Alex Tagliani To Make His First NASCAR Nationwide Series Start at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge
Montreal, August 18, 2009 - Stock-Car Montréal, the organizing body of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge, announced Tuesday that Quebec driver Alex Tagliani will run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race scheduled August 29-30 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Parc Jean-Drapeau. The veteran racer from Lachenaie, Quebec is entered in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge to drive the No. 81 Dodge Charger owned by Canadian Randy MacDonald. The Quebec Dodge Dealer Association is sponsoring Tagliani for the Montreal race.
"Alex has been looking for several months to join the field for our Nationwide Series race, and we are very happy that he has come to an agreement with the Dodge Dealers of Quebec," said François Dumontier, promoter of the event. "He is a resolute and very talented driver full of enthusiasm who will give his fans quite a show as he did last weekend in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race. Canadian fans will have a lot to cheer for with Jacques Villeneuve, Patrick Carpentier, Ron Fellows, and now Alex Tagliani, joining them for a fierce competition on a race track that is quite familiar to this quartet of drivers."
Villeneuve, Carpentier, and Tagliani each won on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve during their Atlantic Championship Series days, while Fellows is the defending NASCAR Nationwide Series race winner in Montreal.
"We are also very happy to have Alex Tagliani running in the Nationwide Series race," said David Dumont, President of the Quebec Dodge Dealers Coop. "He is an engaging and generous driver with the fans, but he can also shine on a race course. Alex deserves to be on the starting grid of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge. We like his aggressive style and his commitment to the sport. That is why we are pleased to join with this talented driver for our event."
D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, Ontario and American Bobby Hamilton Jr. are among the racers who drove the No. 81 MacDonald Motorsports Dodge Charger this season. Hamilton scored the team's best result this year in June with a 14th place finish in Nashville. Earlier in the season, Kennington qualified the MacDonald entry in 11th position in Talladega.
"If there is a driver that can get the best out of this car, it's Alex. With only four cars on track during road course qualifying, the format should serve Alex well on a track he knows well," concluded François Dumontier.
In order to get Tagliani acquainted with the car and prepared for the Montreal race, he traveled today to South Carolina and will test Randy MacDonald's Dodge Charger at Carolina Motorsports Park road course in Kershaw, the track where most NASCAR teams get their cars ready for a road course event. Tagliani entered the Montreal NASCAR Canadian Tire Series event twice, in 2007 and 2008, respectively qualifying fourth and fifth before retiring with mechanical problems each time.
From Normand Prieur // Press Officer, Stock-Car Montreal
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