Tagliani reflects on 2004
source: champcarworldseries.com In hindsight, knowing that the 2004 season was dominated by the two elite teams in Champ Car, Newman/Haas Racing and Forsythe Championship Racing, it is impressive indeed that an upstart team in only its second year in the series pulled off an improbable win at one of the most challenging and prestigious venues on the calendar. It was on a summer day in Wisconsin that Alex Tagliani and his Rocketsports Racing team recorded their first victories respectively in Champ Car. The win at Elkhart Lake's Road America also served to finally confirm the race-winning potential that was demonstrated by the 32-year-old Canadian as early as his rookie year in 2000. The year started with Tagliani making a statement that he was ready to run at the sharp end of the grid. The team added Brian Ma as lead engineer and Tagliani was on pace at early season testing at Sebring, Florida setting the fastest time on the last day of the test. The momentum carried all the way through to qualifying at the season-opening race in Long Beach where he qualified fourth behind championship favorites, Bruno Junqueira, Sebastien Bourdais, and Paul Tracy. In the race, Tagliani was in a hard-fought battle for a podium finish. But a problem with a wheel nut dropped him back in the field and he ended up in eighth place. The second race of the season in Monterrey, Mexico proved to be a showcase of the Tagliani and team's ability to rise to the occasion. After problems in qualifying dropped him down to 15th on the starting grid, a combination of shrewd strategy and aggressive driving put Tagliani in the lead for six laps and an eventual fifth place finish.
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