Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian
racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian
Stock Car Pro Series
Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in 1979 with Chevrolet as the ...
, driving the No. 6
Toyota Corolla E210 for
Full Time Bassani and part time for
Chip Ganassi Racing, driving the No. 1 Dallara Honda for the 2022 IndyCar Series season.
Kanaan won the
2013 Indianapolis 500 and the
2004 IndyCar Series championship. In that season he completed 3,305 laps, making him the first IndyCar Series driver to complete every possible lap in a season. He also led 889 laps in 13 separate races to establish an IndyCar Series record. He is also the only driver to lead the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
in each of his first seven starts and won his first race on his 12th attempt. Kanaan has a total of 17 career race wins and 15 pole positions in the IndyCar Series. Kanaan also won the
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
in 2015, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Kanaan drove the No. 14 Dallara Chevrolet for
A. J. Foyt Racing from 2018 to 2020.
Early racing career
Formula car racing
Formula Europa Boxer
Kanaan would begin to compete in
Formula Europa Boxer
In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...
for the
1994 season. Kanaan would drive for
Cram Competition in a
Tatuus
Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis.
History
The Tatuus c ...
-
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
. Kanaan would win the series championship on the strength of 5 wins.
Italian Formula Three
Kanaan competed in
Italian Formula Three
The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy.
History
Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...
in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
for
Tatuus
Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis.
History
The Tatuus c ...
in a
Dallara 395-
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
. Kanaan would win a race and get 9 podiums to finish 5th in points with 111 points.
Indy Lights Series
Kanaan began to compete in the
PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick (now Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires) in
1996 for
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
in the No. 37
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
Lola T96/20-
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
V6. At the season-opening race at
Homestead Motorsports Complex
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
* Homestead principle, a legal concept ...
Kanaan started 9th and finished 10th. At the second race of the season on the
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
, Kanaan would start 3rd and finish 2nd. Kanaan moved from 10th to 3rd in points following the race. Kanaan's results in the next three races were 12th, 17th, and 7th at
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...
,
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
and the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
. In those races, Kanaan started 14th, 4th, and 11th. At Michigan Kanaan led for 8 laps before retiring due to a mechanical problem. At the race at
Belle Isle State Park Kanaan started 5th and won his first race after leading for a race-high 29 of 36 laps. At the next race at
Portland International Raceway
Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanpo ...
Kanaan qualified on the pole position and finished 5th after leading for 3 laps. Kanaan would get a pair of 2nd-place finishes at the races at
Circuit Trois-Rivières
The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located o ...
and
Concord Pacific Place
Concord Pacific Place is "Canada's biggest master-planned urban community" and is projected to be North America's largest in terms of occupants and area when completed. It is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the north shore of False Cre ...
. In the latter, Kanaan led for a race-high 22 of 44 laps. At the next and season-ending race at
Laguna Seca Raceway
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...
Kanaan qualified on the pole position and led for all 34 laps to get his second victory of the season. Kanaan would finish 2nd in points with 113 points.
In
1997 Kanaan returned with
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
to drive the No. 7
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
/
Davene/
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
Lola T97/20-
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
V6. At the season-opening race at
Homestead Motorsports Complex
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
* Homestead principle, a legal concept ...
Kanaan started 10th and finished 6th. Kanaan would then get consecutive 5th-place finishes at the next two races, on the
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
and at
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...
. Kanaan would then finish 23rd and 10th at the
Hutchinson Island Road Race Course and at
Gateway International Raceway
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...
. At the next race at
Belle Isle State Park Kanaan qualified on the pole position and led all 36 laps of the race to win the race. Kanaan would then qualify on the pole position at
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
and would finish in 2nd place. Kanaan would then win at
Circuit Trois-Rivières
The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located o ...
after starting 3rd and leading for a race-high 44 of 50 laps. Kanaan would then take the championship lead with a 2nd-place finish at the race at
Concord Pacific Place
Concord Pacific Place is "Canada's biggest master-planned urban community" and is projected to be North America's largest in terms of occupants and area when completed. It is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the north shore of False Cre ...
. Kanaan would then finish 2nd and 9th at the races at
Laguna Seca Raceway
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...
and
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previo ...
, qualifying on the pole position and 3rd place to end the season. Kanaan would win the series championship with 156 points.
IndyCar racing
Champ Car World Series
Kanaan began to compete in the
Champ Car Championship Series in
1998 for
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
in the No. 31
LCI International
LCI may refer to:
Organizations
* La Chaîne Info, a French television news channel
* LCI Communications, a defunct Canadian telecommunications company
* Lease Corporation International, an airliner lessor based in Dublin, Ireland
* London Clubs ...
Reynard 98i
The Reynard 98I is an open-wheel racing car designed and built by Reynard Racing Cars that competed in the 1998 IndyCar season. It won the constructors' and drivers' titles later that year, being driven by Alex Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" ...
-
Honda HRK. Kanaan made his debut at the season-opening
Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota at
Homestead Motorsports Complex
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
* Homestead principle, a legal concept ...
