Fernandez looking for home win - in Houston!

Adrian Fernandez takes his eponymous CART outfit to Texas looking to take his first win of the season in a city that proved a home from home during his formative years.

The Mexican spent time in several racing centres before landing a career in the Champcar series, but got to know the venue for this weekend's 18th round of the FedEx series - Houston - before he even dreamt of stepping into a race car.

"I have had a lot of support from the fans in Houston over the years which is always nice, but I also have a lot of friends there," he explained, "When I was a little kid, I was in an exchange programme to learn English. I would stay with a family in Houston for a month and their child would stay with my family in Mexico. I always enjoy going to back."

Sadly for last year's championship runner-up, he will not get much chance to track down his hosts, as the weekend promises to be one of the busiest of his season.

"Most of my sponsors - Tecate, Quaker State and Telmex - are coming this weekend," he said, "I am really looking forward to finishing this race. Unfortunately, we have had a few engine problems recently that haven't let us earn any points. Hopefully our time will come at Houston."

There hasn't been that much time for Fernandez to rest between races recently either, despite a two-week gap in the schedule since the return from Rockingham.

"I was only home for two days after England," he exclaimed, "I went to the race shop in Indianapolis to meet with [co-owner] Tom [Anderson] and the team, and then went with Tom to the [Formula One] Grand Prix. It was great to see a lot of friends, including my friend Jo Ramirez, the team manager for McLaren. There was a big retirement party for him that Thursday night, and I was very happy that McLaren won as this was his last race."

Despite still having four races to run on this year's schedule, however, Fernandez is already laying the foundations for something to do when he gets to Surfers' Paradise for the penultimate race.

"Right now, I am taking a two-day PADI course in scuba diving," he revealed, "I want to do some diving at the Great Barrier Reef when we go to Australia. Other than that, I have been working out, catching up on things - it takes a few days to get back on schedule after a long trip - and getting ready for Houston."

Fernandez will be making his 142nd career Champcar start in Houston this weekend, and will be looking to better the pair of third place finishes he already has to his name on street and road courses, achieved at Toronto and Elkhart Lake.