Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian

The cast: Driver – Alex Tagliani. Chief engineer – Todd Malloy. Race strategist – Bryan Herta.

Twitter: @tagliani, @BHA

The car: No. 98 Honda-powered Barracuda Racing

Snapshot: Being allergic to nuts, Tagliani helped develop the nut-free Tag on the Go cookie in 2012 that is sold in retail outlets in Quebec and Ontario.

The stats: The team sat out the Brazil round (fourth race of 2012 season) while it transitioned from the Lotus to Honda engine. Tagliani posted eight top-10 finishes in the succeeding 11 races. … He had a best finish of fifth at Edmonton, leading a field-high 49 laps, and earned the pole for the second consecutive year at Texas. … Post-Indianapolis, with the Honda engine, he advanced to the Firestone Fast Six in four of the six road/street course events. … Had a best qualifying effort of third (Belle Isle) on roads/streets.

The gist: Tagliani, who will surpass 200 career Indy car starts this season, is looking forward to his second consecutive season with the team owned by Bryan Herta and Steve Newey.  “It’s tough not to be excited,” he said. “Going back with the same group, same engineer. We gelled.”  

They said it: “From the moment we switched engines we were very competitive with no testing during the year,” said Tagliani, whose only offseason test so far has been Dec. 13 at Sebring International Raceway. “There are a couple of areas where we need to improve like better performance on the blacks. On reds, it seems our car is pretty stellar. We need to capitalize on races where we race up front, and if we can do that from Race 1 through the end we’ll look pretty good in the points.

“It will be one of the most competitive seasons we’ve seen.”

Added Malloy: “Last year was truly a formative year for Barracuda Racing. It was our first full season in IndyCar and it really didn't start in earnest until we re-joined the Honda family in time for the Indy 500. From that point forward, everyone could see Alex's true talents. He spends a lot of time with all the crew at the shop and is very meticulous about all the details involved with getting the car and the team's performance up to championship- winning caliber. So we can't wait to start racing in 2013."

Watch team at Auto Club Speedway