Alex Tagliani finishes sixth in Nova Scotia (13)

TAGLIANI AUTOSPORT


For immediate release


Alex Tagliani Scores a Well-Deserved Sixth Place 
Finish at Riverside Speedway in Nova Scotia


Montreal, August 20, 2017 - Things did not look 
good for racecar driver Alex Tagliani at the 
start of Round 10 of the NASCAR Pinty's Series 
originally scheduled for Saturday evening on the 
high-banked oval of Riverside International 
Speedway located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. 
During Saturday's sole practice session, Tagliani 
posted the 10th quickest time out of 15 drivers 
but unfortunately for him qualifying, which was 
scheduled for mid-afternoon, was washed out due 
to light rain, forcing him to start near the rear 
of the pack of the race that was pushed back to 
Sunday afternoon. DJ Kennington, quickest in 
practice, inherited first place for the start of 
the 300-lap race.


With rain forcing the postponement of the Bumper 
To Bumper 300 scheduled for Saturday evening, the 
300 lap-race on the fast 0.333-mile track got 
underway on sunny Sunday afternoon. Winner of the 
race in Trois-Rivières the previous weekend, Alex 
Tagliani was still hoping for a turnaround in 
order to push his number of wins to two, even 
though his car had not performed to his liking 
during Saturday's practice session. Starting 
10th, the EpiPen-Lowe's-St Hubert driver kept 
pace with the leaders, but was unable to move in 
on them in the first half of the race. Following 
the mandatory five-minute break at mid-race, 
Tagliani was twice involved with back markers but 
that did not stop him from moving up to eighth 
place by lap 250. Then he turned on the jets, 
moving up two more positions and finishing sixth 
behind Andrew Ranger, five seconds behind winner 
Alex Labbé.


"Tagliani Autosport with 22 Racing Team did a 
really good job today improving the car during 
the race. In the first half of the race, the car 
was not set up to keep the pace," Tagliani said. 
"Yesterday (Saturday) after practice, we chose to 
change the car prior to the cold conditions of 
qualifying and the race that was going to be run 
at night. But we did not qualify nor race in the 
cold, and the car was kept in "Parc Fermé" with 
that set up and we could not change anything 
prior to the race on Sunday. I realized in the 
early goings that the car was not set up for 
sunny conditions so I patiently waited for a 
first quick stop during the first half of the 
race to make changes. At the midpoint five-minute 
race break, the team completed the change and it 
was much better. Afterward, I was able to 
challenge and close the loop in P6.


"Even though things did not look good in the 
first half of the race, the EpiPen Lowe's team 
never gave up. It's not the finish we were 
looking for after our last win, but hopefully 
before the end of the season, we are going to 
make some ground in the standings. We are looking 
for better results in the three races left. We 
have always looked good at Mosport, but luck has 
never been on our side. We need to change this in 
order to look for a strong end of the season 
finish."


Race winner Alex Labbé took over the lead from 
Kevin Lacroix on the last corner of the event to 
score his fourth win of the season. DJ Kennington 
finished third ahead of Mark Dilley. Fifteen 
drivers started the race and 11 crossed the 
finish line with nine on the lead lap. The race 
was under caution six times.


With three races left this year in the NASCAR 
Pinty's Series, Tagliani is still sixth in the 
standings With his win, Alex Labbé increases his 
lead in first place over Kevin Lacroix.


In 55 NASCAR Pinty's Series starts, Tagliani has 
six wins, eight poles, 21 top-fives and 35 
top-ten finishes. Telecast of the Bumper To 
Bumper 300 on TSN will air on Sunday, August 27, 
at 1:30 p.m.


Next stop: The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Labour Day Weekend
The NASCAR Pinty's Series (NPS) returns to the 
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) for the 
second time this year for their annual Labour Day 
race weekend. The Total Quartz 200, round 11 on 
the 2017 schedule, will be held Sunday, September 
3 on the 3.958-km road course located north of 
Bowmanville, Ontario.


But the track has never been kind to Tagliani and 
never allowed him to show his full potential in 
the NPS, except in his rookie year when he 
finished fifth in May 2008. Even if two NASCAR 
Pinty's Series races are held on the Ontario road 
course each year, Tagliani has only taken part in 
four of the 18 races held at CTMP since 2008. He 
returned to IndyCar racing in 2009 where he 
entered six races before running full time from 
2010 to 2013, winning during that period the 2011 
Indy 500 pole position. Although he switched to 
full time stockcar racing in Canada in 2014, 
Tagliani never entered the NASCAR Series season 
opener until 2017, having chosen instead to 
compete in the famed Indy 500 held in the month 
of May.


At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, luck has never 
been on Tagliani's side. In August 2014, on his 
return to CTMP, a power steering leak early in 
the race forced him to pit often but he soldiered 
on, gaining 11 positions in the last 20 laps to 
finish 20th. Starting fourth in the fall of 2015, 
he was running with the leaders with three laps 
to go when he was punted off the track and finish 
eighth overall. A year later in early September, 
he started on the pole, but a mechanical problem 
at mid-race ended his hopes of winning his first 
race on this track. Earlier this year at the 2017 
NPS season opener, he qualified on the front row, 
but suffered a mechanical failure with two laps 
to go while running in third place, sending him 
crashing into the tire barrier and ending his 
race.


Is it going to be another crazy weekend for 
Tagliani on September 3rd or is Lady Luck finally 
going to give him a break?


Enter Food Allergy Canada's Drive the Discussion Contest today!
This summer, join Canadian race car star Alex 
Tagliani in the Summer of TAG 2017, as he races 
across Canada and helps raise awareness about 
food allergies and the importance of educating 
others along the way!


Everyone can join the food allergy conversation 
in the Drive the Discussion Contest by posting 
his favourite food allergy tip on how to safely 
manage food allergies that can be shared with 
others. Each post qualifies them for a chance to 
win one of five weekly prizes and/or a grand 
prize from Lowe's/RONA. Don't forget to share 
your tip with a friend - if they comment on your 
tip, then they will be eligible to win: go to 
foodallergycanada.ca /tag.


Photos: Tagliani in the pits at Riverside Speedway
Alex Tagliani finished sixth on Sunday in Round 
10 of the NASCAR Pinty's Series held on the 
high-banked oval of Riverside International 
Speedway located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Photos courtesy of Tagliani Autosport


- 30 -



Source:
Max d'Orsonnens
Tagliani Autosport
514-246-8909


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