Jesus Hernandez (born April 1, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East full-time for three years from 2007 to 2009, while also making one start in both the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and ARCA Series during the course of his career. Being a Hispanic American, Hernandez was also a member of the

Drive for Diversity The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownersh ...

program.

Racing career

Hernandez made his NASCAR debut in the West Series at Phoenix International Raceway in 2007, driving the No. 4

Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

Chevy Monte Carlo SS. Hernandez finished fifth that race, his first and only start in that series. For the rest of the year, he full-time and for rookie of the year in the NASCAR Busch East Series with the same team, sponsor and car number. Allstate signed on as a sponsor for the team beginning in June of that year. Hernandez was brought over to Dale Earnhardt, Inc., when Ginn merged with DEI in July 2007. His No. 4 team skipped the race at Adirondack International Speedway during the transition, and returned in time for the next race at

Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously op ...

. After this merger, Hernandez joined

Jeffrey Earnhardt Jeffrey Lynn Earnhardt (born June 22, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. He is the son of Kerry Earnhardt, gran ...

and

Trevor Bayne Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...

as DEI's development drivers. If the merger had not happened, Hernandez was going to make his Truck Series debut in Morgan-Dollar Motorsports' No. 47 truck, sharing the ride with fellow Ginn development driver

Kraig Kinser Kraig Kinser (born October 8, 1984) is an American professional racing driver. He was previously a developmental driver for MB2 Motorsports/ Ginn Racing, and while with them, competed in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Re/Max ...

. After DEI's merger with Chip Ganassi Racing to become Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, the team closed down their East Series team due to a lack of sponsorship, and Hernandez was released from his full-time ride after the season, but remained a development and test driver for the organization. He drove in the East Series for one more year in 2009, finishing 12th in points driving the Troy Williams Racing No. 12 Dodge for nearly the full season. He was replaced by Antonio Pérez for the races at Tri-County Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen. Perez was also supposed to drive the car at

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

(temporarily renumbered to the No. 28 due to it being a combination race with the West Series and

Paulie Harraka Paul Peter "Paulie" Harraka (born September 15, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver and entrepreneur. He is a graduate of Duke University and a former representative of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program. Personal life ...

using the No. 12), but was unable to race for unknown reasons, and Hernandez substituted for him in that race. Perez was supposed to drive the No. 12 in more races with Hernandez in a second car for TWR, but this did not happen. Hernandez did not return to the Williams team and EGR in 2010 in order to seek a full-time ride in the ARCA or Truck Series.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World East Series

Camping World West Series

ARCA Re/Max Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

References

External links

* ''Dead link'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Jesus Living people 1981 births Sportspeople from Fresno, California Racing drivers from Fresno, California Racing drivers from California NASCAR drivers American sportspeople of Mexican descent ARCA Menards Series drivers Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers