Alex Tagliani come-back drive of the season for Penske at Road America

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In: Xfinity Series News

It was patented edge-of-your-seat entertainment, and easily the come-from-behind drive of the 2014 racing season to date!

In the first of two NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Penske Racing aboard the # 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, Montreal’s Alex Tagliani called on his vast road racing experience in the rain to come within a lap of winning the Gardner Denver 200 at Road America, Elkhart Lake Wisconsin!

After leading most of the second half of the event, Tag’s chance to win started to fade, and he ran out of gas when a late caution flew with 3 laps to go.

But that allowed the Penske crew to refuel the car and install slick racing tires for one final push, as the track started to dry out.

NASCAR added two laps, and on the re-start with 5 to go, fighting to find grip around the wet patches, Tagliani passed cars at will, slicing and dicing his way through the field from 22nd to finish 2nd behind winner Brendan Gaughan, who later admitted had there been one more lap, Tag would have probably won the race!

“It was pretty intense! The wet was tricky, but obviously we were good. It was hard work to find the line and we were all over the place trying to find some grip, “ Tagliani commented.

“We were trying to save fuel, but it ran dry. The guys did a good job and put me on slicks for the re-start. Then after that it was boom-boom-boom and I just came up short at the line but it was a pretty good race,” Tagliani added.

It was the third time in Nationwide Series history that grooved rain tires were used in a race; the previous two were in Montreal. NASCAR only uses rain tires on road courses, not on oval tracks. Tagliani will run the # 22 Discount Tire Ford for Roger Penske in the NASCAR Nationwide Series again at Mid Ohio in August, now propelled by the momentum and confidence from a fantastic result at Road America.

The next assignment for Alex for Tagliani Autosport will be round three of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course event at Circuit ICAR, Mirabel Quebec, Sunday July 6th.

Alex Tagliani PR

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