Alex Tagliani will drive for Bryan Herta Autosport's Izod IndyCar Series team in 2012, the team announced on Monday.
Tagliani is a veteran of the IndyCar, CART and Champ Car World Series. He won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in 2010 and won one race and four poles in an eight-year career in the CART and Champ Car World Series.
Bryan Herta Autosport won the Indianapolis 500 last year with Dan Wheldon as the team's driver. Wheldon died in an on-track crash at the IndyCar Series season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Bryan Herta Autosport will be using the new Lotus cars in the IndyCar Series as a factory partner team. It is the team's first full season in the IndyCar Series.
Go to Hometownstation.com for comments from Tagliani and Herta.
Photo: Alex Tagliani will drive for Bryan Herta Autosport in the 2012 Izod IndyCar Series. (Courtesy of BHA)
Dario Franchitti won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2009. Last year, it wasn’t such a great race.
Franchitti finished 12th last year and called it a disastrous weekend.
“We struggled. We found out later I had broken my thumb the week before at St. Pete,” said Franchitti, the reigning and three-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion. “I hadn’t realized. We, the 10 car, we struggled. And I thought Ryan did a great job. Ryan was a very deserving winner last year. No doubt.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay was the surprise winner of the 2010 Grand Prix of Long Beach. Franchitti went on to win the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship, his second in a row.
It would be hard to argue that Franchitti isn’t the best open-wheel racer in the world right now. He is definitely the top driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series and probably has been for the past two years.
He also won the IndyCar Series championship in 2007 when he was driving for Andretti Green Racing, giving him three of the past four titles. The year he didn’t win the IndyCar Series championship, Franchitti dabbled in NASCAR, racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
The results in NASCAR were far from stellar. He broke his ankle in a crash. His team never secured the funding to race competitively. By most accounts, Franchitti’s venture into NASCAR was more of a disaster than last year’s Long Beach race.
When asked if he has been asked to return to NASCAR and if would ever consider returning to NASCAR, he said, “Yes and no, in that order.”
“When I started doing that, I wanted to be successful,” Franchitti said during a visit to Los Angeles and LA Live to promote the Grand Prix of Long Beach in April and the start of the IZOD IndyCar Series season in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 27. “Obviously, I wanted to learn, do all that stuff. I was never really given the chance to do it, because of breaking my ankle, not having a sponsor. I think some people have kind of started painting it worse than it was. Ultimately with the Nationwide thing, last couple of races, I did qualify on the front row at Bristol. Qualified on the pole at Watkins Glen. Led a bunch of laps at Atlanta. Led a bunch of laps at Bristol, 18 laps. It wasn’t as bad as people made out.”
Since returning to open-wheel racing and the IndyCar Series, Franchitti has won two championships and two Indinapolis 500s. He was already an accomplished driver with Andretti Green Racing before his NASCAR stint. When he returned to the IndyCar Series, with Chip Ganassi’s Target team, Franchitti became the driver to beat. If anything, his struggles in NASCAR made Franchitti a better open-wheel racer.
“What it showed me was, I love Indy car racing. I love driving the car,” Franchitti said. “I love the diverse schedule. When I got into NASCAR, the two series gots together, which wasn’t lost on me, the irony of that whole thing. You wait 10 years for this thing to come together, you leave, and it comes together. It made me realize what I was missing.”
The timing of his switch from open-wheel racing to stock car racing couldn’t have been worse. The same year he started racing in NASCAR, the Champ Car and IndyCar series merged, ending a decade-long split of open-wheel racing in the United States. It didn’t take long for Franchitti to return to the type of racing he loves most.
“Had I not gone to NASCAR, I don’t think it would have set the change of events that allowed me to come and drive for the Target team,” Franchitti said. “The way it all worked, with me going away, with Chip coming back to Indy car. Had I stayed at Andretti Green, I don’t think I would have made the progressions to drive for Chip. It all worked out for me.”
Franchitti has won 26 open-wheel races in his career. He has won two Indy 500s and three IndyCar Series championships. He has won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. What is left for Franchitti to accomplish in his racing career? Perhaps the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
“I’d love to do that. I’d love to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” Franchitti said. “I’ve managed to win at Daytona. Won a class at Sebring. It would be nice to go to Le Mans and try to do that. It’s such a great race. I went there as a spectator in ‘09. My little brother was driving an Aston-Martin and I watched him.”
