Fernandez Wants to Drive Fast, Not Necessarily Swift

Adrian Fernandez, who won a CART FedEx champ car race last Saturday in Motegi, Japan, in a Reynard chassis, will contest Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in a Swift--but not of his own choice.

“The Reynard we drove the first two races was a combination of a 1997 monocoque and 1998 pieces,” Fernandez said. “There are a lot of pieces that need to be changed from an oval track car to a street race car, and we just didn’t have enough left over, so we had to go back to the Swift.”

Fernandez and the Pat Patrick team campaigned a Reynard the last two seasons, but planned to change to a Swift for 1999.

“We always want that extra edge, any little advantage we can find. Last year, Michael [Andretti] did very well with his Swift. It showed a lot of promise. We felt his only problem was with Goodyear tires, which were not competitive. Firestones, which we used, won most of the races, so we thought switching to Swift, with Firestones, was the right choice.”

Problems arose, though, when Fernandez and teammate PJ Jones began testing in January. The Reynard proved quicker.

“We wanted to go for the championship right away, so Mr. Patrick decided to go with last year’s Reynard for the first two races,” Fernandez said.

At the time, the Reynard chassis was being prepared for use as a sponsor’s show car in Mexico when it was retrieved to race again.

“The Swift engineers have been working hard to give the car more balance,” Fernandez said. “Hopefully, by the time we put it on the track at Long Beach, it will be strong. It is not the ideal circumstance, but we must do the best we can.

“I especially hope for a strong showing here because so many of my friends from Mexico and local Latin fans will be here for the race. It is a special one for me.”

When Fernandez repeated as champion in Japan, he became the first driver since Mario Andretti in 1984 and 1985 at Long Beach to win the first two times an event was held at a new facility.

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Casey Mears and his father, Roger, will both be in the Hollywood spotlight this weekend.

Casey, 21, will drive in Sunday’s Indy Lights race, besides appearing on the TV show “Party of Five” at 9 tonight on Fox TV. Out of character, Mears will portray a hockey player who crashes a party with some fellow players.

Roger, a former off-road racing champion, is the favorite for Saturday’s Toyota pro-celebrity race, based on practice times.

Casey will be making his acting debut on the TV show but will miss his premier. Both he and his father will be at the Toyota charity ball at the Long Beach Convention Center.

“I’ll have to set my VCR,” Casey said.

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Tarso Marques, the Brazilian who substituted for the injured Al Unser Jr. in Japan, has been named to drive the Team Penske car again Sunday.

“Tarso did a great job for us in Japan,” Roger Penske said. “For a guy who hasn’t run a race in 15 months, he was very impressive. He got the job done for us. He ran well in traffic and kept his nose clean.”

Marques finished 14th.

“Our goal was to finish the race and get some oval racing experience,” Marques said. “I think the most difficult part for me was the traffic. There is nothing that can really prepare you for your first oval race and the feel of the car in traffic.

“Although most of my racing career has been on road courses, I have only raced on a street course once [in 1995 at Pau, France, in Formula 3000], so there will be a lot for me to learn this weekend.”

Unser will be missing the Long Beach race for the first time since 1984. He has won it six times, more than any other CART driver has won at a single track.

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Long Beach Grand Prix

* The silver anniversary Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Race 3 of the 20-race CART FedEx champ car series.

* When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

* Where: An 11-turn, 1.85-mile temporary circuit through the streets of downtown Long Beach.

* Schedule: Friday--practice and qualifying. Saturday--practice and qualifying, Toyota pro-celebrity race, Kool-Toyota Atlantic race. Sunday--PPG-Dayton Indy Lights race, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Johnson Controls Trans Am race.

* Tickets: Grand Prix ticket office at 430 E. First St., Long Beach; all Ticketmaster locations.