NCATS: Alex Tagliani and Andrew Ranger at Mosport International Raceway

Mosport, June 15th, 2008: By taking on the first road course of the season, the enthusiasm could be felt amongst the Jacombs Racing team. "I think we can easily have both cars finish in the top 10 today," predicted the team's owner, Dave Jacombs.

After a difficult first round in the championship at Cayuga on May 24th, where Andrew Ranger salvaged a 17th position and Alex Tagliani retired from the race, the two drivers had to finish well to come back into the championship hunt. On the legendary Mosport International Raceway, the same track that saw Andrew Ranger win his first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race in 2007, the stage was set for a similar run this year. After the first round of qualifying, Andrew Ranger lined up 5th while this team-mate, Alex Tagliani started in 10th position.

From the very beginning of the race, Tagliani managed to climb the order up to his team-mate. The two stable-mates fought hard for 5th place in an epic battle that thrilled the spectators. On lap 39, an unexpected guest joined the dance in the form of falling rain. Becoming increasingly strong, the rain forced all the drivers to pit to change their tires. In the difficult conditions, the two Quebec natives could keep up with the leaders in the hope of finishing well at the end of the race.

While comfortably settled in second position when starting the last lap, Andrew Ranger aquaplaned standing water in turn 10 causing him to lose precious time and all hope of a podium finish. Being able to rejoin the race, Ranger managed to finish 6th, just behind Tagliani. "We did everything we could. The rain on the windshield made it close to impossible to see and the water on the track made the car difficult to control," declared Ranger. "The pit stops cost me a lot of time. I had good control of the car, even in the rain, and I had a comfort margin to the guys behind me but the pit stops made me lose a lot of ground," added Tagliani at the end of the event.

Despite the changing weather conditions, the Dickies 200 proved that Andrew Ranger is amongst the best drivers in the series and that Alex Tagliani, well served by his extensive experience, is a fierce competitor that everyone will have to watch out for. The next race will be on June 28th at Barrie Speedway in Ontario, for the A&W 300.


The Victory Lap Charity Program: The Victory Lap Charity Program, affiliated to Opération Enfant-Soleil in Quebec and to Children's Miracle Network in the rest of Canada, aims to raise funds to help sick children across the country. Since the program's inception in 2003, over $700,000 have been raised for 14 children's hospitals in Canada.

In 2008, the Victory Lap takes an even bigger leap forward and plans to break the $1,000,000 mark in donations since 2003. To do so, the program counts on the support of Wal-Mart stores in Canada, the participation of prestigious brands such as: Tide, Duracell, Pringles, Gillette, Folgers, Kodak, Fido, Kellogg's, Old Spice, Ubisoft, Head & Shoulders, Charmin, Downy, M&M, and on the generous input from Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani as program ambassadors.

Source: Professional Sports Management // From Audrey Choquette