By: Tagliani Autosport
July 11 2018
Montréal, Quebec – Remembering that he led the final 13 laps on his way to one of his six NASCAR wins when the Pinty's Series made its return to Toronto in 2016, Alex Tagliani is looking forward to being back on the streets of downtown Toronto's Exhibition Place. The Canadian driver has great fondness for the urban Toronto track. During the eight seasons he spent in Champ Car (2000 - 2007), he climbed the podium steps twice and finished seven times in the top eight. In his IndyCar years, (2009 and 2013), he added two more top-ten finishes.
In his first two NASCAR races in Toronto, Tagliani qualified on the front row next to the polesitter. He hopes to improve that position in 2018 by driving his EpiPen-RONA-St Hubert Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to his first Toronto pole and second victory. A tall order considering the stiff competition he faces from his fellow competitors entered in Round 4 of the 2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series
The Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto, a 35-lap race (100 kilometres) around the 11-turn, 2.824-kilometre urban track will be run on Saturday, July 14 at 3:40 p.m. Drivers will first be on track on Friday for their practice session at 11:40 a.m., followed by qualifying at 4:05 p.m.
"It is always exciting to race at the Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto because it is here that I won the NASCAR race in 2016," said Alex Tagliani. "I really like this track and have fond memories of the successes I had here during my Indy Series career. We can't wait for the action to begin on Friday. It is an important race weekend with RONA because we are activating our new radio remote-controlled racetrack in the paddock. There will be lots of prizes to win including a set of FAST Wheels alloy wheels and Continental tires. This type of contest always attracts a crowd to the Thunder Alley paddock and it is always great to interact with fans.
"It is also a very important week for us in Toronto with the Wednesday launch of the Allergy-Friendly Kitchen Contest thanks to support of Pfizer Canada. This interactive contest invites people to create one of our allergy-friendly recipes, submit a family photo making it, and enter for the chance to win one of our many prizes. This is another great way to help raise awareness about food allergies in Canada."
During his 2018 season, Alex Tagliani will race across Canada promoting the fifth annual Summer of TAG which raises awareness about food allergies and the importance of educating those afflicted, with the Allergy-Friendly Kitchen Contest: a program for learning how to cook safely and minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Alex and Food Allergy Canada, with the support of Pfizer Canada, undertook this joint initiative. You can join Alex by downloading recipes at: http://foodallergycanada.ca/summer-of-tag/allergy-friendly-meals/
In the NASCAR point's chase after three races, Tagliani is seventh overall with 105 points, only 23 back from points leader L.P. Dumoulin of Trois-Rivières, Québec. In his NASCAR Pinty's Series career, Tagliani has collected eight poles, won six races, finished 23 times in top-five and 39 in the top-ten.
Fans can visit Alex's Facebook page https://facebook.com/Tagliani to find out more on the Canadian racecar driver. They can also follow Tag on Instagram @Tagliani18 as well as on Twitter @Tagliani at https://twitter.com/tagliani during his season-long quest for top honours in the NASCAR Pinty's Series.