. In the race, Kanaan started in 18th place and finished in 29th (last) place due to a crash after 29 laps. Kanaan later achieved a pair of third-place finishes at the
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey at
Laguna Seca Raceway
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...
and the
Texaco Grand Prix of Houston on the
Streets of Houston. Kanaan finished out the season ranked in ninth place in points with 92 points. Kanaan also won the
Jim Trueman
James R. Trueman (May 25, 1935 – June 11, 1986) was an American businessman and automobile racing team owner. His most successful business ventures were Red Roof Inn motels and the Truesports racing team. Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indianapoli ...
Rookie of the Year Award.
In
1999, Kanaan began to drive the No. 44
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
Reynard 99i Reynard Motorsport vehicles
The Reynard 99I is an open-wheel racing car designed and built by Reynard Racing Cars that competed in the 1999 IndyCar season. It was extremely dominant winning 18 out of the 20 races that season, including the seas ...
-
Honda HRS for
Forsythe Racing
Forsythe/Pettit Racing was an American racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing.
Histor ...
in conjunction with
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
. Kanaan qualified on the pole position at the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
on the
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
. In the race, Kanaan led the first 44 laps and was attempting to hold off
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver.
He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...
when he crashed in turn-6. Kanaan later won the
U. S. 500 Presented by Toyota at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
when leader
Max Papis
Massimiliano "Max" Papis (born 3 October 1969) is an Italian professional motorsport driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the s ...
ran out of fuel on the last lap. Kanaan's next best finish during the season was fifth place at the
Grand Prix Telemar Rio 200 at
Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway Emerson may refer to:
People
* Emerson (surname), a surname (and list of people with that name)
* Emerson (given name), a given name (and list of people with that name)
Places Australia
* Emerson Crossing, a place in Adelaide
Canada
* Emerson, ...
. Kanaan finished out the season ranked in 11th place in points with 85 points.
For
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, Kanaan began to drive for
Mo Nunn Racing
Mo or MO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series
* Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke
* Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo''
* Mo, the ...
in the No. 55
Hollywood Cigarettes
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
Reyanard 2Ki-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Mercedes-Benz IC108F. The season was a struggle for Kanaan as he could only get a best finish of a trio of eighth-place finishes at the
Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota at
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...
, the
Motorola 220 at
Road America and the
Honda Indy 300 on the
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit
The Surfers Paradise Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in Surfers Paradise, in Queensland, Australia. The beach-side track has several fast sections and two chicanes, having been shortened from an original length in 2010. It is the ...
. At the
Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit at
Belle Isle State Park, Kanaan was injured before the race and missed the race and the three races following it. Kanaan's best start of the season was a third-place at the
Target Grand Prix Presented by Energizer at
Chicago Motor Speedway
The Chicago Motor Speedway at Sportsman's Park was a motorsports race track, located in Cicero, Illinois, just outside Chicago. It was built in 1999 by a group including Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2002 the oval shaped trac ...
. Kanaan finished the season ranked in 19th place in points with 24 points.
In
2001, Kanaan returned with
Mo Nunn Racing
Mo or MO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series
* Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke
* Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo''
* Mo, the ...
to drive the No. 55
Hollywood Cigarettes
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
Reynard 01i Reynard Motorsport vehicles
The Reynard 01I is an open-wheel racing car chassis designed and built by Reynard Racing Cars that competed in the 2001 IndyCar season. Gil de Ferran won the drivers' title in the car, and Team Penske
Team Penske ...
-
Honda HR-1. Kanaan got his first podium since winning at Michigan in 1999 when he got a third-place finish at the
Firestone Firehawk 500 at
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
. Kanaan later qualified on the pole position at the
Target Grand Prix Presented by Energizer at
Chicago Motor Speedway
The Chicago Motor Speedway at Sportsman's Park was a motorsports race track, located in Cicero, Illinois, just outside Chicago. It was built in 1999 by a group including Chip Ganassi, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2002 the oval shaped trac ...
. Kanaan finished in ninth place in points with 93 points.
Kanaan returned with
Mo Nunn Racing
Mo or MO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series
* Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke
* Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo''
* Mo, the ...
in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
to originally drive the No. 10
Pioneer Corporation
commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair s ...
/
WorldCom
MCI, Inc. (subsequently Worldcom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. Worldcom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunic ...
Reynard 02i-
Honda HR-2. Kanaan's highlight of the first three races of the season was a second-place start at the
Bridgestone Potenza 500 at
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
. Kanaan's best finish in these races was a 15th-place finish at Motegi. Following Motegi, at the
Miller Lite 250 at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
, Kanaan switched chassis types to a
Lola B02/00
The Lola B02/00 is a highly successful open-wheel racing car chassis designed and built by Lola that competed in the CART (and later Champ Car) series, between 2002 and 2006. It was extremely competitive and incredibly dominant chassis; going ...
. Kanaan qualified on the pole position at both the
Grand Prix Americas at
Bayfront Park
Bayfront Park is a public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay. The Chairman to the trust is Ary Shaeban. Located in the park is a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus sculpted by Count Vittorio di Colbertaldo of Verona, one ...
and
The 500 Presented by Toyota at
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previo ...
and finished in third place at both the
Molson Indy Vancouver
Molson Indy Vancouver was an annual Champ Car race held in a street circuit near BC Place and running past Science World in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada held in July, August or September from 1990 to 2004.
On September 2, 1990, the f ...
on the
Streets of Vancouver and the
Molson Indy Montreal
The Grand Prix of Montreal was an annual auto race in Montreal, Quebec on the Champ Car World Series calendar.
