NASCAR Truck Series: Alex Tagliani should be the favorite at Mosport

By Asher Fair | Aug 7, 2019

LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 14: Alex Tagliani, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, looks on during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 14, 2015 in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images) /

Set to compete in the NASCAR Truck Series for just the fifth time, Alex Tagliani should be the favorite at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Earlier this month, Kyle Busch Motorsports confirmed that Alex Tagliani is set to drive for the team behind the wheel of the #51 Toyota in the round of 8 NASCAR Truck Series playoff race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the Chevrolet Silverado 250.

This 64-lap race around the 10-turn, 2.459-mile (3.957-kilometer) Canadian Tire Motorsport Park road course in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada is scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 25. While the 45-year-old Canadian has only competed in four Truck Series races before, he should be the favorite to win this race.

Tagliani has limited experience in NASCAR’s top three national series with just eight starts in the Xfinity Series and four starts in the Truck Series. He has never competed in the Cup Series.

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But he has made all 12 of these starts in road course races, including all four Truck Series starts at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and he has had success in doing so.

In his eight Xfinity Series starts, his average finish is 13.0, but is includes three second place finishes driving for Team Penske, by far the best team for which he has driven in NASCAR.

He finished in second place in the races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2011, Road America in 2014 and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2015. He also finished in fifth in the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2014 and seventh in the race at Road America in 2016. His only three non-top seven finishes in the Xfinity Series were all finishes of 22nd or worse, and he recorded them driving for teams other than Team Penske.

In his four Truck Series starts at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he has recorded an average finish of 12.50 with finishes of 16th and fifth place driving for Brad Keselowski Racing in 2014 and 2015 and finishes of 19th and 10th driving for Young’s Motorsports in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Secondly, despite his solid finishes, he has never really had a top-tier ride in the Truck Series before, but this time around, he is set to drive the best truck in the Truck Series.

The #51 Toyota has visited victory lane six times in the first 15 races of the 23-race season, and it is tied atop the owner standings with the #98 ThorSport Racing Ford that is driven solely by points leader Grant Enfinger. Enfinger has not won at all in 2019.

Team owner Kyle Busch made five starts behind the wheel of the #51 Toyota this season, and he won each of the races in which he competed. In fact, he dominated all of them, as he never failed to lead fewer than 65% of the laps in any of them, and he ended up leading 575 (72.33%) of the 795 laps that he completed.

Greg Biffle, who had not competed in a NASCAR race since the 2016 season or a Truck Series race since the 2004 season, competed in one race behind the wheel of the #51 Toyota, and he won it. He is 49 years old, four years older than Tagliani, and his one-off appearance at Texas Motor Speedway slightly resembles Tagliani’s slated one-off appearance at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Finally, Tagliani’s diverse racing background, especially as it pertains to road and street course races, should play to his advantage. In addition to his success in his limited experienced in the Xfintiy Series and the Truck Series, he currently competes in the Pinty’s Series, and he won the race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last year.

He also spent eight full seasons competing in CART/Champ Car and nearly four full seasons competing in IndyCar. Of his 14 career podium finishes, he earned 10 in road or street course races, and he earned his lone career victory in the 2004 Champ Car season at Road America. He has also competed in sports cars since the mid-2000s.

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Will Alex Tagliani secure his first NASCAR Truck Series victory in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park? With all things considered, he should be considered the favorite. Tune in to Fox Sports 1’s live broadcast of this race on Sunday, August 25 at 2:30 p.m. ET to find out whether or not he can pull it off.

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