Inducted 2014 – Competitor
Tagliani, of Montreal, QC, is honoured as a competitor. Known simply as “Tag,” he has come a long way since his introduction to motorsport at the age of ten on a trip to Italy. You name it — Tagliani has probably raced it and won in it. After winning ten championships as an amateur, Tagliani was one of the drivers chosen to be part of the Player’s driver program, joining the Player’s Formula Atlantic team in 1997.
He moved to Champ Car in 2000, making 203 career starts in Champ Car/Indy car over 16 seasons. In 2009, Tagliani took home Rookie of the Year honours at the Indianapolis 500 and two years later became the first Canadian to start on the pole in the “Greatest spectacle in racing.” He continues to compete at a high level, becoming the only driver in the history of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series to lap the field in June’s Leland Industries 300 at Sunset Speedway.