Alex Tagliani

Alex Tagliani
Tagliani in July 2010.
Nationality	Canadian
Born	October 18, 1972 (1972-10-18) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2012 IZOD IndyCar Series
Debut season	2008
Current team	Bryan Herta Autosport
Car no.	98
Former teams	Sam Schmidt Motorsports FAZZT Race Team Conquest Racing Walker Racing
Starts	43
Wins	0
Poles	1
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	13th in 2010
Awards
2009	Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year

Alex Tagliani
Champ Car World Series
Years active	2000–2007
Teams	RSports Racing Team Australia Rocketsports Racing Forsythe Championship Racing
Starts	132
Wins	1
Poles	4
Best finish	7th in 2004, 2005

Alexandre Tagliani (born October 18, 1972) is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #98 entry for Bryan Herta Autosport.

Champ Car career

Tagliani is well–known for his Champ Car career. He raced in the series since 2000, when it was still known as CART, until its demise in 2007. He was signed by Forsythe Racing for the 2000 season replacing Greg Moore.

He came close to obtaining his first victory in only his third start, after taking pole position at Brazil and leading most of the race, but spun out from the lead with nine laps to go.

In 2001 he had the misfortune of being involved in the collision with Alex Zanardi which caused Zanardi's legs to be amputated.

He remained at Forsythe until the end of 2002, when he was substituted by Paul Tracy. He found a job with the Rocketsports team in 2003, and remained there for the 2004 season, in which he earned his first and only Champ Car victory at Road America.

In 2005 he joined Team Australia, which was essentially a rebranding of Derrick Walker's long-running team with the support of Australian businessman Craig Gore, and finished 7th in the championship despite lacking a race engineer. 7th would equal the best of his 3 top-10 championship finishes.

He returned to Rocketsports for the 2007 season, and finished 10th in points with a best finish of 4th in the first race of the season. He earned four pole positions during his Champ Car career.

Post–Champ Car: Stock cars and the IndyCar Series

In 2008, after the Rocketsports team decided not to take part in the IndyCar Series, Tagliani made the transition to stock cars and began racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. He also drove for Conquest Racing in the IndyCar Series Detroit Grand Prix, replacing the injured Enrique Bernoldi. Tagliani continued in the seat for the last two races of the season.

Conquest Racing announced that Tagliani would return as a full–time driver for the 2009. However, the team ultimately concentrated on road and street course races after the Indianapolis 500; ninth place in Toronto proved his best result. Tagliani left Conquest Racing after the 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy race in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

It was announced on August 28, 2009, that Tagliani had signed a four–year deal with an option for a fifth year to drive for start–up FAZZT Race Team in the IZOD IndyCar Series beginning in 2010.

After a successful 2010 campaign with Tagliani, FAZZT Race Team was looking forward to an even more successful 2011 season, along with the possible expansion on the grid with a second entry. However, the team was purchased by Sam Schmidt on March 1, 2011, and was absorbed into his Sam Schmidt Motorsports team. Tagliani was retained, along with all sponsors, and he will continue to race full–time during the 2011 season. He will also be racing alongside new Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM) teammates Townsend Bell, Wade Cunningham, and Jay Howard. In 2011, during the 100th anniversary of the first running of the Indianapolis 500, Tagliani qualified for the pole position at a four–lap average of 227.472 mph, besting Scott Dixon in the last run of the day.

Tagliani led 11 laps and finished second at the NASCAR Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a stock car career best.

Gallery

• 

  Tagliani at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2009.

• 

  Tagliani at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 2010.

• 

  Tagliani in December 2010.

• 

  Tagliani in December 2010.

