Alexandre Tagliani (/tæɡlɪˈɑːnɪ/; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Canada Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing.
Tagliani has competed in a variety of disciplines including
, he finished third in 1997, fourth in 1998, and fourth in 1999, claiming two wins in each season.
Champ Car
Tagliani raced in the
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
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 seventh in the championship despite lacking a race engineer. The seventh-place finish would equal the best of his three Top 10 championship points finishes.
He returned to Rocketsports for the
2007 season
, and finished 10th in points with a best finish of fourth in the first race of the season. He earned four pole positions during his Champ Car career.
Alex, along with many other 2007 Champ Car Drivers, has stated the Panoz DP01 was "one of" the best American Open Wheel Racers he ever drove during his career. This is among the collection of open-wheel cars he drove from the 1990s to modern day, and continues to do so, with less frequency into the 2020s. In the mid 2010s his career began a focus on "Stock Car Racing" rather than a large frequency of open-wheel.
IndyCar
In 2008, after the Rocketsports team decided not to take part in the
. Tagliani continued in the seat for the last two races of the season.
Tagliani with fans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning the pole position for the 2011 Indianapolis 500
Conquest Racing announced that Tagliani would return as a full-time driver for the
2009 season.[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
After a successful 2010 campaign with Tagliani, FAZZT Race Team was looking forward to an even more successful
Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Tagliani was retained, along with all sponsors, for a full-time entry during the 2011 season, racing alongside his new teammates Townsend Bell, Wade Cunningham, and Jay Howard
.
Tagliani celebrating after winning 2011 Indianapolis 500 pole
In 2011, for the 100th anniversary of the first running of the Indianapolis 500, Tagliani qualified on the pole position with a four-lap average of 227.472 mph, besting Scott Dixon in the last run of the day. Unfortunately for Tagliani, he would run wide in turn 4 on lap 147 and make contact with the outside wall, inflicting damage upon the car which would force him to retire from the race the following lap.
To date, Tagliani's best finish in the Indianapolis 500 is tenth, which he achieved in 2010 while driving for FAZZT Race Team. His best performance was arguably the 2016 event when he charged hard from 33rd starting position to lead 11 laps, matching a record set by Tom Sneva in 1980.
Xfinity Series since 2009. That year he entered the Montreal and Phoenix rounds with Pat MacDonald. He drove at Montreal in 2011 for Team Penske
and 2012 for Steve Turner. He did not enter any race in 2013.
In 2014, Tagliani announced that he would drive in two races in the series for
Gardner Denver 200
, Tagliani won the pole position driving Penske's No. 22. Tagliani nearly won his first NNS race 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. At Mid-Ohio he finished fifth without leading any lap.
Later in 2014, Tagliani was announced as the driver for
Camping World Truck Series event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.[6] Despite the race being his very first Truck Series start, he earned the pole position and led the first seven laps. However, he would finish the race in sixteenth.Autodrome Chaudière
2015 - NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (Photo Paul-Émile Poulin-Jacques)
In 2015, Tagliani drove one race for
Mosport, leading a total of 8 laps and finishing 5th after battling Erik Jones
for the lead late in the race.
In 2016, Tagliani made a one-off appearance in the No. 22 for Team Penske at Road America in the Xfinity Series, and earned the pole for the race. He would lead 17 laps and score a seventh-place finish. Tagliani would part ways with Penske at year's end, to make way for other Penske drivers such as Austin Cindric.
Tagliani returned to the Truck Series for the 2017 Mosport race, driving the No. 02 for Young's Motorsports.[7]
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, entering two rounds with Dave Jacombs. In 2008, he raced in 9 out of 13 races with that team, scoring a win at Edmonton Airport
.
Tagliani competed at two NASCAR Canada Series races in 2009, two in 2013 and one in 2013. He scored four pole positions, but his best finishes were fifth.
The driver returned as a full-time driver in 2014 with his own team. Again, his best results were fifth, and ended ninth in the overall standings. In 2015, he joined Colin Livingston's team, where he claimed his second win at
Autodrome St. Eustache round, effectively ending his championship hopes.[11]
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
food allergies and suffered several episodes of anaphylaxis. He has promoted public awareness through the Food Allergy Canada and personal sponsor Pfizer.[13]
He is also an advocate for young Go-Karting talent and the Go-Karting hobby across the world, from Briggs to Shifters to KZ. This is seen in some of his businesses and initiatives, such as "Tag E-Karting and Amusement" located in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec.[14]
In 2023, he talked in depth regarding his
Toronto Exhibition Grounds, as recently as 2023. He is one of the greatest assets to Canadian Motorsports and its rich history.[15]
+ 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.
Canadian
