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The truth comes out following the Wahta Springs 300

September 16, 2014 by Gary Grant 9 Comments

Alex Tagliani's car slides backwards down the track following contact on a late race restart, but contact with whom?

Alex Tagliani’s car slides backwards down the track following contact on a late race restart, but contact with whom?

As the second last event of the year for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the Barrie Speedway round is always exciting and there is always a lot of bumping and banging. There is usually some off track excitement following the race as well as tempers run hot. Occasionally, competitors who are eager to find someone to blame end up running off at the mouth, only to end up with egg on their face when they are proven wrong later.

GG_wahta-5

In the closing stages of the Wahta Springs 300, the #95 of Anthony Simone appeared to be holding up the #25 of Joey McColm, as the pair battled for lap after lap. Simone experienced a drivetrain failure, which left oil on the track, causing McColm into the back of the 95, spinning him into the wall. Simone didn’t see it that way, and blamed the failure to be a result of the hit.

As expected, the restart following the clean up of that incident proved to be hard fought. Moments later, as the pack continued to battle, the #18 of Indycar and NASCAR regular Alex Tagliani got very loose and bounced around between the #25 and the wall, before spinning backwards down the front straight. If I recall correctly, there were 6 laps left at this point.

That mess was cleaned up and the green, white, checkers dash to the finish took place, with Jason Hathaway taking the win following a clean and fast race.
[Read more…]

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May 23, 2014 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

gg_carnage-5

After I posted the above image the other day, someone suggested that this sequence was just waiting to be turned into an animated gif. A bit of poking about and it would seem that I have taught myself how to create one. So, here you have it: DJ Kennington getting into the back of Stefan Rzadzinksi in the closing stages of the first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race of 2014.

gg_18spinner

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Tagz

October 12, 2011 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

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The action is in the pits

July 19, 2011 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Hinch gets strapped in

While the action is always hot out on the track, the real excitement for many happens on pit lane. The Garage Blog spent some time in pit lane with the Indycar series during practice and qualifying for the 2011 Honda Indy Toronto and came away with more than a few smokin’ hot photos.

Check out the excitement after the break.
[Read more…]

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Passions prevail at 25th Toronto Indy

July 14, 2011 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

The 2011 Honda Indy Toronto marked the 25th anniversary of the historic race on the shore of Lake Ontario. There have been high and low points along the way and this year’s event brought an unprecedented level of emotion for the competitors of just about every series. That emotion turned into heated exchanges both on track and off. In other words, the action was hot and heavy and was just what the fans wanted!

The home grown action came in the form of the Castrol Canadian touring Car Championship, where competitors battle it out in production cars not unlike the machines many of us drive to work every day. “battle it out” is a good way to describe the action, as many cars looked like wrecking yard rejects by the end of the weekend.
[Read more…]

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Honda Indy Toronto gets the party started

June 16, 2011 by Media press release Leave a Comment

Honda Indy Toronto press release

Organizers officially start the 25-day countdown to celebrating 25 years of racing on the streets of Toronto

June 15, 2011 (Toronto) – The Honda Indy Toronto kicked into high gear today as organizers of the event and racecar drivers converged on the William Ashley flagship store at Bloor Street West to officially start the 25-day countdown to the 25th running of a race on streets of Toronto. Race fans were treated to a cake interpretation of the street course by CakeStar, autograph sessions with drivers that included Alex Tagliani and a show car on William Ashley bone china teacups.
[Read more…]

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In His Words – Alex Tagliani

May 24, 2011 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Alex Tagliani chats with John Bassett

Alex Tagliani chats with John Bassett

While I was busy cavorting with the kids, John Bassett took some time with Alex Tagliani and asked some real questions.

Alex Tagliani has been the story of the month at Indy and will start Sunday’s race from the pole, the first ever Canadian to grab the pole. Here are portions of the interview I had with Alex.

