Tracy's fourth place earned respect from his rivals. (LAT photo)
CHAMP CAR ALUMNI ROLL
No we’re mot talking about Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Will Power, Oriol Servia, Bruno Junqueira, Paul Tracy or any of the IndyCar Series’ other “transitional” drivers. Rather, the subject is two Champ Car alums who are plying their trade in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, namely Alexander Tagliani and Andrew Ranger. The two Quebecois started from the front row of the grid for today’s Edmonton Canadian Tire Series 100 and led most of the race in tandem before Tagliani wrested control of the race and went on to the win. Ranger slipped down to fourth and one stage but recovered to finish on the podium behind Scott Steckly. Also competing was Formula Atlantic veteran Trevor Seibert, who qualified third but failed to finish the race.
NEW LADDER SYSTEM?
Could the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series prove to be a stepping stone for “up and coming” drivers? Could be. Alex Tagliani is optimistic about his chances of racing in Edmonton again next year, albeit in a Dallara-Honda rather then the Ford Fusion he drove to victory today.
“Some good things are happening,” he said prior to the start of the Rexall Edmonton Indy. “There’s some pretty strong interest from a couple of IRL teams. I was speaking Derrick Walker today and he thinks my style of driving will be well-suited to the IndyCar Seris cars where, with the lack of power, you need to carry a lot of momentum through the turns. And with Toronto and Edmonton on the schedule -- hopefully -- it will be attractive to some Canadian sponsors I’ve been talking with.”
GENTLEMEN, FIND YOUR EAR PLUGS
Veteran racing journalist Robin Miller hopped a ride on Chip Ganassi’s private plane for the flight from Indianapolis to Edmonton (Miller for the ride, in case you were wondering) and planned to return following the race so they could both get back to Indianapolis in time for the Brickyard 400.
Miller and Ganassi have a love-hate relationship -- although Miller might prefer the term hate/hate relationship -- so you might have expected a “spirited” dialogue on the way from Indianapolis to Edmonton. But it wasn’t that bad, according to Miller.
“It took us about three hours to get to Edmonton,” he said. “Chip slept for an hour so we only argued for two hours . . .
