Alex Tagliani looking at options to remain in IndyCar

IndyCar veteran Alex Tagliani didn’t receive the nod at Chip Ganassi Racing when the team named Ryan Briscoe to its fourth car on Friday -- but he hasn’t given up hope on remaining in the IndyCar Series according to a report on RACER.com.

The 40-year-old’s career reached a crossroads during the summer when he stepped out of the Barracuda Racing seat and began racing with the factory-backed Ferrari Grand-Am Rolex GT operation. But IndyCar came calling once again when Dario Franchitti was involved in a violent crash on the last lap of the Grand Prix of Houston, needing a replacement driver for the final race of the season at Auto Club Speedway.

Tagliani was eventually named that racer, allowing him to remind teams what he could provide during his brief stay with Ganassi that also included an off-season test at Sebring last month. His performance, which drew praise from Ganassi officials, drew interest in Tagliani from several IndyCar teams, including KV Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

The report also stated that Ganassi has also had talks with Tagliani about driving a Daytona Prototype for Ganassi in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“Having the opportunity to race and test for Ganassi was an incredible experience for me, and they know what I’m capable of now,” Tagliani told RACER. “That can’t be a bad thing. Looking at the [Briscoe] announcement, there are some sponsor things involved there, and it’s all understandable. I feel very happy about working with the team and I still want to work with them and that’s what we’re talking about now.

“They’ve been talking with me about the (second) sports car they want to run in the new series, and I would love to do that. It’s possible I could run at Daytona with them, and could run a second car with them after that. There’s two months between Daytona and the second race, so we’ll see. I’m also talking with other sports car teams, and there’s IndyCar options for me too.”

Tagliani told the website that there is one team in particular that he would like to join in the IndyCar ranks and he believes he would fit in perfectly although he didn’t state which.

“I think there’s good chemistry there,” Tagliani said of the unnamed team. “And having been with Ganassi the last few months, I think that has helped people to appreciate I can continue doing this at the highest level.”