Alex Tagliani to run Indianapolis 500 for Sarah Fisher Racing

Sarah Fisher Racing announced today that they will field a second car for the Indianpolis 500 in May with Alex Tagliani as the driver.

The Quebec native will drive the Honda-powered No. 68 SFHR/RW as a teammate to third-year IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden.

“It has always been our goal at SFHR to hire talent for credentials, and I am excited to have that opportunity again to include ‘Tag’ in our Indianapolis 500 line-up alongside Josef,” team co-owner and former IndyCar Series driver Sarah Fisher said. “Wink (Hartman) has helped us bring the proper individuals together to provide a solidly prepared effort toward success at Indy. We continue to have the support of RW Motorsports founder Steve Weirich for this second program and are looking forward to building on to this second entry even further during the second half of the season.”

Tagliani sat on the pole for the 2011 Indianpolis 500.

“I am very excited about this opportunity with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for this year’s Indy 500,” Tagliani said. “I love this race, and this track has always been a comfortable fit for me. I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity with SFHR, and I will do my best to contribute to the success of the team.

Tagliani competed in 14 races last season for Bryan Herta Autosport. as well as the season finale for Chip Ganassi Racing when he replaced Dario Franchitti. His best finish was 10th, coming at St. Petersburg and the second Honda Indy Toronto.

 “SFHR is thrilled to welcome Alex to our second seat at Indianapolis for the ‘500,’ ” Hartman said. “We are excited to bring a seasoned veteran to our program who has demonstrated his capabilities at the Speedway. As a whole, we are committed to elevating the entirety of our team and are confident this is a step in the right direction. As we start our partnership at the Indy 500, the idea is to hopefully add additional races to Alex’s entry for the second half of the season.”

At the 2014 Canadian Motorsports Expo, Alex Tagliani announced that he will run the full NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule behind the wheel of the No. 18 EpiPen/Pfizer Canada Dodge. I asked him at the time in February whether he’d run some IndyCar races this year and he said it depended on the opportunity.

The season opener for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is May 18th at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – the same day as the second day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying. As a result, Tagliani will most likely miss the first race of the Canadian Tire Series season. However, depending on how things overlap, it may be possible to make it work.