History
Originally known as the Molson Indy Montreal, it was first held at Sanair Super Speedway, an oval track, from 1984 through 198 ...
at
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled ''Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve'' (), is a motor racing circuit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. It has previously hosted the FIA World Sportscar ...
. Kanaan finished in 12th place in points with 99 points.
IndyCar Series
Kanaan competed in the
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
for
Mo Nunn Racing
Mo or MO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series
* Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke
* Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo''
* Mo, the ...
in the No. 17
Hollywood Cigarettes
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
-sponsored
G-Force GF05
The G-Force GF05 is a racing car developed and produced by American manufacturer Élan Motorsport Technologies for Panoz, with original work having been performed by G-Force Technologies prior to its purchase by Panoz, for use in the Indy Racing ...
-
Chevrolet V8
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
in one-off race at the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. Kanaan was the highest-starting rookie in the race with a fifth-place starting position. In the race, Kanaan led for 23 laps when on lap 90 both
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
and
Bruno Junqueira
Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.
Racing career
Early c ...
had mechanical problems and slowed on the course. An oil leak was on the track and was not caught by
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
officials and Kanaan crashed, finishing 28th. Kanaan finished 50th in points with two points.
In
2003, Kanaan drove for
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
in the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
-sponsored
Dallara IR03-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI3R. Kanaan got consecutive pole positions at the
Toyota Indy 300
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American Championship car racing, American open wheel races held in Miami metropolitan area, South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA Contest Board, AAA held one board track racing, board t ...
at
Homestead-Miami Speedway, finishing fourth, and the
Purex Dial Indy 200 at
Phoenix International Raceway, where he would go on to win his second Indy car race after leading for 79 laps. Kanaan then led the point standings after Phoenix. At the
Indy Japan 300
The Indy Japan 300 presented by Bridgestone was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The 2008 race marked the historic first ever win for a woman driver in American open wheel racing when Danica Pat ...
at
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
Kanaan was involved in a crash with
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
on lap 178 and finished 14th. There was a question whether Kanaan would be able to compete in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. Kanaan was able to participate and qualified 2nd and led for two laps, eventually finishing 3rd behind countrymen and
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
teammates
Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...
and
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
. Kanaan regained the points lead and held on for the next eight races, except for the
Belterra Casino Indy 300 at
Kentucky Speedway where he dropped to second place, based on consistent finishes. Following an 18th-place finish at the
Firestone Indy 225
The Firestone Indy 225 was an IndyCar racing event held at Nazareth Speedway from 1987– 2004. From 1987– 2001, the event was sanctioned by CART. In 2002, the race switched to the Indy Racing League. From 1987– 1996, the race wa ...
at
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...
Kanaan dropped to 3rd in points. Kanaan entered the season-ending
Chevy 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
third in points and was involved in a five-way battle for the championship with de Ferran, Dixon, Castroneves, and
Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
In the race, Kanaan started ninth and led for 52 laps, only to finish two laps down in 14th place. Kanaan finished fourth in points behind Dixon, de Ferran, and Castroneves with 476 points.
In
2004 Kanaan returned with
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
to drive the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
Dallara IR03-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI4R. At the season-opening
Toyota Indy 300
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American Championship car racing, American open wheel races held in Miami metropolitan area, South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA Contest Board, AAA held one board track racing, board t ...
at
Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kanaan started and finished eighth. At the second race of the season, the
Copper World Indy 200 at
Phoenix International Raceway, Kanaan started second and led for 191 of 200 laps to win. Kanaan also took the points lead. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, Kanaan qualified in fifth-place. In the race, Kanaan led for 28 laps and was battling with teammate and friend
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
and
Buddy Rice
Buddy Rice (born January 31, 1976) is an American former race car driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.
Career
Early years
...
. Kanaan was running second to Rice on lap 174 when the caution came out for rain. The race was then stopped permanently on lap 180 with Kanaan in third. Kanaan went on to win both the
Bombardier 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
and the
Firestone Indy 200
The Firestone Indy 200 was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.
In 2001, it marked the first American open wheel event in the Nashville area. In later years it was held as a Saturday n ...
at
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, ...
. Kanaan also qualified on the pole position at the
Michigan Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high pres ...
at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
and the
Honda Indy 225
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
at
Pikes Peak International Raceway
Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) is a racetrack in the Colorado Springs area within the city limits of Fountain, Colorado, that by October 12, 1997, was "the fastest 1-mile paved oval anywhere". The speedway hosted races in several serie ...
. Kanaan clinched the championship with a 2nd-place finish at the
Toyota Indy 400
The MAVTV 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The event represented a continuous lineage of open wheel oval racing in the Southern California-area that dates back to 1970. Since 2012, the event had bee ...
at
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previo ...
. Kanaan completed all 3,305 laps during the season. Kanaan scored 618 points to win the championship.
For
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, Kanaan returned with
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
in the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
-sponsored
Dallara IR05-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI4R. Kanaan started off the season with a third-place finish at the season-opening
Toyota Indy 300
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American Championship car racing, American open wheel races held in Miami metropolitan area, South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA Contest Board, AAA held one board track racing, board t ...
at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, Kanaan qualified on the pole position. In the race, Kanaan battled early with
Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
for the lead. Kanaan led for 54 laps, only to drop to an eighth-place finish in the final 50 laps of the race. Kanaan later won the
Argent Mortgage Indy 300 at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
and the
Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix at
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern ...
