MEXICO CITY (AP) – Adrian Fernandez showed off a piece of paper with his schedule on it, then described his upcoming weekend with a mixture of pride and fatigue.

“Es muy loco,” the Mexican driver said.

The fun was just beginning for Fernandez, who will compete in the American Le Mans Series event in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday before hustling back for Sunday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Mexico City. He was in his home country Friday – but didn’t have a whole lot of free time.

“It’s crazy but it’s fun. … I can’t complain. I’m proud to be here. I’m proud to represent Mexico,” he said. “The plan is for me to drive the first practice, an hour into the second practice. … After that, I take off to the helicopter.”

Fernandez, one of Mexico’s most famous athletes, was a successful CART and Indy Racing League driver before joining the Nationwide Series – then called the Busch Series – in 2005.

He has made only nine starts on the tour, and his only two top-10 finishes were in Mexico City.

His best showing was a ninth-place finish over a year ago in his most recent Nationwide race.

This year he’ll be celebrating a birthday Sunday, and he figures the 2.518-mile road course at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is as good a place as any to celebrate.

“I’m going to be 45 on Sunday,” Fernandez said. “I can still be competitive, but most important now is that I really enjoy my family.”

Fernandez appears content with the path his career has taken in recent years. He and his wife are expecting their second child in the coming weeks, and daughter Valentina turns a year old April 29.

This weekend, Fernandez is willing to travel thousands of miles to make sure he won’t miss NASCAR’s visit to his hometown.

“He’ll have a lot of fun. He’s very fit, very professional. He’ll have no problem,” said Michel Jourdain, another driver from Mexico City competing at home this weekend. “I think it is fantastic. It shows a lot on how important it is for him to race here.”

Doubling up like this is nothing new for racers.

“The Sonoma-to-Wisconsin trip’s probably the worst,” said Kyle Busch, referring to a weekend in which drivers try to split time between the Sprint Cup in California and the Nationwide Series in Milwaukee.

The logistics of traveling between two countries makes Fernandez’s itinerary unusual. After Saturday’s race in California, he’ll come back to Mexico, but there won’t be much time for sleep.

“I will arrive here like at 1:30 in the morning,” Fernandez said. “It’s fine. I’m young, right?”

Actually, on Friday, Fernandez sounded more like an elder statesman for Mexican racing, saying he hopes the country can produce a consistently successful NASCAR driver that can attract more fans to the sport.

“Mexicans are very proud. They push a lot of their athletes,” he said. “It’s important for America to have a Mexican driver. … Win-win situation for America, the popularity of NASCAR and for Mexico.”

Scott Pruett posted the fastest speed (102.896 mph) in Friday’s practice sessions. Fernandez posted the fifth-best (100.657 mph) in the first session.

Fernandez’s absence Saturday means someone else will have to take over for qualifying. That will be David Green, the 1994 Busch Series champion. Green is now the driver for the research and development team of Hendrick Motorsports.

The qualifying substitute means Fernandez will start from the back in Sunday’s race, but he hopes to overcome that initial handicap.

“You have to be more careful and you have to be patient,” Fernandez said. “I just have to be patient and make sure I don’t get involved in any big problems. Sometimes it’s difficult.”

Either way, he’ll be a crowd favorite. Last year, Colombian star Juan Pablo Montoya won this race, delighting a crowd that was eager for a Latino to win.

Fernandez seems well aware of what the atmosphere will be like if a Mexican wins this year.

“It’s just a special place for me,” Fernandez said. “That’s why we really make sure that we make the effort to race this race.”

AP-ES-04-18-08 1859EDT