Miller Motorsports Circuit Familiar Territory for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing
May 17, 2007
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) returns to competition this weekend following a three-week break and will head to the state-of-the-art Miller Motorsports Park facility near Salt Lake City for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix on Saturday. The longest track on the ALMS calendar at 4.5 miles, Miller Motorsports Park is one of only four circuits on the schedule that Lowe’s Fernandez Racing enters with past racing experience.
Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz both have competed at the unique and fast 24-turn permanent road course last year in Grand-Am competition. They are looking to put that experience into play and return to front-running form after a disappointing Round Four of competition on the streets of Houston where the #15 Lowe’s Acura Lola’s handling succumbed to the rigors of the ultra bumpy circuit.
In its first season of ALMS competition, Lowe’s Fernandez Racing has shown its potential. Fernandez and Diaz finished second in their debut at the prestigious Twelve-Hours of Sebring in March and looked headed for their first victory two weeks later in St. Petersburg until a costly penalty knocked the duo out of contention. In Long Beach, Fernandez was set to battle the #6 Penske Porsche of Sascha Maassen for second place in the closing stages until a gamble on fuel relegated the team to a seventh-place result. The last ALMS event at Houston was a humbling experience for the duo as they continuously fought handling issues and finished seventh.
Fernandez and Diaz are currently sixth in the driver championship – 12 points out of third. Lowe’s Fernandez Racing is placed fifth in the team championship standings.