. Kanaan finished second in the point standings behind his teammate and friend
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
with 548 points. In September 2005 Kanaan tested a
BAR-Honda Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
car for
British American Racing at
Circuito de Jerez
Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto (formerly known as Circuit of Jerez and Circuito Permanente de Jerez), is a racing circuit located close to the city of Jerez de la Frontera, south of Seville and deep within the sherry-producing region in th ...
as a reward for winning the 2004 IndyCar Series championship in a Honda-powered car.
Kanaan returned with
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
in the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
-sponsored
Dallara IR05-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI4R in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. The entire season would be a struggle for the entire Andretti Green team compared to previous seasons due to in part
Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
and
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
Chip Ganassi Racing beginning to use Honda engines due to
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
withdrawing after
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
. Kanaan's only win of the season was at the
ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225
The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers was an IndyCar Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
History
Open wheel racing at the track dates back to 1937. AAA sa ...
at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
. Kanaan's best start of the season was a second at the
Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, Kanaan qualified fifth and in the race led for 12 laps. On lap 190
Felipe Giaffone
Felipe Giaffone (, born 22 January 1975) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competes full-time in the Copa Truck, driving the No. 4 Iveco Hi-Way for Usual Racing. He also works as a commentator for Rede Bandeirantes and BandSports.
He competed in ...
crashed in turn 2 while Kanaan still had to make his final pit stop; as a result, he pitted under caution and dropped to fourth place. On the final lap of the race,
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
passed Kanaan. Kanaan finished in fifth-place behind
Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
,
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
,
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
and Wheldon. On 28 May 2006, Kanaan's friend
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
wore Kanaan's helmet livery during the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
and Kanaan wore Barrichello's helmet during the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. The two of them created a charity offering financial and technical aid to institutions within the
voluntary sector
The voluntary sector, independent sector, or civic sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by organizations that are non-governmental nonprofit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector, community sector, and nonprofit s ...
, the
Barrichello Kanaan Institute. Kanaan would have an issue with another of his long-time good friends and a former teammate from his time at
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
,
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
. Kanaan and Castroneves had developed an intense rivalry that has resulted in some hard feelings. Castroneves accused Kanaan of costing him the 2006 series championship by racing him too hard for position in the final race. Kanaan countered that he was not paid to let other people pass him for the position. The two started to patch up their differences at
2007 Indianapolis 500. Kanaan finished 6th in points 384 points.
![2007 Indy 500 Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/2007_Indy_500_Dario_Franchitti_and_Tony_Kanaan.JPG)
Kanaan had his best season during
2007 (based on wins) in the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
-sponsored
Dallara IR5-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI7R for
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
. Kanaan won his first race of the season at the
Indy Japan 300
The Indy Japan 300 presented by Bridgestone was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The 2008 race marked the historic first ever win for a woman driver in American open wheel racing when Danica Pat ...
at
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
. At the following race, the
Kansas Lottery Indy 300 at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
Kanaan qualified on the pole position and dueled with eventual winner
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
until Kanaan made contact with teammate
Danica Patrick in the pit lane (Kanaan was leaving his pit stall as Patrick was entering hers just in front of Kanaan's). Kanaan finished 15th, eight laps down. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan won the
Scott Brayton
Scott Everts Brayton (February 20, 1959 – May 17, 1996) was an American race car driver on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event. Brayton was killed in practice after qualifying ...
Award for showing the spirit of the late
Scott Brayton
Scott Everts Brayton (February 20, 1959 – May 17, 1996) was an American race car driver on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event. Brayton was killed in practice after qualifying ...
, who was killed while practicing for the
1996 Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. Kanaan qualified 2nd and in the race, he led for a race-high 83 laps. On lap 113, while under caution for a crash by
Phil Giebler
Philip Giebler (born March 5, 1979 in Oxnard, California) is an American race car driver.
Giebler was considered a top American prospect with an opportunity to race in Formula One early in his career. Following years in various Formula Three ...
, the race was stopped due to rain and it began to look as if Kanaan would be declared the winner. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. the race was resumed. On lap 151
Marty Roth
Marty Roth (born December 15, 1958) is a Canadian former race car driver who last competed in 2008 in the IndyCar Series where he owned his own team, Roth Racing.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Roth was a successful land developer in the Tor ...
brought out the caution for a crash and it was becoming apparent to several teams that rain was coming and the race would end soon. Kanaan and several other cars made pit stops (mainly for tires) while several other cars that had been contending for the win, such as teammate
Dario Franchitti and
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
, along with several drivers who had not been running as competitively, such as
Jacques Lazier
Jaques Lazier (born January 25, 1971) is an American former race car driver. He is the younger brother of 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and son of former Indy racer Bob Lazier.
Racing career
The younger Lazier ran in U.S. Formula ...