John Bassett: What’s winning the pole do for the team?
Alex Tagliani: “It rewards all the effort that the guys put into this program. They said we believe in Tag, we believe in the program, we have a good chemistry, I like working with you, we like working with each other, and just put our heads down and see what we can do. And after a year and a half taking pole from Penske and Ganassi at the biggest race ever, the Indy 500 … for our guys it’s their moment of pride.”

JB: Any new phone calls and sponsorship opportunities since Saturday?
Tag: “I think the phone has been ringing off the hook. But I am not deciding on the commercial side of the business anymore, it all goes through Sam (Schmidt). I think Joe has a pretty big say, as he’s the title sponsor of the car, so we have some responsibility towards him. We cannot put any name that will effect the brand, Bowers & Wilkins, but to answer the question, yes, I think it will definitely help.”

JB: Obviously you want to win Indy, but failing that, what’s a good day for you?
Tag: “Thanks to the 15 points I got for winning the pole, we’re now one point out of 6th place in the title. We’re within striking distance of coming out of Indy 3rd in the championship. So it’s really important. … Every race is going to play a big role in the championship and we have to continue what we’re doing if we want to finish in the top 3 at the end of the year.
[Read more…]

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Canadian Indycar stars come to Toronto for media lunch

May 23, 2011 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Earlier today at the Real Sports Bar & Grille in downtown Toronto, select members of the media joined up with a trio of Canadian IndyCar stars for lunch and some informal interviews. On had were IndyCar veteran, Paul Tracy, Oakville Ontario hot shoe, James Hinchcliffe and this year’s Indy 500 pole sitter, Alex Tagliani. It was one of the most chill media events I’ve ever attended, as just about everyone knew each other and there was no battling for face time, just some good old Canadian bench racing.

While some of the others did more formal interviews, I grabbed a few photos and socialized with Hinch and PT. Tracy and I shared a couple of stories from our time at the North Halton kart club in the early 80’s. That is not to say that I didn’t come away without any useful news for race fans. Quite the opposite actually, I learned some potentially life changing information.

For instance, did you know that Tags is deathly allergic to most types of nuts? So if you are some sort of hyper fan boy and want to send the speedy French Canadian some treats, you might want to avoid the peanut brittle.
[Read more…]

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IndyCar fever takes over downtown Toronto

July 14, 2010 by Gary Grant 2 Comments

Earlier this afternoon the boys and I headed down to Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square for the unveiling of Alex Tagliani’s ride for the weekend courtesy of Hot Wheels and Fazzt Racing. Of course Tagz was on hand to meet the media and the fans, though the media had a tough time getting to him through the long line of little kids waiting for a chance to sit in the Hot Wheels race car. Tagliani took it all in stride, like the pro that he is as little people clambered all over him and the car. For the Montreal based driver, it is all about the fans.
[Read more…]

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Honda Indy Toronto festivities in full swing starting today

July 13, 2010 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Back in the Molson Indy days, the Toronto Indy pretty much took over the city with parties and events. There was a buzz everywhere and just about everyone was talking about the Indy. Charlie Johnstone and the rest of the Honda Indy Toronto team have planned a week full of activities to build that buzz once again.

“This year’s edition of the Honda Indy Toronto is clearly setting a new bar in Canada in terms of on and off-track entertainment,” said Charlie Johnstone, general manager and vice president of Honda Indy Toronto. “The combination of athletes, cars, music and loads of interactive activities is second to none.”

Tuesday
The action begins today at noon at Toronto’s exciting Yonge – Dundas Square with the Honda Canada Media Pit Stop Challenge. Members of local media will battle for bragging rights as the fastest tire changing crew. Paul Tracy will be on hand from 12 to 1 pm.

At 5 pm, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Autograph Session takes over Yonge-Dundas Square. Fans can meet all the series drivers including JR Fitzpatrick, Andrew Ranger, Jason Bowles and Ontario’s Caitlin Johnston.
[Read more…]

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