Alex Tagliani Qualifies 11th for the 2012 Indianapolis 500

Alex Tagliani Qualifies 11th for the 2012 Indianapolis 500

Topics: Alex Tagliani, Indianapolis 500

Alex Tagliani Qualifies 11th for the 2012 Indianapolis 500

Monica Hilton
Bryan Herta Autosport
May 19, 2012

With the chance to defend his 2011 Indianapolis 500 pole position, Alex Tagliani gave it everything during qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Pole Day.

In what he described as ‘four of the hardest laps of my life,’ Tagliani qualified the Team Barracuda – BHA car in P11 with a four-lap average of 224.000 on Pole Day.

After a chaotic start to the month of May, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winning team proved that they’re still a contender for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 2012. The team received their Honda engine only a couple days before arriving at the historic IMS and worked tirelessly to prepare the car for a solid qualifying run.

Team owner Bryan Herta feels they accomplished the goal. He stated, “I’m just incredibly proud of Alex and the whole Team Barracuda – BHA crew today. The team worked incredibly hard over the last couple weeks with the engine manufacturer change, so to put the car eleventh on the grid – second fastest Honda – just shows how good these guys are. I’m very proud of them and looking forward to a very strong race.”

Tagliani echoed the same pride in the team’s accomplishment.

“This last month, we probably tested the dedication of everybody on the Barracuda and Bowers & Wilkins team,” said Tagliani. “From day one, the team worked very hard just to make the switch to Honda power and I think the run we had today was almost like a pole lap for us. We struggled a bit this morning and we were scratching our heads, but we regrouped and put the car almost in the top nine at our first trial back with the Honda power. I think we’re definitely pleased with that.

“It was a fairly hairy ride. To be honest, in any other circumstances I would’ve brought the car in because I’m not a big risk-taker at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but there was an opportunity to finish and put ourselves in the show. We did and I’m glad. We took some big risks today with a fairly loose car but if we can work on our car and learn from what we just saw to make a better racecar, everything is possible and hopefully we can put the No. 98 car back in Victory Circle.”

He added, “I just saw Parnelli Jones go out with No. 98 so maybe that’s a sign that the 98 is good around here!”

Tagliani will participate in a week of fan activities and appearances starting on Monday, all leading up to the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 27, 2012.