Stanton Barrett is out and Jacques Lazier is in the Team 3G entry for this weekend’s Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Barrett, a Hollywood stuntman and NASCAR veteran, was the driver for the Team 3G car to start the season. He did not qualify for the 33-car field in the Indianapolis 500. Lazier is expected to drive the Team 3G car for one race. “As we continue to lay the foundation and improve as a team, we believe Jaques’ experience with these cars will help our team tremendously,” team co-owner Steve Sudler said. “Now is the time to start building toward 2010 for programs and sponsorship, and we look forward to giving Stanton a competitive car later this season for Japan and some other events.” Lazier is an IndyCar Series veteran with two career poles, at Richmond and Chicagoland, and one career win at Chicagoland. “I am really looking forward to rejoining the IndyCar Series,” Lazier said. “I have been talking with Greg (Beck) and Steve since Indy, and I feel really comfortable with where the team is headed and how we can work to grow the program on ovals and with my sponsors, as well.” Team 3G isn’t the only IndyCar Series team making changes for this weekend’s race at Texas. A.J. Foyt Racing is putting A.J. Foyt IV in its car and Alex Tagliani is returning to drive the Conquest Racing car after missing last weekend’s race at The Milwaukee Mile.
After challenging Danica Patrick to a race, Shaquille O’Neal will be on the same race track with her this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. O’Neal will be the grand marshal and ride in the pace car for the IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. He will be riding with three-time Indy 500 champion Johnny Rutherford in the pace car to start the Bombardier Learjet 550k. At least for part of the race, O’Neal will be ahead of Patrick. “I am excited about being the grand marshal and coming to my first IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend,” O'Neal said. “Since they won’t let me enter the race, I’ll do the next best thing and start the race in the pace car. I’m sure Johnny Rutherford can teach me a few things during the ride so when the day comes and I do get to race an IndyCar, I’ll be ready.”
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Series East-West race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday night. The race at Iowa Speedway included drivers from the Camping World Series West and East Series. David Mayhew of Atascadera won the West portion of the race. Busch, a driver from Las Vegas who races for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was in the Sprint All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina on Saturday night. Busch was seventh in the all-star race. Jason Bowles of Ontario was fourth in the West Series portion of the race at Iowa Speedway. Greg Pursley, a Canyon High School graduate, was 12th in the West Series portion of the race.
Photo: Kyle Busch celebrated the Long John Silver's 200 win in Victory Lane Sunday at Iowa Speedway. (Photo Credit: David Purdy/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony Schumacher won the NHRA top fuel portion of the drag races at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee on Sunday. The reigning top fuel champion won for the third time in his career at Bristol and recorded his third win of the season. Del Worsham won for the second time in a row in the funny car division. He beat Tony Pedregon in the final at Bristol. Jack Beckman, a funny car driver from North Hills, beat John Force in the first round at Bristol, but lost in the second round to Tim Wilkerson. “We just didn’t get the job done," said Beckman, who drives for Don Schumacher Racing. “Wilkerson outran us that round. I think we had a great recovery from smoking the tires first round to put that competitive lap up there, but it wasn’t enough.” Ashley Force Hood made it to the semifinals at Bristol and lost to Pedregon by 0.012 seconds. “That shows how far our category has come,” said Force Hood. “Our class is almost like Pro Stock with how close the racing is. They are showing these races at the finish line where my team is driving down track along side of us and they can’t tell who won. I can’t tell who has won when I am in the car. That is a good thing. I am glad that I am in those races, the close races. That means our team is up to par with everyone else is doing. If we can keep that up we’ll have a really good chance at the end of the year.”
Stanton Barrett, a stuntman in movies and television, NASCAR driver and IndyCar Series driver, failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. He was one of a handful of drivers trying make the 33-car field on Bump Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was one of three drivers who did not qualify for Sunday’s Indy 500. "I don’t know. We just gave it our all,” said Barrett. “Team 3G worked really hard, and all these guys just put a huge effort forth. It’s just a real bummer it didn’t work out. I don't know. They called it off because we didn't have the speed the first lap, and I just think taking time to learn without a teammate and taking time to learn what a difference this year and last year. We definitely made a change with the car speed-wise, aero-wise. I think it’s right in there. Too much scrub in the corners really killed our lap times, and unfortunately tough to go back and study what I can do better and what we can do as a team better. It’s a real disappointment.” Former Indy 500 winner Buddy Lazier and Alex Tagliani were the other two drivers who did not qualify for the Indy 500. With Barrett not qualifying for the Indy 500, it could hurt his team financially. “We need to make this race for sponsors that we had in line,” Barrett said. “It’s just one of those things. A lot of other guys didn’t make it too. There were (two) others. It’s not an easy deal.”
