NNS: Alex Tagliani in for Team Penske at Road America, Mid-Ohio - MotorSportsTalk

Long-time IndyCar veteran and current TUDOR United SportsCar Championship racer Alex Tagliani is set to make a return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Team Penske.

Tagliani will take the controls of the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford for the series’ road course excursions at Road America on June 21 and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 16.

A.J. Allmendinger (now at JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) swept those events last year in the No. 22 car, which ultimately won the 2013 NNS owner’s championship by a single point.

But if anybody can follow that tough act, it’s the Montreal native Tagliani, who has four previous NNS starts and additional stock car experience from his part-time exploits in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

“This is a great opportunity to get back in a NASCAR Nationwide Series car and to do it for one of the best teams in the series and one of the greatest owners the sport has ever seen – Roger Penske,” ‘Tag’ said in a statement. “I’ve been able to run for ‘The Captain’ one other time in my career in a stock car and we were so close to winning the race.

“This gives me two great chances to get my first Nationwide Series win. And with the team winning both of these races last year, I guess you could say the pressure is on me to get the job done this season.”

Tagliani came close to a hometown win three years ago for Team Penske in the Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but finished runner-up to Marcos Ambrose.

“I have known Alex for a long time and he has driven for our team before, so he was the ideal choice to race the Discount Tire Ford for these upcoming road course events,” Roger Penske said in his own thoughts.

“Alex is a proven winner in both open-wheel and stock car competition. He has competed for wins each of the last two times he has raced in the Nationwide Series, including with Team Penske back in 2011. I think he, (crew chief) Jeremy Bullins and the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford team will be tough to beat at both Road America and Mid-Ohio this season.”

Tagliani, of course, is familiar with Road America and Mid-Ohio from his open-wheel days.

The Canadian made seven Champ Car starts at Road America, breaking through for a victory there in 2004. He’s also made seven starts across both Champ Car and the Verizon IndyCar Series at Mid-Ohio with a top finish of fourth in 2010.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”