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Alex Tagliani

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Alex Tagliani
Tagliani in 2015
NationalityCanada Canadian
Born (1973-10-18) October 18, 1973 (age 51)
Lachenaie, Quebec, Canada
Awards2009 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
IndyCar Series career
72 races run over 8 years
Team(s)No. 68 (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing)
2011 position15th
Best finish13th (2010)
First race2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
Last race2015 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 0 3
Champ Car career
131 races run over 8 years
Best finish7th (2004, 2005)
First race2000 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead)
Last race2007 Gran Premio Tecate (Mexico City)
First win2004 Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America (Road America)
Wins Podiums Poles
1 14 5
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
7 races run over 5 years
Car no., teamNo. 22 (Team Penske)
2015 position55th
Best finish39th (2014)
First race2009 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race2015 Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 4 3
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Truck no., teamNo. 29 (Brad Keselowski Racing)
2015 position91st
Best finish91st (2015)
First race2014 Chevrolet Silverado 250 (Mosport)
Last race2015 Chevrolet Silverado 250 (Mosport)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 2
NASCAR Canada Series career
16 races run over 5 years
2013 position45th
Best finish19th (2008)
First race2007 NAPA Autopro 100 (Montreal)
Last race2013 JuliaWine.com 100 (Trois-Rivieres)
First win2008 Edmonton 100 (Edmonton Airport)
Last win2015 Leland Industries 300 Sunset Speedway
Wins Top tens Poles
2 6 4
Statistics current as of August 30, 2015.

Alexandre "Alex" Tagliani (G pronounced in last name; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tags", is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the United SportsCar Championship, driving the #09 Oreca FLM09 entry for Rocketsports Racing. He also competes in the NASCAR Pinty's Series.

Champ Car career

Tagliani raced in the Champ Car series from 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 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 was involved in the collision with Alex Zanardi at the Lausitzring that resulted in the loss of Zanardi's legs.

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 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: NASCAR and IndyCar

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.[1] 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.[2][3]

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,[4] 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.

2014 NASCAR Nationwide car at Road America

Tagliani also ran selected races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, running four races between 2009 and 2012. In 2014, he announced that he would drive in two races in the series for Team Penske.[5]

At Road America for the Gardner Denver 200, Tagliani won the pole position driving Penske's #22. Tagliani nearly won his first NNS victory leading the second half. However, it was questionable with 10 laps to go if Tagliani had enough fuel. A caution came out before the final lap and just as the yellow period began Tagliani ran out of gas in the extended race and stalled at the start/finish line. Tagliani switched to dry (slick) tires with most of the field on wet tires (on a drying track); he restarted in 23rd place and recovered for second place.

Later in 2014 Tagliani was announced as the driver for Brad Keselowski Racing's No. 19 in the Camping World Truck Series event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.[6]

Autodrome Chaudière 2015 - NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (Photo Paul-Émile Poulin-Jacques)

In 2015, Tagliani drove one race for Team Penske in the NASCAR Xfinity series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Tagliani won the pole and while leading on the final lap, got tagged by Regan Smith losing the lead and with it, the race. Two weeks later, Tagliani drove the #29 truck for Brad Keselowski Racing at Mosport, leading a total of 8 laps and finishing 5th after battling Erik Jones for the lead late in the race.

Sports Cars

Tagliani has competed in sports cars since the mid-2000s. He finished 59th in GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT class points in 2007, with a best finish of 13th at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. In 2013, he drove driving a Ferrari GRAND-AM GT in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Later, Rocketsports Racing announced that it had signed Tagliani for the full 2014 United SportsCar Championship season to drive an Oreca FLM09.[7]

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 36 4 0 0 56 32nd
Conquest Racing 15
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 Stockton 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 Bryan Herta Autosport 98 16 2 0 296 15th
Sam Schmidt Motorsports 77
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

  • ^ New points system implemented in 2004

IndyCar Series

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
6 6 72 3 0 0 26 0 0
** Podium (Non-win) indicates 2nd or 3rd place finishes.
*** Top 10s (Non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes.

Indianapolis 500

Alex Tagliani participating in the Pit Stop Challenge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2015
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
2012 Dallara Honda 11 12 Team Barracuda – BHA
2013 Dallara Honda 11 24 Barracuda Racing
2014 Dallara Honda 24 13 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
2015 Dallara Honda 21 17 A. J. Foyt Enterprises

NASCAR

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

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

Canadian Tire Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

Touring/sports car racing

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

V8 Supercar results

+ 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

References

  1. ^ "Conquest Racing 2009" (PDF). ConquestRacing.com. 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  2. ^ "Alex Tagliani's new IndyCar team revealed". racer.com. Haymarket Publications. 2009-08-28. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-28. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Tagliani to set up new IndyCar team". racer.com. Haymarket Publications. 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  4. ^ "Sam Schmidt purchases FAZZT Race Team". Racer.com. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  5. ^ Estrada, Chris (May 6, 2014). "NNS: Alex Tagliani in for Team Penske at Road America, Mid-Ohio". MotorSports Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  6. ^ "Alex Tagliani to make NASCAR Truck debut at CTMP". Motorsport.com. August 12, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
  7. ^ Dagys, John. "Tagliani Joins RSR, Team Reveals Rolex 24 Lineup". Sportscar365.com. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alex Tagliani.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year
2009 		Succeeded by
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