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Another Top Ten Finish for Tagliani in Mid-Ohio

Topics: Alex Tagliani, Honda Indy 200

Another Top Ten Finish for Tagliani in Mid-Ohio

Monica Hilton
Bryan Herta Autosport
August 5, 2012

Lexington, OH – Alex Tagliani and his Barracuda Racing crew capped off the Mid-Ohio IndyCar race weekend with a solid tenth place finish on Sunday afternoon.

The team completed an impressive qualifying run the day before, earning their fourth consecutive Firestone Fast Six when Tagliani qualified fourth. A ten-spot grid penalty for an engine change put the Barracuda Networks car in P14 on the starting grid.

Race day started with inclement weather, making the morning warmup chaotic, but the track remained dry throughout all 85 laps of the Honda Indy 200 of Mid-Ohio.

Tagliani picked up three positions early in the race, but was then forced to change to a three-stop strategy due to a graining left front tire. The Canadian driver continued to push forward, running as high as P5 at one point and pacing the leaders through much of the second stint.

When the checkered flag fell, Tagliani had achieved his sixth top-ten finish of the season and picked up some points toward the championship standing.

“I’m proud of the Barracuda Racing crew for a top ten finish,” said Tagliani. “We had a great qualifying run and obviously the ten-spot grid penalty hurt us, but from the point that we decided to do a three-stop strategy, we were committed to a top ten finish and we did that. It’s not exactly where we wanted to finish but once again, we showed great speed, had great qualifying and we have good pit selection for Sonoma. I’m really looking forward to the next race – it’s kind of the Barracuda Networks ‘home’ race, so I’m looking forward to seeing that whole group and having some fun.”

Team owner Bryan Herta added, “It’s great to get another top ten finish and keep building momentum with the Barracuda Racing car. We tried to switch strategies during the race because it was so tough to pass and Alex drove a great race trying to execute the strategy. We were hoping to catch a yellow to put us back in top five contention, but it didn’t quite work that way.”

In two weeks, the IZOD IndyCar Series heads west for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, August 26. The 75-lap competition is will be aired live on NBC Sports Network, with pre-race activities beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET and an estimated green flag drop at 4:47 p.m. Fans can also listen to the live radio broadcast on IMS Radio Network and Sirius Satellite (XM 94 and Sirius 212).