Motorsports career results

Career Summary

Season	Series	Team Name	No.	Races	Poles	Wins	Pts	Final Placing
1996	Atlantic Championship			12	0	0	70	7th
1997	Atlantic Championship	Forsythe Championship Racing		11	2	2	123	3rd
1998	Atlantic Championship	Forsythe Championship Racing		13	3	2	130	5th
1999	Atlantic Championship	Forsythe Championship Racing		12	3	2	118	4th
2000	CART Series	Forsythe Championship Racing	33	20	1	0	53	16th
2001	CART Series	Forsythe Championship Racing	33	20	2	0	80	11th
2002	CART Series	Forsythe Championship Racing	33	19	0	0	111	8th
2003	CART Series	Rocketsports Racing	33	18	2	0	97	10th
2004	Champ Car	Rocketsports Racing	8	14	0	1	218	7th
2005	Champ Car	Team Australia	15	13	0	0	207	7th
	V8 Supercars	WPS Racing	8	2	0	0	144	53rd
2006	Champ Car	Team Australia	15	14	0	0	205	8th
	Grand-Am Cup			3	0	0	45	59th
2007	Champ Car	RSPORTS	8	12	0	0	70	7th
	NASCAR Canadian Tire Series	Jacombs Racing		2	0	0	182	35th
2008	NASCAR Canadian Tire Series	Jacombs Racing		9	0	1	1091	19th
	IndyCar Series	Walker Racing/Conquest Racing	36/15	4	0	0	56	32nd
2009	IndyCar Series	Conquest Racing	34	6	0	0	114	22nd
	NASCAR Nationwide Series	MacDonald Motorsports	81	2	0	0	134	115th
	NASCAR Canadian Tire Series	Jacombs Racing	3/81	2	2	0	184	40th
2010	IndyCar Series	FAZZT Race Team	77	17	0	0	302	13th
	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Kelly Racing	11	2	0	0	72	NC
2011	IndyCar Series	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	77	16	2	0	296	15th
	NASCAR Nationwide Series	Penske Racing	12	1	0	0	43	64th
	NASCAR Canadian Tire Series	Jacombs Racing	12	2	1	0	307	37th
	International V8 Supercar Championship	Kelly Racing	16	2	0	0	120	68th

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

CART/Champ Car

Yr	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Rank	Points
2000	Player's	MIA 9	LBH 4	RIO Ret*	MOT 15	NAZ Ret	MIL Ret	DET 6	POR Ret	CLE Ret	TOR 5	MIC Ret	CHI 9	MDO 9	ROA Ret*	VAN Ret	LS Ret	GAT 14	HOU Ret	SRF Ret	FON 6		16th	53
2001	Player's	MTY Ret	LBH 18	FTW Canc	NAZ Ret	MOT Ret	MIL 12	DET Ret	POR 12	CLE 9	TOR 2	MIC 6	CHI 6	MDO 7	ROA 8	VAN Ret*	LAU Ret	ROC 14	HOU Ret	LS 15	SRF 3	FON 3	11th	80
2002	Player's	MTY 5	LBH 16	MOT 2	MIL 19	LS 10	POR 12	CHI 7	TOR 7	CLE 5	VAN 7	MDO 7	ROA 2	MTL 11	DEN 12	ROC 18	MIA 4	SRF 6	FON 8	MXC 10			8th	111
2003	Rocketsports	STP 19	MTY 3	LBH 10	BRH 8	LAU 18	MIL 5	LS 14	POR 3	CLE 8	TOR 17	VAN 14	ROA 3	MDO 6	MTL 4*	DEN 9	MIA 13	MXC 16	SRF 7	FON NH			10th	97
2004	Rocketsports	LBH 8	MTY 5	MIL 13	POR 7	CLE 3	TOR 7	VAN 7	ROA 1*	DEN 10	MTL 7	LS 6	LVG 16	SRF 19	MXC 11								7th	218^
2005	Team Australia	LBH 15	MTY 3	MIL 10	POR 18	CLE 4	TOR 3	EDM 7	SJO 9	DEN 14	MTL 5	LVG 7	SRF 4	MXC 8									7th	207
2006	Team Australia	LBH 3	HOU Ret	MTY 5	MIL DNS	POR 11	CLE 4	TOR 6	EDM Ret	SJO Ret	DEN Ret	MTL 7	ROA 11	SRF 3	MXC 5								8th	205
2007	RSPORTS	LVG 4	LBH 5	HOU 9	POR 5	CLE 6	MTT 8	TOR 8	EDM Ret	SJO Ret	ROA 5	ZOL 9	ASN 15	SRF 7	MXC 13								10th	205