. This meant that several cars, with differences in tires and also in competitiveness, would be battling with what was expected to be only a handful of laps left. On a lap 156 restart, Kanaan came up on the back of Lazier and caused him to crash in turn 4 and Kanaan to spin into the pit lane with a blown tire. On lap 163 Andretti and Wheldon made contact on the back straightaway and brought out another caution. During the caution on lap 166, the race was permanently stopped for rain with teammate and friend Franchitti winning. Kanaan was then often referred to, along with his team owner
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
, as one of the best drivers never to win the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan rebounded to win the following race, the
ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225
The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers was an IndyCar Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
History
Open wheel racing at the track dates back to 1937. AAA sa ...
at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
, after leading for 25 laps. Kanaan won again at the
Firestone Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high p ...
at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
after Kanaan's friends Franchitti and Wheldon crashed on the back straightaway while battling for the lead on lap 144, causing Franchitti to flip and take out several other cars racing in the lead pack such as
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
,
Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
,
A. J. Foyt IV,
Tomas Scheckter
Tomas Scheckter (born 21 September 1980) is a South African former racing driver best known for his time in the IndyCar Series.
Early years
Scheckter was born in Monte Carlo to 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter and his first wife ...
and
Ed Carpenter. Kanaan then dominated the following race, the
Meijer Indy 300
The Kentucky Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.
The IRL IndyCar Series debuted the race in 2000. In the 2002 race, Sarah Fisher won the pole position, the first such by a female driver in major o ...
at
Kentucky Speedway, as he qualified on the pole position and led 131 of 200 laps on his way to victory. Ironically after the race, Franchitti flipped over another time due to hitting the rear end of
Kosuke Matsuura
is a Japanese race car driver currently competing in the Super GT series. He previously competed in the Formula Nippon and IRL IndyCar Series.
Early career
After winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Kosuke attracted the att ...
's car as he crossed the finish line to complete the race (Franchitti later said that he didn't realize that the race had ended). Kanaan got his fifth win of the season at the
Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone at
Belle Isle State Park. Kanaan infamously got into a heated exchange with Hornish following the
Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix
The Grand Prix at The Glen was an IndyCar Series race held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. American open wheel racing at the circuit dates back to 1979.
Following a five-year hiatus, Watkins Glen was added back to the sch ...
at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
when during the race the two made contact and as the cars were heading to pit lane Kanaan drove into Hornish's car. Hornish then came over to Kanaan's car when Hornish's father,
Sam Hornish, Sr., attempted to get Hornish and Kanaan separated and also shoved Kanaan when an unknown person (some sources claim that the man was a friend of Kanaan's then-car owner
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
) came to the elder Hornish and shoved him to the ground. By this point crew members from both
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
(Hornish's team) and
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
along with
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
officials and/or safety crew members were trying to break up the fight.
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
also entered the fight, but was held back by his son and Kanaan's teammate
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
.
Jaime Camara (an
Indy Pro Series
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
driver for Andretti) was also reported to have gotten involved in the fight. It was estimated that there were 15 to 20 people involved in the fight. Despite winning a season-high number of races (5) Kanaan finished 3rd in points, 576 points behind Franchitti and Dixon, who each had 4 wins and more consistent results.
In
2008 Kanaan returned with
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
in the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
Dallara IR5-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI7R. During the season Kanaan's famed 7-Eleven car began to have other companies sponsor the car such as
Frank's Energy Drink (Edmonton and Detroit) and
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois.
History Early years
German im ...
(Chicagoland). At the season-opening
Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American open wheel races held in South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA held one board track race in 1926, and then the facility was destroyed by a hurricane. The popular CART IndyCar ...
at
Homestead-Miami Speedway Kanaan started 6th and led for 35 laps. On lap 193
E. J. Viso
Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 Se ...
spun directly in front of Kanaan and damaged his right-front suspension. Kanaan stayed out hoping the race would finish under caution. On lap 196 the race resumed and Kanaan moved to the inside to allow the faster cars to get by. Kanaan finished 8th, two laps down. At the next race, the
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
at
Streets of St. Petersburg, Kanaan qualified on the pole position and led for 15 laps. Kanaan eventually finished in 3rd place. Kanaan then had 5th and 2nd-place finishes at the
Indy Japan 300
The Indy Japan 300 presented by Bridgestone was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The 2008 race marked the historic first ever win for a woman driver in American open wheel racing when Danica Pat ...
at
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
and the
RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300
The RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas was an IndyCar Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The IRL Indycar Series debuted the race in 2001.
The first Indy/Championship races in the Kansas City area city took place in 1922 ...
at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan qualified 6th (the first time Kanaan failed to qualify in the top-5 in his Indianapolis 500 career). On lap 94 Kanaan took the lead for the seventh consecutive year in as many years of competing in the Indianapolis 500. On lap 105
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
took the lead and moments later teammate
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
attempted to pass Kanaan in turn 3 causing Kanaan to lose control of his car and brush the wall. Kanaan then collected the lapped car of
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American retired professional race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League (IRL, now IndyCar Series) and the Indianapolis 500 intermittently from 1999 to 2010. She also raced in the NAS ...
