Alex Tagliani facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alex Tagliani |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alex Tagliani at the 2015 500 Festival Parade in Indianapolis, Indiana
|
|||||||
| Nationality |  Canadian |
||||||
| Born | October 18, 1973 Lachenaie, Quebec, Canada |
||||||
| Awards | 2009 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, 2011 Indianapolis 500 pole winner | ||||||
| IndyCar Series career | |||||||
| 73 races run over 9 years | |||||||
| 2016 position | 31st | ||||||
| Best finish | 13th (2010) | ||||||
| First race | 2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach) | ||||||
| Last race | 2016 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 131 races run over 8 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 7th (2004, 2005) | ||||||
| First race | 2000 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead) | ||||||
| Last race | 2007 Gran Premio Tecate (Mexico City) | ||||||
| First win | 2004 Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America (Road America) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 8 races run over 6 years | |||||||
| 2016 position | 56th | ||||||
| Best finish | 39th (2014) | ||||||
| First race | 2009 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal) | ||||||
| Last race | 2016 Road America 180 (Road America) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career | |||||||
| 6 races run over 6 years | |||||||
| 2020 position | 65th | ||||||
| Best finish | 56th (2019) | ||||||
| First race | 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 250 (Mosport) | ||||||
| Last race | 2020 Sunoco 159 (Daytona RC) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| NASCAR Pinty's Series career | |||||||
| 109 races run over 15 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 18 (22 Racing) | ||||||
| 2022 position | 5th | ||||||
| Best finish | 2nd (2018) | ||||||
| First race | 2007 NAPA Autopro 100 (Montreal) | ||||||
| Last race | 2023 NTN Ultimate Bearing 250 (Sunset) | ||||||
| First win | 2008 Edmonton 100 (Edmonton Airport) | ||||||
| Last win | 2022 Leland Industries Twin 125s (Race 2)(Sutherland) | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Statistics current as of May 15, 2023. | |||||||
Alexandre Tagliani (born October 18, 1973), often called "Tag", is a professional race car driver from Canada. He currently races full-time in the NASCAR Canada Series. He drives the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for the 22 Racing team.
Alex has competed in many different types of racing. These include open-wheel cars, stock cars, and sports cars. He has raced in major series like Champ Car, IndyCar Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Contents
Alex Tagliani's Racing Journey
Starting in Atlantic Championship
Alex Tagliani began his professional racing career in 1996. He joined the Atlantic Championship series. In his first year, he finished seventh overall. The next year, he moved to Forsythe Racing. He finished third in 1997 and won two races. He continued with Forsythe, winning two more races in both 1998 and 1999.
Racing in Champ Car
Tagliani moved up to the Champ Car series in 2000. At that time, it was known as CART. He joined Forsythe Racing, taking the place of another driver. In his third race, he almost won after starting from the front. But he spun out near the end.
In 2001, he was part of a serious crash at the Lausitzring track. This accident unfortunately led to another driver, Alex Zanardi, losing his legs.
Tagliani stayed with Forsythe until the end of 2002. Then, he joined the Rocketsports team in 2003. In 2004, he achieved his first and only Champ Car win at the Road America track.
In 2005, he raced for Team Australia. He finished seventh in the championship. This was one of his best finishes in the series. He returned to Rocketsports for the 2007 season. He finished tenth in points that year. Alex earned four pole positions during his time in Champ Car. Many drivers, including Alex, felt the Panoz DP01 car was one of the best American open-wheel cars to drive.
Competing in IndyCar Series
In 2008, Alex Tagliani started racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. He also drove in a few races for Conquest Racing in the IndyCar Series. He filled in for an injured driver and finished the last two races of the season.
Conquest Racing planned for Tagliani to race full-time in 2009. However, the team focused more on road courses after the 2009 Indianapolis 500. His best result was ninth place in Toronto. He left Conquest Racing after the Edmonton race in 2009.
In August 2009, Tagliani signed a deal to race for a new team, FAZZT Race Team. He competed for them in the IndyCar Series starting in 2010.
After a good 2010 season, FAZZT Race Team was bought by Sam Schmidt in 2011. Tagliani stayed with the team, which became part of Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
In 2011, a special year for the Indianapolis 500, Tagliani won the pole position. This meant he started the race from the very front. He had the fastest four-lap average speed. Sadly, during the race, he hit the wall and had to stop racing.
His best finish in the Indianapolis 500 is tenth place, which he got in 2010. In the 2016 race, he started from the very last spot (33rd). He then led 11 laps, which was a record for starting so far back.
NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series Races
Alex Tagliani has also raced in some NASCAR Xfinity Series events since 2009. In 2014, he drove for Team Penske in two races. At Road America, he won the pole position. He almost won the race but ran out of fuel near the end. He still managed to finish second.
Later in 2014, he raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the first time. He drove for Brad Keselowski Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He started from the pole position and led some laps. He finished the race in sixteenth place.
In 2015, Tagliani raced again for Team Penske in the Xfinity Series. He won the pole position at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He was close to winning but was bumped by another driver on the last lap. Two weeks later, he finished fifth in a Truck Series race at Mosport.
In 2016, Tagliani raced one more time for Team Penske in the Xfinity Series. He won the pole at Road America and finished seventh. After this, he left Team Penske. He returned to the Truck Series in 2017 and 2019, driving for different teams.
NASCAR Pinty's Series Success
In 2007, Tagliani started racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. In 2008, he won his first race in this series at Edmonton Airport.
He raced part-time in the series for a few years. In 2014, he became a full-time driver with his own team. In 2015, he joined Colin Livingston's team and won his second race at Sunset. In 2016, he had a great year, winning three races at Sunset, Toronto, and Edmonton. He finished third in the overall points standings.
Tagliani joined Scott Steckly's 22 Racing team in 2017. In 2018, he finished second in the championship. In 2019, he won a race in Toronto. However, he had to miss a race due to a heart condition called myocarditis. This ended his chances for the championship that year.
Sports Car Racing
Alex Tagliani has also raced sports cars since the mid-2000s. In 2007, he competed in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2013, he drove a Ferrari in the Rolex Sports Car Series. He later signed to race a prototype car in the 2014 United SportsCar Championship season.
Personal Life and Advocacy
Alex Tagliani has severe food allergies. He has experienced serious allergic reactions. He works to raise public awareness about food allergies. He partners with organizations like Food Allergy Canada.
He is also a big supporter of young Go-Karting talent. He promotes the Go-Karting hobby around the world. He even has a business called "Tag E-Karting and Amusement" in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec.
In 2023, he shared many great memories from his NASCAR Pinty's Series career. He talked about his wins in Saskatoon in 2022 and at the Honda Indy Toronto in 2023. Alex is considered a very important person in Canadian motorsports history.
Images for kids
-
Alex Tagliani participating in the Pit Stop Challenge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2015.
See also
In Spanish: Alex Tagliani para niños
- List of Canadians in Champ Car
