Canadian racer Alex Tagliani still searching for stability

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While it was billed as another team poaching a valuable crew member, Alex Tagliani fans might want to worry just a bit that history will repeat itself - again.

There may be more than meets the eye with the departure of Tagliani's chief engineer Allen McDonald from Sam Schmidt Motorsport to rival Andretti Autosport earlier this month, especially on the heels of the pole position at the Indianapolis 500, which the No. 77 driver followed with a second consecutive pole in Texas last weekend.

It seemed a strange decision to leave an up-and-coming team that looks to be heading for success for one that's got four cars that are all behind Tagliani in points. Just one of the four Andretti drivers is in the top-10, and that's only after Danica Patrick took a fifth in Milwaukee on Sunday to climb five spots to 10th in the standings. Despite a tough outing Sunday where he qualified 19th and finished only one spot better in 18th, Tagliani lies eighth overall driving for a comparatively disadvantaged one-car operation.

But McDonald's departure may be a sign that it may all come to grinding halt.

It is thought that Tagliani was never offered a full-season contact when Sam Schmidt Motorsports took over his team known as FAZZT at the beginning of 2011. Rather, he got a deal that put him in the car for most of the races, but not all. Whether that has changed since the original contract was signed some time after Schmidt took over the FAZZT operation is anybody's guess, since Tagliani refused to answer any questions concerning his future. The team also did not return calls or e-mails about the status of Tagliani's contract.

Ironically, showing that he has been a contender for wins and top results since 2001 may be a big minus for Tagliani. The downside of good results is that they may also entice other drivers with flush sponsors in tow to knock on Schmidt's door. Having that kind of uncertainty about who will be driving the car can also bring instability to the team and cause key people like McDonald to jump ship, which then only further magnifies the insecurity within the outfit. For the record, Schmidt chalked McDonald's loss up to a team with funding stealing a key employee.

It can also quickly become something that may jeopardize the good results the team has enjoyed. A quick scan of the top teams like Ganassi and Penske shows outfits who keep the same drivers and key personnel around long term to encourage consistency - and winning.

The need to raise sponsorship dollars to keep Tagliani in the car may also explain why the team spent much of its time at Indianapolis working on its qualifying set up and looking for a top starting position. In the end, taking the Indianapolis 500 pole and all the publicity that goes along with it served as a good way to get the team in the news and perhaps attract more sponsorship dollars.

Unfortunately, if the team is short of cash and Tagliani still doesn't have a full-season deal, perhaps he will find himself on the outside looking in again. One huge positive for Tagliani is sponsor Bowers and Wilkins, which he brought into the sport in 2010.

The driver has become a key spokesperson for the brand and will be making several appearances for his backer in Toronto next month. In the lead up to the Honda Indy at Exhibition Place, Tagliani will be promoting recent launch of Bowers and Wilkins audio equipment in Future Shop stores. It is thought Bowers and Wilkins would follow Tagliani to another IndyCar squad should things not pan out at Schmidt.

Sadly for the Lachenaie, Que., native, having circumstances conspire against Tagliani is nothing new. The 38-year-old has a history of building up teams only to see them replace him in the car without little thought to his hard work. It's already happened twice in his career, and the stage may be set for him to be third time unlucky.

Tagliani's rocky road in the Champ Car (formerly Championship Auto Racing Teams, or CART) began at the end of 2002 when he was dumped by Player's Forsythe after two seasons to make room for fellow Canadian Paul Tracy. While Tracy went on to take the 2003 title, Tagliani struggled to bring a newly-formed Rocketsports outfit up to speed.

Nevertheless, he scored three podiums and five top-five finishes in 19 starts and ended the 2003 season 10th overall in points. Tagliani helped improve the team enough to move it to seventh overall in points by the end of 2004 and took Rocketsports maiden Champ Car victory along the way.

His tenure there ended when German driver Timo Glock showed up with cash from courier company DHL, which saw Tagliani move to the fledgling Team Australia in 2005 to start the whole process over again.

He equalled his career best seventh overall in his first season with the new team and ended the second season eighth in points despite retiring from four of 14 races and not starting a fifth after a heavy practice crash rendered his car irreparable. In the nine races he finished that year, he took five top-5s and seven top-10s.

But it wasn't good enough to keep his ride when Simon Pagenaud showed up at the team with a $2-million cheque for winning the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic title and Tagliani was out of a ride again. Tagliani swallowed his pride and returned to Rocketsports for one year.

When Champ Car folded at the beginning of 2008, Tagliani found himself out in the cold again and raced part-time for two seasons before joining the newly formed FAZZT operation last year as a part owner with Montreal businessman Andre Azzi and former Kelley Racing co-owner Jim Freudenberg.

The FAZZT deal and a partial ownership stake for Tagliani were supposed to bring stability to a career wrought with continued uncertainty.

Sadly for him, things may not turn out that way - again.