Alex Tagliani hasn’t exactly made himself at home in stock cars, only because he has just three NASCAR Nationwide Series starts to his credit. This weekend, the 39-year-old Montreal native will be right at home in his backyard.
Tagliani figures to have a huge rooting section in Saturday’s NAPA 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the Nationwide tour makes its sixth-ever stop at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
Tagliani, who will doing double-duty in the Grand-Am sports car race earlier in the day, finished second in the series’ only race outside the United States last season, driving for Roger Penske. This year, Tagliani — one of nine Canadian drivers entered in the event — has paired up to drive for Turner Motorsports, hoping to improve one spot on last season’s results and hoping for more opportunities in full-fendered cars.
“I would like to do many more NASCAR races,” Tagliani said Thursday at a welcome ceremony at Montreal’s historic city hall. “It’s tough to get in and compete against guys who are doing it regularly, but there’s no question that I’m trying to get a good relationship with Turner Motorsports. I love the group. They’re very passionate and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye at the end of the weekend.”
Justin Allgaier, Tagliani’s teammate for the weekend, says the Canadian star has been a plus for the whole Turner operation.
“To have his ability and to have his ties here to Montreal, it’s going to be a fun weekend,” Allgaier said. “I’ve only gotten to know him for a short amount of time, but hopefully it’s the first of many races that he’s able to run with us on the NASCAR side.”
The 15-turn, 2.709-mile road course may be familiar to native Canadians, but its close-quarters nature could become a trouble spot for the series’ regulars. The Gilles Villeneuve track has a history of producing bent sheet metal and heated contests up front — three of the five previous races have included a winning pass for the lead in the final two laps.
Elliott Sadler remains on top of the Nationwide standings, but the gap separating the top four tightened after last weekend at Watkins Glen. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the defending series champ, is 13 points behind in second, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. (24 points back) and Austin Dillon (29 points back).
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