, taking both out of the race. This would be the first of several incidents between Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing teammates Andretti and
Danica Patrick. Kanaan rebounded to get a 3rd-place finish at the
ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225
The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers was an IndyCar Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
History
Open wheel racing at the track dates back to 1937. AAA sa ...
at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
and a 5th-place finish at the
Bombardier Learjet 550
The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...
at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
. At the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
Kanaan started 4th and led for 71 laps, only to crash after 211 laps. Kanaan dominated the following race, the
SunTrust Indy Challenge
The Indy Richmond 300 (formally known as the ''SunTrust Indy Challenge'') is an IndyCar Series race held at Richmond Raceway near Richmond, Virginia from 2001 to 2009,. From 2001–2007, the race was scheduled for 250 laps (187.5 miles); from 200 ...
at
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
, as he qualified on the pole position, set the fastest lap of the race, led for 166 of 300 laps and won his first (and only) win of the 2008 season. Five races later at the
Rexall Edmonton Indy
The Edmonton Indy was a round of the IndyCar Series held at a temporary circuit set up at the Edmonton City Centre Airport near the downtown area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was formerly called the ''Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton'' and was ...
at
Rexall Speedway Kanaan started from 27th (last) place and finished 9th. In the race, Kanaan had issues with both Andretti and Patrick (ironically the two of them had also made contact during the race). Kanaan rose above the controversy to finish 3rd in points with 513 points. Kanaan also renewed with Andretti Green Racing through the
2013 season.
Kanaan returned with
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
for
2009 in the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
Dallara IR5-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI7R with additional sponsorship from
Dr. Pepper
Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
,
Nestlé Pure Life
Nestlé Pure Life is a brand of bottled water from Nestlé Waters globally and BlueTriton Brands in North America. The brand was first established in 1998 in Pakistan and is now available in 21 countries in Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europ ...
and
Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois.
History Early years
German im ...
. At the season-opening
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
at
Streets of St. Petersburg, Kanaan started 3rd and finished 5th. Kanaan then had 3rd-place finishes at the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
on the
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
and the
RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300
The RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas was an IndyCar Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The IRL Indycar Series debuted the race in 2001.
The first Indy/Championship races in the Kansas City area city took place in 1922 ...
at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
. Kanaan took the points lead after Kansas (the first time Kanaan led the standings since winning the championship following the
2004 Chevy 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
). At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan qualified in 6th place and the race was running in 3rd place when the driveshaft failed, causing him to lose control of his car due to the steering being incapacitated, hitting the turn 3 wall in an impact that was 175 G's. Kanaan finished in 27th place. The race was the first time that Kanaan failed to lead the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan suffered bruised ribs in the accident. Despite the injuries, Kanaan did not miss any races during the season nor did he need any relief during any race. At the following race, the
ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225
The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers was an IndyCar Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
History
Open wheel racing at the track dates back to 1937. AAA sa ...
at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
Kanaan started 3rd and led for 25 laps only to suffer an engine failure after 132 laps, finishing in 18th place. At the
Rexall Edmonton Indy
The Edmonton Indy was a round of the IndyCar Series held at a temporary circuit set up at the Edmonton City Centre Airport near the downtown area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was formerly called the ''Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton'' and was ...
at
Rexall Speedway Kanaan had a pit fire after completing 34 laps and finished in 21st. Kanaan's best finish after Indianapolis was a 3rd-place finish at the
Meijer Indy 300 presented by Red Baron and Edy's at
Kentucky Speedway. Kanaan finished 6th in points with 386 points.
In
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Kanaan returned to drive the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
Dallara IR5-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI7R with additional sponsorship from
Nestlé Pure Life
Nestlé Pure Life is a brand of bottled water from Nestlé Waters globally and BlueTriton Brands in North America. The brand was first established in 1998 in Pakistan and is now available in 21 countries in Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europ ...
,
Dr. Pepper Cherry and
Planters
Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...
. During the off-season
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
was reorganized as
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
. Kanaan's best finish in the first five races of the season was a 3rd-place finish at the
RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300
The RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas was an IndyCar Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The IRL Indycar Series debuted the race in 2001.
The first Indy/Championship races in the Kansas City area city took place in 1922 ...
at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan crashed during his qualifying attempt on Pole Day and in the crash, Kanaan's engine was split into two pieces. Kanaan would have to qualify on Bump Day in a backup car. During practice on Bump Day Kanaan had a nearly identical crash to the Pole Day crash. The team needed to repair the car before the end of the day or Kanaan would fail to qualify for the race. At 5:23 p.m. solidly qualified for the race. Kanaan qualified in 32nd place but moved back to his original(repaired) car and started 33rd. This also meant that Kanaan's record of having always qualified on the first two rows in each of his Indianapolis 500 came to an end. In the race, Kanaan had moved into 25th place when the caution came out for a crash by
Davey Hamilton
David Jay "Davey" Hamilton (born June 13, 1962 in Nampa, Idaho) is a race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and Stadium Super Trucks. He has made 56 series starts and while never winning a race, finished second thr ...
out of turn 2 on the backstretch. Kanaan then moved into 17th place by lap 8 when another caution came out for a crash by
Bruno Junqueira
Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.
Racing career
Early c ...
. During a pit stop sequence while under caution for a crash by teammate
John Andretti
John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Adam ...
Kanaan improved from 12th to 4th place. Kanaan soon moved into 2nd place behind friend
Dario Franchitti. In the late stages of the race
Mike Conway
Mike Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Biography
Conway who was born in Bromley, Lo ...
