Alley.

“It seemed like every paper and person in Mexico wanted to talk with me. I had seven people working in Guadalajara taking care of requests.

“I hate to think what would happen if I won the Indianapolis 500. But I’d like to find out.”

Fernandez is nearly as popular in the garage area as he is in his native country. He never ducks behind closed doors until every cap, program, picture or slip of paper has been signed, and he has posed for more passing fans than the Borg Warner trophy.

He has his own half-hour Spanish language TV show, “Adrian Fernandez Presents,” appearing on ESPN International in Mexico.

The 30-year-old driver gave himself something to talk about when he qualified Galles’ Lola-Mercedes Benz in spectacular fashion.

After waving off two earlier attempts, Fernandez was down to his final four laps when he came through with a qualifying speed of 227.803 m.p.h. Because it came on the third day, he will start in row 9 Sunday, although his speed is the eighth fastest among the 33 starters.

As a consolation, he received $25,000 as the fastest third-day qualifier.

This will be his second 500. Last year, he started 26th and improved to 15th by lap 30, when he dropped out with broken suspension.

“It was terribly disappointing because I was running so well,” he said. “I ran over some debris after [Dominic] Dobson and [Mike] Groff crashed, and I spun out when my tire blew while I was running caution laps. I learned then that crazy things happen here.

“I also learned that I could run with the big boys. That was important.”

The high point of Fernandez’s 1994 season came not on an Indy car track, but on a tour of Mexico last November.

“We took the Galles transporter and car and made exhibition runs in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara,” he said. “It is impossible for me to describe how special it was for me to have my team in Mexico.”

In Mexico City, Fernandez made an eight-lap, three-pit-stop exhibition in front of a sellout crowd of 56,000 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez before the final race of the Mexican Formula 2 series.

The appearance of the Galles car was the first by an Indy car at the Autodromo since Rick Mears won a race there in 1981.

The third stop, in Guadalajara, was held in the parking lot of Sam’s Club, before as many people as could squeeze their way in. Fernandez did another six-lap demonstration.

“Guadalajara was especially gratifying because all the proceeds went to the Red Cross of Mexico,” he said. “The excitement of the people and the turnouts we had was absolutely a dream come true.”

Imports of Tecate beer were up 21% last year over 1993 and much of the credit goes to the company’s involvement with the Galles team, said Mark Thiese, marketing manager of the Irvine-based beer importer.

Fernandez has been racing professionally for 14 years in Mexico, Europe and the United States. His first major race was the 24 Hours of Mexico in 1982. Later that year, he drove a Formula Vee in the Marlboro Cup series, finishing fourth overall.

The following year, he won the Formula Vee championship and was named “Best Racing Driver of the Year” by El Heraldo de Mexico.

“By 1986, when I was 21, I had won everything there was to win in Mexico, so I decided to go to Europe,” he said. “I had some promises for financial help, but mostly they fell through and after three Formula Ford races in Holland and England, I was totally broke.

“I lived on Coca-Cola for two months before I got a break at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in England. I qualified on the pole with Marlboro as my sponsor, but two hours before the race they told me that tobacco advertising was not permitted. We covered the sides of the car, but there were some tell-tale signs of our sponsor.

“I started the race and was leading when I got black-flagged for the illegal logos. I never had a chance to get back up. The British papers made a big deal out of it, and the Marlboro people were so upset that they sponsored me the next year. That was when my career started to take off.”

After three years racing in Europe, Fernandez returned to Mexico and once again dominated. In 1991, he won the International Formula Three championship with four victories and seven pole positions.

“I felt I had to move on again,” he said. “I came to see [car owner] Dick Simon, and he referred me to John Martin. I drove for him in my race on the mile oval at Phoenix. I had never even seen an oval race before. I had no idea what to expect.”

Fernandez qualified second and won the race. He was only the second driver to win his first Indy Lights race. The first was Paul Tracy.

Fernandez won four of the first six races and was named rookie of the year.

More important, he caught the eye of Rick Galles, whose team had won the 1990 PPG Cup Indy car championship. Fernandez was hired as a test driver on a team that included Indy 500 winners Al Unser Jr. and Danny Sullivan.

“I learned what life was like in an Indy car at Michigan,” Fernandez said. “About a half-hour before time to qualify, Galles told me that Danny was sick and I was going to drive. “Guys were running 230 and I was feeling uncomfortable at 190. Al told me I had to get over 200 to feel right. I got up to 214 and the car bottomed out and crashed. I wasn’t hurt, but I didn’t make the race. I really didn’t know what I was doing. I had never had any coaching for a super speedway that fast.”

Last year, after Unser and Sullivan left Galles, the team had to make a decision--hire a big-name driver or develop Fernandez into one.

“We felt Adrian was a little like young Michael Andretti,” Galles said. “He needed to be reined in some. He is a terrific talent. After seeing him that first time in Phoenix, I followed him closely and liked his style. When Junior [Unser] left, we decided to give Adrian a chance.”

In Mexico, he was voted “man of the year” by AutoMundo magazine. A survey of Mexican publications last year showed Fernandez was the No. 1 newsmaker in sports, just ahead of boxer Julio Caesar Chavez.

“When Chavez fights, he is No. 1, but the rest of the year I am No. 1,” Fernandez said. “Motor racing is very big in Mexico, and I am the first to race Indy cars since Bernard Jourdain and Josele Garza. I feel a lot of pressure from my following, but it only inspires me to do better.”