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Luck Eludes Barracuda Racing in Detroit

Topics:  Alex Tagliani, Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit

Luck Eludes Barracuda Racing in Detroit

Monica Hilton
Bryan Herta Autosport
June 2, 2013

Belle Isle, MI – It took only nine laps for Tagliani to gain 11 positions in the No. 98 Barracuda Racing car during Dual Two of the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

Tagliani, who started the second dual in 25th position, was charging through the field and knew he had a competitive car. He was running pace with the race leader when he was hit from behind on lap 13, sending him into the turn three run-off. The Barracuda Racing team made a pit stop to change the front wing.

Despite cycling to the back of the field with the stop, engineer Todd Malloy reminded Tagliani that there was plenty of racing left.

Another yellow flag came out and on the restart, the Canadian driver gained four positions before another driver caused a multi-car pileup, which collected the Barracuda Racing car.

“I don’t even know where to start,” said Tagliani. “We have a really good group of people and a very deserving team here at Barracuda Racing, and we can’t catch a break.

“[Ed] Carpenter just nailed me in the back going into turn three and damaged my front wing. We almost lost a lap because of that. And then on that restart, I made a couple spots and we were in a very good position to finish in the top five because we had only one stop to make. The car was going to be quick and [Sebastien] Bourdais initiated the whole mess.”

Tagliani added, “I don’t know what kind of voodoo we have to do to get the luck back that we deserve. It’s just unfortunate.”

The “Dual in Detroit” weekend was the fifth of a consecutive eight weekends on track for Tagliani and the rest of the IZOD IndyCar Series. Next week, the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone 550.

Tagliani will attempt to grab the pole position for the third consecutive year at the 1.5-mile oval. The 228-lap competition will be broadcast Saturday, June 8 from 7:30-10 p.m. ET on ABC.