Following a string of five permanent road-course events, the American Le Mans Series prepares for a change of pace this weekend. The tight and tricky temporary street course on Belle Isle will play host to the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch this Saturday. It is a full weekend of racing with the IndyCar Series' Detroit Indy Grand Prix on Sunday.

Fresh off their best finish of the year, a second-place class result at Mosport on Sunday, and their second podium finish in the last three races, Lowe's Fernandez Racing's Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz head to the Motor City hoping to take the next step on the podium. The pair have been knocking at the door of victory on a handful of occasions since joining the ALMS last season.

Joining Fernandez and Diaz at Detroit this weekend will be Michel Jourdain Jr., who will make his first appearance as a member of the Lowe's Fernandez Racing driving squad at the Petit Le Mans in October. Jourdain, on hand to support the team this weekend, will turn his next laps aboard the No. 15 Lowe's Acura during a test at Road America in mid-September.

RACE NOTES

Circuit: 2.096-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit

Saturday's race will last 2 hours, 45 minutes with a 2:35 p.m. EDT start

A driver may not drive more than two hours total in the race

OF NOTE

Both Fernandez and Diaz have prior career starts on Belle Isle -- Fernandez with 10 (nine in open-wheel competition from 1992 to 2001 and one in last year's ALMS race) and Diaz with two (Indy Lights in 2000 and the ALMS last year)

The pair qualified sixth in class and overall last year at Detroit, finishing fourth in class and sixth overall

Fernandez is a former resident of West Bloomfield, Mich.

Fernandez and Diaz have claimed four top-five finishes -- both in class and overall -- in the eight races held to date this season, claiming two podiums -- second at Mosport and third at Mid-Ohio

Fernandez and Diaz are sixth in the LMP2 championship standings, 26 points out of third place

Lowe's Fernandez Racing has claimed five podium results and 10 top-five finishes since its ALMS debut last season

QUOTABLE

Adrian Fernandez, No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "Detroit is like a homecoming for me. I have been racing here for so many years and used to live in West Bloomfield. It is always a pleasure to come back. Roger Penske and his team have created a great venue at Belle Isle. On the team side, I think we should have another strong weekend. We have been competitive on the street circuits and are learning more and more about our Acura chassis each race. We definitely have the momentum, and hopefully we can make that next step to claim our first win this weekend."

Luis Diaz, No. 15 Lowe's Acura ARX: "Detroit will be a very tough race because traffic is quite a factor here. We had a good car at Long Beach, so that means that we should have a good car for Detroit. Hopefully we can keep our momentum going. The last three races have been very good for us, and I am looking forward to this weekend. The three races almost in a row have been a bit tiring, but it is fun when you know you can fight for a victory in each race."

ABOUT THE DRIVERS

Adrian Fernandez ... enters second season of ALMS competition after claiming three podiums and six top-five finishes in 2007 debut ... is a veteran of 12 years at the top levels of open-wheel competition, winning in both Champ Car (CART) and IndyCar Series (IRL) competition ... debuted in sports car competition in 2006, winning the Mid-Ohio Rolex Sports Car Series race and claiming four additional top-five finishes ... began competing in select NASCAR Busch Series events in 2005, driving for Team Lowe's Racing and Hendrick Motorsports ... finished fifth in the IndyCar Series championship in his inaugural season in 2004 with three wins ... missed the 2000 Champ Car championship crown by only 10 points, finishing second in the series to Gil de Ferran ... has garnered numerous awards over the years, including "Athlete of the Year in Mexico" ... named one of Mexico's 300 most influential people by a national magazine in 2006 ... 44 years old from Mexico City ... resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with wife Catalina, daughter Valentina and son Niko.

Luis Diaz ... enters second season of ALMS competition after claiming three podiums and six top-five finishes in 2007 debut ... entered sports car competition in 2004, netting eight wins in the Grand-Am series over three years as well as Rolex Sports Car Series Team Championship honors in 2006 and a second-place result in the driver championship co-driving with Scott Pruett ... was named "Driver of the Year" in Mexico in 2006 ... won the Mexico Formula 3 championship in 1998 ... earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Indy Lights Pan-American Championship, Mexico Formula 3 Championship and Formula Reynard Series Mexico ... U.S. open-wheel success includes a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Atlantic championship ... began racing go-karts at the age of 12, winning several national championships ... 30 years old from Mexico City ... resides in Toluca, Mexico, with wife Carolina ... nickname is "Chapul�n" (Cha-poo-leen), which means grasshopper.

ABOUT THE NO. 15 LOWE'S ACURA ARX

Powered by the 3.4-liter Acura LM-V8 engine

Chassis is the Acura ARX-01b, the latest version of the ARX-01a chassis that was developed by HPD [Honda Performance Development] through a technical partnership with Wirth Research in England

Tires are Michelin

LOWE'S FERNANDEZ RACING KEY PERSONNEL

Tom Anderson, co-owner/managing director (founded Fernandez Racing with Fernandez in 2000)

Steve Miller, general manager (eighth year with the team; reunited with Diaz, whom he worked with in 2000 in Indy Lights)

Mike Sales, team manager (as a chief mechanic, has had a decade-long relationship with Adrian Fernandez that includes victories in Champ Car, IndyCar Series and Grand-Am competition)

John Ward, race engineer (is in his ninth year as a race engineer for Adrian Fernandez; designer of many Eagle chassis for Dan Gurney's All American Racers, including the Eagle Mk III IMSA GTP car, which won the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 1992 and 1993)

Tony Leith, chief mechanic (eighth season with the team; was a lead and chief mechanic in ALMS in the late '90s with Panoz Motorsports)

2008 PERFORMANCE CHART

ALMS SCHEDULE

Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch (all times EDT)

Friday, August 29

9-10:30 a.m.: Practice

3:20-4:20 p.m.: Practice

5:05-5:25 p.m.: Qualifying

Saturday, August 30

9:50-10:15 a.m.: Warmup

2:35-5:20 p.m.: Race