I’m not one to use hyperbole, but what I saw Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Nationwide series race at Road America was quite stunning, to say the least.
I’ll set the scene: Alex Tagliani, making a one-off appearance in the series driving for Roger Penske, is leading in the waning laps, but he is low on fuel, therefore is driving conservatively to save gas and allowing second place Brendan Gaughan to close by as much as three seconds a lap. With a lap and a half to go, a full-course caution is put out due to a stalled car.
In a massive twist in drama, Tagliani finally runs out of fuel moments after the field slows, and he stalls on the uphill that leads to the start-finish line, ultimately leaving him outside the top-20, a shot at the win all but gone.
So what does his team decide to do? They bring him in (after he gets the help of a safety truck to push him to pit road) and bolt on a set of racing slick tires. This turned out to be a huge advantage, as most of the rest of the drivers were on rain tires, which are treaded, after a brief shower midway through the race.
Now, understandably, Tagliani was going to be faster than everyone else with slick tires, since the track now featured a distinct dry racing line. It was all a matter of just how many spots he could grab in the final two laps of the green-white-checkered finish.
Restarting 23rd, a safe bet would be one that says “Tags” could make it back into the top-15, perhaps, maybe even a top-10 if he could find the right gaps between cars.
Nope. Even better. Tagliani put on a display of driving that even rivaled the great Dale Earnhardt’s late charge at the end of the fall Talladega race in 2000 (when he came from 17th to the lead in the final five laps).
He came across the line to take the white flag in 10th, and on the final lap, Tagliani was a whopping FIVE SECONDS faster than the leader Brendan Gaughan! By the time the field got to the “carousel” curve — about two-thirds through final lap — Tags had fought his way into the top-five. The Canadian muscled by young Chase Elliott in Canada corner for third place, rubbing fenders along the way, then overtook Kevin O’Connell in the final corner with a power move to the inside for second, but ultimately came up eight-tenths of a second short of getting to Gaughan.
The eye-popping run certainly had to have opened eyes about whether or not the advantage Tagliani had was fair or not, since he was on the aforementioned slick tires compared to the treaded rain tires everyone else was on, but when the object of racing is brought up, it makes total sense. The No. 22 team could have left Tags on the rain tires, but they took a chance.
Of course, the decision to change to slicks was easy, since he was sitting at the tail end of the lead lap after running out of gas, but it also is worth mentioning that any other team could have made the decision to pit for a change as well.
With 19 laps led (out of 53 total), Tagliani led the entire field with a driving rating of 129.1 points (out of a maximum 150).
They say that second place is the first loser, but I don’t think Tagliani was feeling like a loser at the end of that race.
For the latest Sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert and for rumors check Sports Rumor Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on twitter – @Kleckinator. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Main Photo:
