Indianapolis ? Adrian Fernandez hasn’t raced at Indy for the past nine years. Kosuke Matsuura is a rookie.

Maybe that’s why nobody is paying attention to their speeds.

The Fernandez Racing teammates have been among the fastest nearly every day since practice began for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Matsuura has topped the speed chart four times, and Fernandez, the team owner, has led the way twice.

They were back on top Thursday during the two-hour “Carburetion Day” session — the only time between the end of qualifying and the race in which the cars are allowed on the 21/2-mile oval.

“I don’t care if they call us favorites, long shots, whatever,” Fernandez said. “We’re ready to race.”

They’ll start near the front Sunday. Fernandez will be positioned on the outside of the second row when the green flag drops, with his teammate right behind him.

Traditionally, Carb Day is strictly for shaking down the 33 cars in the starting lineup, making sure all the bolts are tightened and the hoses are connected.

Still, Matsuura was out front with a fast lap of 219.226 mph, followed by his boss at 218.066.

“It was a very, very good test,” the 24-year-old Japanese driver said. “The car is very fast, and, for drafting, the car has a very good balance. Everything is perfect. I am very confident.”

So is Fernandez, although the far more experienced driver is more tempered in his outlook.

“You’ve seen our consistency the whole month. I don’t think there’s another team that’s been that consistent,” Fernandez said. “But the race is another thing.

“Maybe Kosuke doesn’t understand that, yet. But he will. I am telling him what I can from my experience to let him know what to expect.”

Fernandez has raced at Indy only twice and not since 1995, the year before the formation of the Indy Racing League led the top teams and drivers in the established CART series to boycott the Brickyard.

He finished 28th as a rookie in 1994 and 21st the next year, both in cars fielded by now-defunct Galles Racing.

“I was very young in those days, and I wasn’t with a very strong team,” Fernandez said, smiling. “Now, I’m more experienced, the team is more experienced, and I’m in a much, much better position. It’s a great comeback for us, especially coming here and being so competitive after nine years of absence. Sometimes, it feels like a dream.”

Fernandez actually came back to the speedway a year ago, but only to watch then-rookie Roger Yasukawa compete for Super Aguri Fernandez Racing, an offshoot of Fernandez Racing co-owned by Aguri Suzuki. Yasukawa finished 10th, but was replaced for 2004 by Matsuura.

This year, Fernandez, a national sporting hero in Mexico, decided to move the rest of the team to the IRL after CART went bankrupt and was taken over by new ownership. He was criticized in his native country for leaving what is now called the Champ Car World Series, missing the chance to race in Monterrey and Mexico City.

“When you have a business to run, when you have other things to consider, you can’t just go by what your heart is telling you,” he said. “I miss CART, but I miss the old CART.”