Alex Tagliani hopes to have better luck this Wednesday in Saskatoon after coming so close to a perfect night last Friday in Edmonton. (Photo-Perry Nelson/Tagliani Autosport)

Stefan Rzadzinski will make his third start of the season

Montreal, Quebec - The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCATS) presented by Mobil 1 continues its annual western swing on Wednesday July 16 for round 5 of 11 at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon for the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250. Last time out in Edmonton, Alex Tagliani earned his first NCATS career oval track pole, his fifth overall, but the Montreal driver was unable to capitalize during the race. He hopes to improve on his luck this time after coming so close to a perfect day last Friday.

The short oval Edmonton race was marred by a myriad of yellow flags and two red flag race interruptions caused by no less than 12 on-track incidents. Tagliani has one win, five poles and seven top-10 finishes in 19 NCATS starts.

"Looking back, we had a fairly good day in Edmonton," Tagliani said. "We qualified fourth in our first oval race of the year at Autodrome Chaudière in May and improved by winning the pole in Edmonton. We had a very strong run in the race last Friday where we led the first 268 laps. We had an unfortunate incident with four laps to go in the scheduled 300-lap event. The three-car encounter eliminated the No 18 EpiPen/Dicom Express Dodge Challenger from the race.

"We now look forward to the race in Saskatoon where I hear only good things about the track and its facili

Stefan Rzadzinski of Edmonton will enter his second consecutive NASCAR race this Wednesday at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon. (Photo-Perry Nelson/Tagliani Autosport)

ties. The crowd is appreciative and very supportive of the event. Hopefully, the Tagliani Autosport Team will come up with another strong car to score important points in the Owner's Point Standings where we are currently in sixth place. With multiple drivers running the No 18 car, we are focusing on that championship right now," concluded the veteran driver.

For the second time this year, both Tagliani Autosport Dodge entries will take the start in Saskatoon with Tagliani driving the No 18 EpiPen/Dicom Express Dodge Challenger and Stefan Rzadzinski of Edmonton at the wheel of the No 24 Goldmark Diesel/ Christensen Developments/CanTorque Dodge.

"I'm happy the break is so short after Edmonton, it will be nice to race so quickly again," Rzadzinski said. "I learned a lot in my first NASCAR oval race and I'm hoping to transfer all that knowledge into a strong run at Saskatoon."

Rzadzinski will be entering his third NCATS race of the season this Wednesday. The rookie driver opened up the season in the 18 car at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, West of Toronto in May, where he finished 13th after being bumped out of fifth place with a few laps to go in the race. He was up to fourth place by lap 135 in Edmonton last Friday after starting 18th, but was caught in a three-car mix-up seven laps later, losing a lap for repair in the pits. He recovered to finish ninth.

The green flag for the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250, a 250-lap race (134 km) around the .333-mile slightly banked Auto Clearing Motor Speedway oval will be given this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time (9:30 p.m. ET). Two 30-minute practice sessions will be held that afternoon at 1 and 2 p.m. with qualifying starting at 5:15 p.m., all on Mountain times.

Fans can watch TV coverage of the Edmonton race on TSN on July 20th at 3 p.m. The Auto Clearing Motor Speedway race will be telecast on TSN on July 26 at 3 p.m.

About Tagliani Autosport and Pfizer Canada

Tagliani Autosport entry in the NCATS is in partnership with Colin Livingstone and CanTorque. Tagliani's NCATS entry is also in partnership as brand ambassador with Pfizer Canada Inc., the Canadian distributor of The EpiPen® epinephrine auto-injector. Alex himself lives and races with a severe allergy to nuts, and carries the allergy awareness/Pfizer/EpiPen message across Canada through his NCATS racing program.

To raise funds for Anaphylaxis Canada, The Tagliani Foundation is staging a Golf Classic and Gala at Celine's Le Mirage in Montreal September 30th. For more information on the Foundation: http://www.taglianifoundation.org/en/index.html

Fans are invited to follow Alex and Tagliani Autosport all season long on Facebook and Twitter (@Tagliani) and at Summeroftag.com, Tagliani.com & http://www.tagliani.com/en/index.html

About the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the only national racing sanction/series in Canada with eleven events from Edmonton, AB to Antigonish, NS from May to September. They race on road courses, street circuits and oval tracks. For more information on the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, visit: NASCARHometracks.com