Alex Tagliani will do double-duty at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with his usual ride in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the #19 Reece Towpower Ford in the Camping World Truck Series. (Photo-Mike Sullivan/RaceCanada.ca)
Busy Weekend for Alex Tagliani who will be competing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Montreal, Quebec - Race car driver Alex Tagliani will be a busy body this weekend at the 3.957-kilometre, 10-turn road course Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) track, located near Bowmanville, Ontario as he will be competing in two major NASCAR Series: The Plinty's Presents The Clarington 200, Round 9 of 11 of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCATS); and The 2nd Annual Chevrolet Silverado 250, Round 14 of 22 of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS).
"I am very fired up about the upcoming weekend driving the number 18 EpiPen Dodge in the Canadian Tire Series and the number 19 Reece Towpower Ford truck for Brad Keselowski Racing," Tagliani said. "I was honoured to receive a phone call from Keselowski asking me to drive their Ford F150 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park track on Labour Day weekend. We are hopeful to run a strong weekend in both series in order to score valuable points in both Team Owner Standings".
Tagliani has been very active in several racing series this year. He finished 13th last May at the Indy 500, in an one-off IndyCar Series race, and ran a couple of NASCAR Nationwide rounds for Team Penske lately. His regular racing commitments include most of the season-scheduled races in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (USCC) for RSR Racing, and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series with the No 18 EpiPen/Dicom Express/Sennheiser/CanTorque Dodge Challenger for Tagliani Autosport. This weekend, the Canadian pilot is embarking on a new venture as a rookie driver in the NASCAR Truck Series (NCWTS) aboard the Ford F-150 truck of Brad Keselowski Racing.
A quick recap on how much Tagliani will be busy this coming weekend. On Saturday, August 30, Tag will run in four practice sessions, two for each series, during four and half consecutive hours from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with three 10-minute breaks to change race suits each time, and then run to his next assignment. Following the practice sessions, Tagliani will back at the wheel of his EpiPen Dodge for two NCATS qualifying sessions from 4:40 to 5:00 p.m. and 5:05 to 5:25 p.m. With a 15-minute break, Tagliani will get ready to qualify the Keselowski Racing Reese sponsored No. 19 Ford F-150. NCWTS qualifying starts at 5:40 p.m.
Race Sunday
On Sunday, The Plinty's Presents The Clarington 200, a 51-lap, 201.8-kilometre NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race (with a 1 h 45 minutes time limit), will start at 10 a.m. The Lachenaie, Quebec driver will then get a short reprieve prior to the start at 1:30 p.m. of The 2nd Annual Chevrolet Silverado 250, a 64-lap, 253.3-kilometre NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
Without adding too much pressure on Tagliani, team owner and driver Brad Keselowski chose his moment to win his first NCWTS race of the 2014 season with the Reese sponsored Ford F150 the last time out on Wednesday at Bristol to move into fifth place in the Owner Point Standing with 463 points, 24 off Mike Curb Racing entry in first place. Unfortunately, Keselowski Racing was given a 10-point penalty for a post-race infraction at Bristol. Keselowski Racing is now down to sixth place with a 34-point deficit.
In the NCATS Owner Point Standing, Tagliani Autosport holds ninth place with 253 points, and is within 22 points of a Top-5 standing. Even though he missed two NCATS races this year, Tagliani could improve on his 10th place in the 2014 Driver Standings with great results in the last three races.
Summer of TAG Car Graphic Design Contest Final Winner
On top of Tagliani's busy track schedule, the event marks the unveiling of the third and final winner of the "Summer of TAG" car graphic design contest winner, and Alex will be on hand to congratulate the winner Leah Johnson of the Erin District High School in Ontario. The newly EpiPen car will be driven by Tagliani this weekend in round 9 of the Canadian Tire Motorsport race weekend.
"We are also very excited about the unveiling of our new EpiPen car design in the CHILL Ice House in downtown Toronto with Leah Johnson, the young girl who designed a pretty amazing and flashy car for its debut this weekend. She will be our guess, along with her family this weekend at the track," concluded Tagliani.
The winning Helmet Design of a Canada-wide Contest will also be displayed to the media during the unveiling of the car. Marcus Uhrich of Alberta was unable to attend the event or the race, but his winning helmet design, worn by Tagliani this weekend, will be auctioned at the Tagliani Foundation Golf Classic on September 30th at Céline Dion's Le Mirage in Montreal with the funds going to Anaphylaxis Canada. For more information, http://www.taglianifoundation.org/en/page/about_the_golf_classic.html
Watch the Race Live
Fans can follow website coverage of The Plinty's Presents The Clarington 200 race on Sunday at 10 a.m. at http://hometracks.nascar.com/ncats_race-central_083114_CTMP. The Chevrolet Silverado 250 NCWTS race can be viewed live on SPEED TV at 2:00 p.m. with a pre-race show starting at 1:30 p.m.
Fans are invited to follow Alex and Tagliani Autosport all season long on Facebook and Twitter (@Tagliani) and at Summeroftag.com, Tagliani.com & http://www.tagliani.com/en/index.html
About Tagliani Autosport
Tagliani Autosport entry in the NCATS is in partnership with Colin Livingston and CanTorque. The number 18 Dodge Challenger is sponsored by EpiPen®, Dicom Express, Sennheiser and CanTorque.
ABOUT ANAPHYLAXIS CANADA
Anaphylaxis Canada is a non_profit charitable organization dedicated to helping those at risk for anaphylaxis and those who care for them. For more information, visit www.anaphylaxis.ca.
ABOUT EPIPEN®
EpiPen® (epinephrine) Auto_Injectors are indicated for the emergency treatment of anaphylactic reactions in patients who are determined by a physician to be at increased risk of anaphylaxis. EpiPen® (epinephrine) Auto_Injectors are designed as emergency supportive therapy only. After administration, patients should seek medical attention immediately or go to the emergency room. This product may not be right for you, always read and follow the label. For details on EpiPen®, or educational and product safety information, please visit www.EpiPen.ca
About the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the only national racing sanction/series in Canada with eleven events from Edmonton, AB to Antigonish, NS from May to September. They race on road courses, street circuits and oval tracks. For information on the series, visit: NASCARHometracks.com