Montreal, Quebec - Alex Tagliani will be a busy driver this weekend at the 47th running of the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières (GP3R). A regular entrant in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 (NCATS), Tagliani is entered in Round 8 of 12 held on this tight street course. The Lachenaie, Quebec driver is also registered to compete for the first time in his career in rounds 9 and 10 of the Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC).

"Three races in three days in one weekend in two different series is a daunting task, plus bearing in mind another one coming up the following weekend in the FIA Rallycross Championship, held again in Trois-Rivières. This situation requires that you be continually focussed," Tagliani said. "I love those challenges, and this is what I did last year. I am always excited when I am faced with running a car I know almost nothing about. It requires a lot of mental and physical strength. It forces you to outperform every time you are on track. I don't think I will be bored this weekend."

CTCC Friday

Usually, Tagliani is not on track on Friday in Trois-Rivières. This will be his opportunity to discover how the Grand Touring Class (GT) number 75 Fastco Motorsport Ford Mustang Boss 302 behaves on this street circuit during the first practice session on Friday which is scheduled to open the weekend activities at 12.30 p.m. Tagliani will be back later for a short 20-minute qualifying run at 4:10 p.m., which will set the field for the evening round 9 CTCC race. The green flag for the timed 40-minute race will be dropped at 8 p.m. As of note, the Fast Wheels Ford Mustang is a very competitive car as Tagliani's weekend teammate Glenn Chaplin of Saint-Lazare, QC demonstrated when he won the CTCC GT class season opener last May at the Canadian Motorsport Park in Ontario.

"Everything is new to me in this championship. I know little of the CTCC and I never drove the Fast Wheels Mustang," Tagliani continued. "I am told that it drives superbly. I am also aware that its design has nothing in common with my NASCAR as far as driving capabilities and braking performances, and God knows that braking is what you need in Trois-Rivières. But with my previous experience driving all kinds of cars throughout my career, I should adapt quickly, even though I have only 20 minutes to get to know the car during practice before the qualifying run in the afternoon and the first CTCC race of the weekend that evening."

NASCAR Saturday

On Saturday August 1st, Tagliani and the CTCC drivers will be on track at 8:40 a.m. for the qualifying session, which will set the field for Sunday morning CTCC Round 10 race. Tagliani's day will just be starting, as he will switch cars 90 minutes later to drive the Chevrolet EpiPen/CGI/ CanTorque No 18 in the first of two NASCAR practice sessions. The one-hour qualifying run for the main Grand Prix event will start at 5 p.m. Tagliani, who has scored two poles at the GP3R, holds the series circuit's qualifying track record set in 2013 with a lap time of 1 minute, 07.080 seconds.

Big Time Sunday

On Sunday morning August 2nd, Tagliani will be on the CTCC starting grid for Round 10, a 40-minute race that will again showcase all three CTCC classes. Then, the stars of the show will take to the track at 2:10 p.m. for the start of the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières, the "NASCAR Le JuliaWine.com", a 50-lap race around the tight 11-turn temporary street course. Fans who have access to the French RDS2 network can watch the race live starting at 2:00 p.m. Tagliani hopes to give Chevrolet its first-ever constructor's win in Trois-Rivières. Tag has two wins, six poles and 15 top 10s in 31 career NCATS starts.

"Every NASCAR race is important for the championship points title, but Trois-Rivières has a special meaning as it is the only race of the season broadcasted live, and anyone who can pick-up the French RDS2 network can see Sunday on his television set the intense on-track battle. Everyone is looking to pick up maximum points, but it is never over until it's over at Trois-Rivières. Most Quebec drivers have a long race history in T-R and they know all the tricks and its traps. Turn 3 under Porte Duplessis is often a race ender as many competitors think they can win the race on the first lap or during a green flag restart. The track is like a funnel under the gate as it narrows with no place to go on either side of the asphalt ribbon. There is always bumping and grinding there," concluded Tagliani.

The participation of Tagliani Autosport in NCATS is the result of a partnership with Pfizer Canada Inc., the Canadian distributor of EpiPen® (epinephrine) auto-injectors. With his NASCAR program and participation in races across Canada, Alex is the ideal spokesperson to educate the 1.4 million Canadians who are affected by at least one food allergy and the severe life-threatening condition of anaphylaxis. Living with severe allergies to peanuts and nuts himself, Alex carries an EpiPen® Auto-Injector with him at all times. He invites fans to follow him on Facebook and Twitter (@Tagliani), www.TaglianiAutosport.com

To raise money for Anaphylaxis Canada, The Tagliani Foundation is organizing its second Annual Golf Classic at Golf Club Le Mirage on September 29, 2015. For details on the tournament and for tickets, visit http://www.taglianifoundation.org/en/index.html

Tagliani's participation in the two CTCC races at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières is a result of a sponsorship from Fast Wheels, a Canadian alloy wheel brand owned by Fastco Canada. Fastco is Canada's largest manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket alloy wheels, tires and accessories. Fastco's head office and distribution centre is located in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada.

Tagliani Autosport is also sponsored by CanTorque, headquartered in Edmonton, which designs and manufactures Industrial Bolting Tools and Accessories; by CGI Group Inc., the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world. Riobel, a manufacturer of high-performance faucets and shower systems that are both elegant and sophisticated and available throughout Canada and in a growing number of US states, and Napoleon®, North America's largest privately owned manufacturer of quality wood and gas fireplaces, outdoor living products and heating & cooling products, are also proud sponsors of Tagliani Autosport.