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IN THE COCKPIT: Alex Tagliani, Mid-Ohio IndyCar
Obviously, the 10-spot grid penalty for changing engines on a track like Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was really big.
Alex Tagliani  |  Posted August 07, 2012  
Alex Tagliani's run to 10th at Mid-Ohio came after receiving a 10-spot grid penalty. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
The Mid-Ohio race is always a fun stop on the IndyCar Series schedule because it’s really a great fan event. The crowds are huge, the campgrounds are packed and lots of the Barracuda Racing crew’s family members come out to watch the action too.

Overall, it was a pretty good weekend. We made improvements to the car with each practice session and we had a pretty awesome qualifying run. I was told that the Barracuda Racing No. 98 is the only car that’s made it to the Firestone Fast Six in every attempt since Indianapolis. It feels great to know that we’re a consistent threat when we go out to qualify.

The crew did a great job all weekend and as usual, I’m very proud of them. We tested here last week and didn’t get to run as many laps as we would have liked, so for them to give me a car that qualified fourth is pretty impressive, especially in such a competitive series.

Obviously, the 10-spot grid penalty for changing engines on a track like Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was really big. Starting from fourteenth was tough because it’s really difficult to pass on this track. I definitely think that starting fourth would have made it a totally different race, but we were determined to do what we could.

We started the race with a two-stop strategy in mind but we weren’t able to make ground as quickly as we anticipated and it seemed like we just kept getting slowed down. Some of the other teams changed their strategy early on and the Barracuda Racing team did a good job of modifying our strategy to keep us in the hunt.

Despite the change to three stops, we stayed focused on our goal of a top-ten finish and we were able to get it done. I think we’re getting into striking range of mathematically being able to achieve a top-ten finish in the championship points standings. After having so much difficulty in the first four races of the season, I’m very pleased with the way things are going. We’re steadily catching up and it’s quite nice.

Now we’ve got three weeks until the race in Sonoma so I’m looking forward to a special trip that Bronte and I are taking. We leave this week for London with Scott and Emma Dixon. It’s going to be really nice to be able to have Emma as a guide since she used to run competitively for Great Britain.

While we’re there, we have plans to watch the Men’s 200m final, so I’m pretty excited to see Usain Bolt compete live. After that, we’ll get to see the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. It’s really a unique experience and I’m really looking forward to it.

One more stop on our London vacation is a factory tour of Bowers & Wilkins, where I’ll get the chance to see where they build all the amazing products and meet all the great Bowers & Wilkins associates in England. Then in three weeks, we head west to Sonoma. The race should be fun, especially because it’s the “home” race for the Barracuda Networks team. Hopefully we’ll keep our positive momentum going and bring home another solid finish for Barracuda Racing.

Alex Tagliani drives the No. 98 Team Barracuda BHA car in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series. Learn more about Alex, the team and their sponsors at http://www.bryanhertaautosport.com, and follow Alex on Twitter @Tagliani.
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Alex Tagliani

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