• ^ New points system implemented in 2004

IndyCar Series

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Rank	Points
2008	Walker Racing	HMS	STP	MOT1 DNP	LBH1 7	KAN	INDY	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	EDM	KTY	SNM				32nd	56
	Conquest Racing																	DET 22	CHI 12	SRF2 4
2009	Conquest Racing	STP 10	LBH 10	KAN	INDY 11	MIL	TXS 14	IOW	RIR	WGL	TOR 9	EDM 13	KTY	MDO	SNM	CHI	MOT	HMS			22nd	114
2010	FAZZT Race Team	SAO 19	STP 6	ALA 10	LBH 21	KAN 8	INDY 10	TXS 18	IOW 12	WGL 17	TOR 17	EDM 23	MDO 4*	SNM 14	CHI 25	KTY 15	MOT 13	HMS 14			13th	302
2011	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	STP 6	ALA 15	LBH 5	SAO 19	INDY 28	TXS1 4	TXS2 14	MIL 18	IOW 16	TOR 23	EDM 17	MDO 6	NHM 19	SNM 20	BAL 7	MOT 4	KTY	LVS3 C		15th	296

¹ Run on same day.

² Non-points-paying, exhibition race.

³ The Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums (Non-win)	Top 10s (Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships
4	4	43	2	0	0	16	0	0

** Podium (Non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes.

*** Top 10s (Non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2009	Dallara	Honda	33	11	Conquest Racing
2010	Dallara	Honda	5	10	FAZZT Race Team
2011	Dallara	Honda	1	28	Sam Schmidt Motorsports

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Year	Team	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NNWC	Points
2009	MacDonald Motorsports	Dodge	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	TXS	NSH	PHO	TAL	RIC	DAR	CHA	DOV	NS2	KTY	MIL	NHA	DY2	CHI	GAT	ORP	IOW	GLN	MIC	BR2	MON 26	ATL	RI2	DV2	KAN	FO2	CA2	MEM	TX2	PH2 38	HOM	116th	134
2011	Penske Racing	Dodge	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TXS	TAL	NSH	RIC	DAR	DOV	IOW	CHA	CHI	MIC	ROA	DY2	KTY	NHA	NS2	LOR	IO2	GLN	MON 2	BR2	ATL	RI2	CH2	DV2	KAN	CA2	TX2	PH2	HOM		64th	43

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

Year	Team	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	NCTS	Points
2007	Jacombs Racing	Dodge	HAM1	BOW1	BAR1	VER	EDM	MTL 25	BOW2	TR 23	HAM2	BAR2	ANT	FRA		35th	128
2008	Jacombs Racing	Dodge	HAM1 21	BOW1 5	BAR1 7	STE 24	VER 17	EDM 1	MTL 29	BOW2 18	TR 18	HAM2	BAR2	ANT	FRA	19th	1091
2009	Jacombs Racing	Chevrolet	STE1	DEL	BOW1	STE2	VER	EDM	SAS	BOW2	TR 22	MTL 27	BAR	ANT	FRA	40th	184
2011	Jacombs Racing	Dodge	BOW1	MIR 8*	DEL	BOW2	TOR	VER	SAS	TR	MTL 5	BAR	ANT	FRA		37th	307

Touring/Sports Car Racing

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

V8 Supercar results

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Final Pos	Points
2005	WPS Team Australia	ADL	PUK	BAR	ECR	SHA	HDV	QUE	ORP	SAN 22	BAT 13	SUR	SYP	PHI																54th	144
2010	Rock Racing	YMC R1	YMC R2	BHR R3	BHR R4	ADE R5	ADE R6	HAM R7	HAM R8	QLD R9	QLD R10	WIN R11	WIN R12	HDV R13	HDV R14	TOW R15	TOW R16	PHI R17	BAT R18	SUR R19 11	SUR R20 20	SYM R21	SYM R22	SAN R23	SAN R24	SYD R25	SYD R26			NC	72 +
2011	Stratco Racing	YMC R1	YMC R2	ADE R3	ADE R4	HAM R5	HAM R6	PER R7	PER R8	PER R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HDV R12	HDV R13	TOW R14	TOW R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	PHI R19	BAT R20	SUR R21 19	SUR R22 11	SYM R23	SYM R24	SAN R25	SAN R26	SYD R27	SYD R28	68th	120

+ International driver, Not Eligible for points in 2010 format. Points listed is team points for driver Jason Bargwanna in the two races where Tagliani was co-driver for the #11 Kelly Racing Holden.

See also

• List of Canadians in Champ Car

External links

• Official Website
• FAZZT Race Team Official Website
• Team Australia Official Website
• IndyCar Driver Page
• Tagliani Career Stats

Sporting positions
Preceded by Ryan Hunter-Reay	Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 2009	Succeeded by Simona de Silvestro