,
Justin Wilson,
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
and
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...
stayed out in an attempt to stretch their fuel mileage to the end of the race with no more pit stops. They all had to pit and Franchitti and Kanaan moved back into 1st and 2nd place on lap 192. On lap 196 Kanaan had to make a pit stop for fuel. This caused Kanaan to drop to an 11th-place finish. Kanaan went on to win the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 Presented by Pioneer at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
after starting 15th and leading for 62 laps. Kanaan's next best finish following Indianapolis was a 3rd-place finish at the season-ending
Cafés do Brasil Indy 300 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kanaan finished 6th in points with 453 points. In October Kanaan was released from his contract with Andretti after sponsor
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
announced it would not return as Kanaan's primary sponsor in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. Kanaan won 14 races and 1 championship in 8 years with Andretti.
Kanaan originally was going to drive for
de Ferran Dragon Racing, owned by Kanaan's former competitor and countryman
Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...
. Just days before the season-opening
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
on the
Streets of St. Petersburg the deal fell through and Kanaan was without a team. Kanaan then began to drive for
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
-
Lotus, also owned by another of Kanaan's former rivals
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
, in the No. 82
GEICO/
Lotus Cars Dallara IR5-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Indy V8 HI7R in a car based on the
Lotus 38-
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
V8 that
Jim Clark drove to win the
1965 Indianapolis 500 (the first rear-engine car to win the race). At St. Petersburg Kanaan finished in 3rd place after having a race-long battle with future teammate
Simona de Silvestro. Kanaan followed this result with a 6th and an 8th at the
Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is an IndyCar Series race held at Barber Motorsports Park, a 17-turn road course, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Officially announced on July 27, 2009, the inaugural event was on the weekend of April ...
at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
and the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
on the
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
to remain 3rd in points. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan started 22nd and in the race, he battled with
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
and
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...
in the late stages of the race, running as high as 2nd place. Kanaan eventually made a pit stop and finished 4th behind friend
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
,
J. R. Hildebrand and Rahal. Kanaan started on the pole position at the
Firestone Twin 275s Race #2 at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
(the starting lineup for the race was determined by a random draw) and in the race Kanaan finished in 5th place. At the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
Kanaan battled with teammate
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
,
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
,
Oriol Servia
Oriol () is a Catalan name, which can be found as a given name or a surname. It derives from the Latin word ''aureus'' (golden). It was originally just a surname, but started to be used as a given name in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol. It may refe ...
and
Dario Franchitti. Kanaan finished 2nd to former teammate Andretti after Sato crashed, Servia stalled after making a pit stop during the caution for Sato's crash and Franchitti dropped to 5th. Kanaan was involved in a spectacular crash at the
MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a Oval track racing, oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nickna ...
with Andretti and
Tomas Scheckter
Tomas Scheckter (born 21 September 1980) is a South African former racing driver best known for his time in the IndyCar Series.
Early years
Scheckter was born in Monte Carlo to 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter and his first wife ...
that had Kanaan flip down the track's back straightaway and at one he hit a
portable toilet
A portable or mobile toilet (colloquial terms: thunderbox, portaloo, porta-john or porta-potty) is any type of toilet that can be moved around, some by one person, some by mechanical equipment such as a truck and crane. Most types do not require ...
located next to the track and finished 22nd. In August it was announced that Kanaan signed on for another year with
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
according to team owner
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
.
At the
Baltimore Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT was an IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series race for 3 years held on a street circuit in Baltimore, Maryland. The inaugural race was held September 4, 2011. ESPN said it was the best inaugural ...
on the
Streets of Baltimore Kanaan finished 3rd after starting in 27th (last) place due to a crash with
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
when Kanaan got airborne after running over the right side of Castroneves' car when Castroneves was braking. At the season-ending
IZOD IndyCar World Championship
The IZOD IndyCar World Championship Presented by Honda was an IndyCar Series race on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, held from 1996 to 2000, and again in 2011. It was first known as the Las Vegas 500k. The Champ Car World Series held a race at ...
at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
Kanaan qualified on the pole position and led the first 12 laps of the race when it was stopped when
Wade Cunningham
Wade Grant Cunningham (born 19 August 1984) is a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand who competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series.
Racing career
Indy Lights
Cunningham's professional career began when he won the Karting World Champ ...
made contact with
James Hinchcliffe
James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
in turn 1. Cunningham and Hildebrand then made contact when Cunningham swerved and Hildebrand drove over the rear of his car. Hildebrand's car became airborne and Cunningham collected
Jay Howard
Jay Howard (born 16 February 1981) is a British professional race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 US Formula Ford Zetec champion (now known as the Coop ...
on the inside and then
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
on the outside before crashing into the wall. Attempting to avoid the crash ahead,
Vítor Meira
Vítor Meira (born March 27, 1977) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500.
IndyCar Series
2002
After participating in an open test for Panther Racing ...
lost control, spinning inward collecting both
Charlie Kimball
Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
and
E. J. Viso
Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 Se ...
. At the same time, Meira lost control, Scheckter was also attempting to avoid the first crash by rapidly slowing down on the outside. This led to
Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill". ...
crashing into the back of Scheckter and a rapidly approaching
Pippa Mann
Pippa Mann (born 11 August 1983) is a British racing car driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series. She was born in London, United Kingdom.
Career
Formula Renault
Mann began her career in 2003, after signing a three-race contract with Ma ...
to launch over the top of Tracy after jerking to the outside to avoid crashing into
Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and '' Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA chart ...
