MEXICO CITY -- Despite a mid-race incident halting his charge through the field in Sunday's Nationwide Series event, Adrian Fernandez managed to cross the finish line 14th at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

Fernandez was forced to start the 80-lap race from the rear of the field due to a driver change, after David Green qualified the No. 5 racecar on Saturday while Fernandez competed in the ALMS race at Long Beach.

Just three laps into the road course event, Fernandez had driven the Lowe's machine from his 42nd-place starting spot to the 26th position, and was in the top 10 by the halfway mark of the event.

Soon after, however, Fernandez's hopes for the win were dashed when he was caught up in a two-car accident on Lap 49.

As Fernandez exited Turn 7 of the eight-turn road course, Sam Hornish Jr. attempted to pass him on the inside, but slipped up the racetrack and sent Fernandez spinning into the outside wall.

"It's disappointing, because you want to do better in front of your fans, and for Lowe's and JR Motorsports," said Fernandez. "I was aggressive when I needed to be, but I also took my time."

"Sam came with new tires, but he tried to pass me on the inside of Turns 7 and 8, but you can't pass there," continued Fernandez. "You have to give up. You can put your nose there, but at some point if you don't get far enough and don't get halfway (alongside the other car) you have to give up. Unfortunately, he didn't and hit me and we went into the wall."

The No. 5 crew went to work on pit road during the ensuing caution period and Fernandez returned to the 2.518-mile course in 35th position. He was able to pick up 21 spots in the final 29 laps to bring home a top-15 finish.

Kyle Busch picked up his third consecutive Nationwide Series win by taking the checkered flag in Mexico. He was followed across the line by Marcos Ambrose (No. 59), Scott Pruett (No. 40), Carl Edwards (No. 60), and Patrick Carpentier (No. 9).

MEXICO CITY TOP 10 FINISHERS

1. Kyle Busch (No. 20)

2. Marcos Ambrose (No. 59)

3. Scott Pruett (No. 40)

4. Carl Edwards (No. 59)

5. Patrick Carpentier (No. 9)

6. Clint Bowyer (No. 2)

7. Scott Wimmer (No. 29)

8. Brad Keselowski (No. 88)

9. Mike Bliss (No. 1)

10. Steve Wallace (No. 66)

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES AT LONG BEACH

Lowe's Fernandez Racing finished sixth in class and eighth overall in Saturday Tequila Patr�n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach.

It was a disappointing result following a strong showing throughout the weekend including a front-row starting position. Luis Diaz assumed initial driving duties aboard the No. 15 Lowe's machine before turning the controls over to Fernandez on Lap 44. Unfortunately, all hopes for a charge to the front fell by the wayside as both Fernandez and Diaz suffered understeer and lack of grip throughout the day.

David Brabham and Scott Sharp brought home the first class victory of the season for Acura.

QUOTABLE

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ: "I am very disappointed. We started with a good car for Luis, but when I jumped in we had absolutely no grip on the front of the car. I couldn't turn anywhere. I have no idea what happened. I just didn't have a race car and I was fighting to stay on the track. I was heading to the wall all the time. I just couldn't make the car turn. It doesn't matter if you have a good race car to start the race, you have to have a good car for the whole race. We have to study to see what happened but it was a very disappointing day."

LUIS DIAZ: "This weekend looked very good for us at the beginning but, for some reason, we were having problems with the car on long runs. The car wasn't that competitive in the race, unfortunately, for reasons I don't know. I had a good start but one of the Porsches passed me. I was being careful with traffic and lost some ground there but I think I did the right thing because, at the end, Adrian was fourth and had a clear shot at the Penskes and Audis. Unfortunately, we couldn't fight at the end. I know we have the team to find out the problem. Once we can sort this out, I know we will be okay because at Sebring we were very good. I am confident we will have a good car for the next race."