Tony Kanaan takes in one of his final Indianapolis 500 qualifying attempts. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – The prospect of an Indianapolis 500 without Tony Kanaan behind the wheel of a competitive entry seems absurd in this era of NTT IndyCar Series racing.
After all, the 48-year-old native of Salvador, Brazil has given so much to the race, series and motorsports world. Alongside fellow countryman, Helio Castroneves, Kanaan has been an incredible ambassador to open wheel racing across the globe.
With a single win in the Champ Car Series in 1999 and 16 victories alongside his 2004 championship in his 21-year INDYCAR career, Kanaan is as competitive, tenacious and jovial as he was back in 1998. Then again, he is a passionate racer who takes in the pressures and demands of motorsports in stride and optimism.
Earlier in the week, Kanaan considered his career and those who have been instrumental with his successes in his career. In the words of a 1973 Bee Gees song, in Kanaan’s case, “Wouldn’t I be someone, someone, and I would be respected, in the prime of my life , I’ll do everything right, I’ll begin.”
Typically one to smile and make a kindhearted joke, Kanaan was earnest yet humbled by his motorsports journey.
“I think mine is an end of an era if you put names together of people who I’ve raced,” Kanaan said. “I was part of Bobby Rahal’s last year. When Michael (Andretti) retired, I was the guy he chose to replace him.
“Look at the teams that I’ve raced for. I’ve raced for Andretti. I’ve raced for Foyt. I raced for Ganassi. Now for Arrow McLaren. Somebody told me that if I lead a lap this weekend, I’ll be the only driver who has led laps for seven different teams here. Back to the drivers, you look at the legacy of those guys. I feel very honored. It wasn’t a very easy era.”
Certainly, Kanaan has seen waves of greats in his career, even prior to the unification between Champ Cars and IndyCar in 2008. When Kanaan made the leap to IndyCar as a full-time competitor in 2003, he would immediately find success as a top, winning driver. Between 2003 to 2010, Kanaan amassed 14 victories and a championship in 2004.
In 2013, Kanaan achieved one of the biggest victories of his career when he won the Indianapolis 500. About a decade later, Kanaan has motivation to repeat his feat considering that Sunday’s 107th running of the 500-miler intends to be his final start.
Kanaan has been enjoying each moment of the Month of May at Indy. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“I’m going to leave it all out there. That’s the intention,” Kanaan said. “The start, I don’t know. But if the opportunity is there, we will do a Tony Kanaan start, for sure. I’m going to race like I have no friends. I’ll apologize later.”
A bit of a no holds barred approach has been in Kanaan’s MO in the vein of Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick in NASCAR or Paul Tracy, Castroneves or Al Unser Jr in INDYCAR. However, Kanaan will not hold back on the tears once he takes the checkered flag.
“It’s going to be a mess,” he said. “It will stop when I put my helmet on but up until then, I’m going to be a wreck, for sure. From the green room to the driver intros… It’s one of the times that I’ve enjoyed the most in the past. I just know… your nerves are up there. Every single driver that is in that green room, we’re ready to go.
“We’ve done all this, and the emotions are high. Then you’re going to add that this is the last one and everybody is trying to make it feel good. I’m going to have to drink a couple of extra bottles of water. That’s how much crying I’m going to do.”
Kanaan has a distinct possibility of winning in his final Indianapolis 500 start considering how he has finished 10th or better in 12 of his 21 starts. In terms of post-qualifying practices held earlier this week, the Brazilian racer tallied the fifth and 11 fastest speed, respectable outings for the driver of the No. 66 Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team Chevrolet.
Besides the accolades and statistics, Kanaan has been a refreshing presence in INDYCAR, particularly with his passion to succeed on the track with a youthful enthusiasm. Perhaps that genuine passion is explained by a promise he made to his father during his childhood.
Kanaan admits that it will be a tough Indy 500 in terms of the raw emotions. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
“Somebody asked me that question yesterday and I would just tell them, ‘Trust your instincts. Trust your guts.,'” Kanaan said. “Because that’s what I did. And I wouldn’t do anything different. I think everything that I went through, it was for a reason. And that’s what made me who I am today.
“So if I got to look to a little Tony Kanaan back then, I’d say, ‘You do what you promised your dad to do and go on and you’ll be fine.'”
Editor’s Notes
Luis Torres contributed to this article directly on-site from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.
