Tagliani and Theetge Motorsport Show Strong Pace, But Mechanical Issue Derails Season Opener

Éliane Gilain
May 20
2 min read

Bowmanville, ON – May 20, 2025 – Canadian racing veteran Alex Tagliani kicked off his 2025 NASCAR Canada season with a commanding performance at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park showing front-running speed in the #80 Theetge Motorsport car. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue dashed the team’s hopes of converting their pace into a victory.

After qualifying 3rd on Saturday, Tagliani made an immediate impact on race day, surging to 2nd place into Turn 1 and taking the lead by Turn 5B. From there, he controlled the early stages of the race, setting a strong tone for what looked to be a winning effort.

“It was a strong start,” said Tagliani. “The car felt great, and we were able to grab the lead right away. It was nice to open the season with such a competitive car.”

The team executed a clean pit stop for fuel and tires, keeping Tagliani in contention. But shortly after the stop, a broken alternator began draining the battery. The car came to a halt on track, and the time lost during the battery change dropped the team a lap down—effectively ending their shot at the win.

“It’s disappointing because Don Thompson and everyone on the team did such a fantastic job preparing over the winter,” Tagliani added. “We were quick in qualifying — honestly, I was disappointed at myself in qualifying because we missed pole on what could’ve been a monster lap, made a mistake in 5a it destroyed our lap, I was quite surprise that we still came out of there in 3rd. Still, we backed it up in the race by setting the fastest lap, which proves how strong we really were.”

Despite the result, Tagliani was full of praise for the effort and commitment of crew chief Don Thompson and the entire Theetge Motorsport organization.

“These things happen in motorsport—that’s part of the game,” he said. “But I want the guys to keep their heads up. They gave me a great car. It was a problem-free weekend up until then, and we were having fun out there. We’ll regroup, keep pushing, and come back even stronger for the next round.”

With pace and preparation clearly on their side, Tagliani and Theetge Motorsport now turn their attention to the next race, eager to capitalize on their speed and chase that elusive first win of the season.