ADRIAN FERNANDEZ of Mexico City and PAUL TRACY of Canada were inducted Thursday into the 2013 Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame, as part of the leadup to this weekend’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This is the thirty-ninth year for the race, and the eighth year of honoring the outstanding achievements of those who have made significant contributions to the sport of auto racing. The event was open to the public, and after the ceremonies, there was a long queue for the autograph session.
Dignitaries were on hand to make the presentations and speeches, including Long Beach Mayor BOB FOSTER and JIM MICHAELIAN, President/CEO of Grand Prix of Long Beach. Foster said “Paul Tracy and Adrian Fernandez have made legendary contributions to the field of motorsports, and they have truly earned their place on the Motorsports Walk of Fame.”
Michaelian said “There couldn’t be two more deserving individuals to be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame. Paul has to rank as one of the true masters of the Long Beach circuit and Adrian was not only successful on the track but also was highly responsible for the significant increase in the number of Hispanic fans who now attend our event.”
Also present was past honoree, RUFUS PARNELLI JONES.
Foster said that Fernandez was truly an international ambassador. Fernandez said his accomplishments were more than he ever thought he’d achieve. This year is the first time in his 32 years of motorsports that Fernandez isn’t driving. He assured that he is not retiring, just taking a break, helping Checo. “Like Parnelli, I’ll never retire. I love racing and now I want to give back to the sport. I’ve always had many roles (driver, team owner) all my life. Now I’m doing it for some one else. I love F1, but not the pressure of driving.”
Fernandez is now the Manager for McLaren F1 driver, SERGIO (Checo) PEREZ of Mexico. “Being a Driver Manager is a new role for me. I’m no longer behind the wheel. Now I’m looking after his interests, to make sure he’s OK. That’s my priority this year.”
Fernandez looks fondly on Long Beach, the track where he started, in Indy Lights. He said the circuit is very challenging, and over the years the layout changed.
Tracy said “It is a tremendous honor for me to be with these legends.” He notched his first open-wheel race victory at Long Beach in 1990 when he won the Firestone Indy Lights support race. Three years later, he won the 1993 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, then went on to take the checkered flag three more times, in 2000, 2003 and 2004, tying him with Mario Andretti for second in all-time Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach wins behind Al Unser Jr.’s six. While Tracy considers Toronto his home town and his favorite track, he said Long Beach has always been good to him – he’s excelled here. “I was lucky to be successful here.”
Tracy was the 1993 CART Champion with seven wins, 31 victories overall, and 25 pole positions. He said the Long Beach race was a kickoff to his championship season. “It was a great year.”
Tracy now is driving less, and commenting more for Sports Net TV in Canada. “I’m getting used to it. Sports Net is really committed to IndyCar and next year will cover all the races.”
The year Tracy was CART Champion, Fernandez made his open-wheel debut at Long Beach, and the next year won three CART races. Overall he ran another eleven GPLB races. Eleven is also the number of victories in open wheel racing under a variety of series names. Fernandez has raced in several different series at Long Beach, including American Le Mans Series, CART, Champ Car, Grand-American, and Indy Lights. In 2009, Fernandez and fellow Mexican driver, LUIS DIAZ, won the ALMS LMP2 Class race at Long Beach. The pair won seven more races and the 2009 championship.
Past Honorees of the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame
2006 – PHILL HILL, DAN GURNEY
2007 – BRIAN REDMAN, CHRIS POOK, NEWMAN/HAAS RACING
2008 – MARIO ANDRETTI, PARNELLI JONES, GARY GABELICH
2009 – AL UNSER, JR, BOBBY RAHAL
2010 – MICHAEL ANDRETTI, DANNY SULLIVAN
2011 – JIMMY VASSER, TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING
2012 – SCOTT PRUETT, GALLES RACING
