Fernandez Switches, is Rahal Next?

The recent news of Adrian Fernandez moving over to the IRL from the embattled former CART series is very interesting, to say the least! It appears from recent news reports that the CART series is now known as Champ Car World Series, abbreviated as just simply Champ Car.

This is quite a slap in the face for the new series as they just announced their 2004 schedule. Fernandez was a solid figure in the CART/Champ Car Series, winning 11 races over an eight year period, the last victory at Portland last June.

Fernandez already has a team implanted in the IRL, Super Aguri Fernandez Racing has been active for two years, and its rookie driver, Kosuke Matsura, finished 11th in the IRL season opener at Miami-Homestead. Fernandez will join the IRL in its next event at Phoenix on March 21st.

In another interesting development, Bobby Rahal, former open wheel racer and present Champ Car team owner, is rumored to be looking at also making the move to the IRL. Rahal already fields a car in the IRL for Buddy Rice, as well as fielding a Champ Car for Mexican driver Michel Jourdain Jr.

The Champ Car Series had hoped to begin its season with its opening race at Long Beach, California with at least 16 entries. Fernandez's switch dropped the number of cars down to 12, and if Rahal makes the move the field will be reduced to 11 entries. Last season the series lost Marlboro Team Penske, Target Chip Ganassi, and Andretti Green Racing to the IRL. Three other teams shut down during the winter while the old CART Series was in bankruptcy court.

According to Rahal, a lot of the decision for the switch to the IRL will rest with the sponsors. Jourdain's Champ Car is sponsored by Gigante, a Mexican department store chain. The IRL doesn't have a race in Mexico, whereas the Champ Car Series has a race scheduled in Monterey. This may play a big factor in any impending switch Rahal wants to make to the IRL. If the sponsor says "NO" then Rahal will either have to stay with Champ Car or find a new sponsor to take him to the IRL.

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