. Kanaan's friend Wheldon (who started in 34th and last place in an attempt to win the race and collect $5 million from series' sponsors
Verizon Wireless
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...
and
GoDaddy.com
GoDaddy Inc. is an American publicly traded Internet domain registrar and web hosting company headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and incorporated in Delaware.
, GoDaddy has more than 21 million customers and over 6,600 employees worldwide. The co ...
to split evenly with a random fan) was running in 24th place and had slowed down from 220 miles per hour to 165 miles per hour when he ran over the rear end of Kimball's car and went airborne. Wheldon was pronounced dead on arrival at
University Medical Center of Southern Nevada
University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMCSN) is a non-profit (teaching) government hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the only government run hospital owned and operated by the Clark County Commission.
Overview
The hospital was founded i ...
at 1:54 p.m. of
blunt force trauma
Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical traumas, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue ...
. The race was immediately canceled and removed from the record books. The cars that survived the accident (except for
Alex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani (; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing.
Tagliani has competed in a variety ...
, who was driving the same car that Wheldon used to win the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
) drove five laps around the track in three-abreast style, similar to the style used at the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
as a tribute to Wheldon. The American
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
broadcast showed Kanaan and
Dario Franchitti (friend of Kanaan and Wheldon) crying due to Wheldon's death during the five laps. Kanaan finished out the season ranked fifth in points with 366 points.
Kanaan returned with
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
to drive the No. 11
GEICO/
Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics is a global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components. With over $3 billion in annual revenue, Mouser is ranked as the seventh largest electronic component distributor in the world. The company has 27 locations ...
-sponsored
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
DW12-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Chevrolet Indy V6
The Chevrolet Indy V6 engine is a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-6 racing engine, developed and produced by Ilmor Engineering-Chevrolet for the IndyCar Series. Chevrolet has been a highly successful IndyCar Series engine supplier since 2012, sco ...
. The Dallara DW12 was named after
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
, who had tested the car (then known as the Dallara IR12) at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
. Kanaan's close friend
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
joined the team for his first season in the IndyCar Series. Kanaan started off the season with 25th and 21st-place finishes at the
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
on the
Streets of St. Petersburg and the
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is an IndyCar Series race held at Barber Motorsports Park, a 17-turn road course, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Officially announced on July 27, 2009, the inaugural event was on the weekend of April ...
at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
. Kanaan then finished 4th at the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
on the
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan qualified in 8th place (Kanaan's best start in the race since a 6th place start in
2009). In the race, Kanaan led for 7 laps in the late stages of the race (the first time Kanaan led the race since
2008). On lap 194 Kanaan was passed by
Dario Franchitti,
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
and
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
. Kanaan finished in 3rd place after eventual winner Franchitti and Sato made contact, causing Sato to crash into the turn 1 wall. This was Kanaan's best finish in the race since a 2nd-place finish in
2004. Kanaan later had a 2nd-place finish at the
Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by XYQ at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
and a 3rd-place finish at the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
. The results at Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Iowa, along with an 11th-place finish at the
Firestone 550
The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...
at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
made Kanaan challenge for the
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...
Oval Championship with
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
. Kanaan would also get a 4th-place finish at the
Honda Indy Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...
at
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
. At the season-ending
MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships at
Auto Club Speedway Kanaan and Hunter-Reay were the only drivers who could win the oval championship. In the race, Kanaan qualified 3rd and led for 47 laps while Hunter-Reay (who was battling
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
for the series championship) was racing conservatively to finish in 5th place or better to win the championship. On lap 241 of 250 Kanaan crashed in turn 4 and finished in 18th place. Hunter-Reay finished in 4th place and won both the series championship and the oval championship. Kanaan finished 9th in the overall standings with 351 points. Kanaan also finished 2nd in the oval standings with 148 points (Hunter-Reay had 168 points).
In
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
Kanaan returned with
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
in the No. 11
Hydroxycut
Hydroxycut is a brand of dietary supplements that is marketed as a weight loss aid. Hydroxycut was originally developed and manufactured by MuscleTech Research and Development; MuscleTech was sold to Iovate Health Sciences in 2003–2004 and declar ...
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
DW12-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Chevrolet Indy V6
The Chevrolet Indy V6 engine is a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-6 racing engine, developed and produced by Ilmor Engineering-Chevrolet for the IndyCar Series. Chevrolet has been a highly successful IndyCar Series engine supplier since 2012, sco ...
with
SH Racing
Vasser Sullivan Racing is an American organization involved in motorsports. It was founded in 2010 by James “Sulli” Sullivan as SH Racing to compete in motocross. In 2011, the team partnered with KV Racing Technology to form KVSH Racing. Fo ...
joining the team as a partner on Kanaan's car. Hydroxycut announced that they would not sponsor the car at all the races. This meant that the team would have to find additional sponsorship for the remaining races.
Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics is a global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components. With over $3 billion in annual revenue, Mouser is ranked as the seventh largest electronic component distributor in the world. The company has 27 locations ...
sponsored the car at the
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is an IndyCar Series race held at Barber Motorsports Park, a 17-turn road course, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Officially announced on July 27, 2009, the inaugural event was on the weekend of April ...
at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
and
Itaipava at the
Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestlé on the
Streets of São Paulo. Kanaan's best finish in the first four races was a 4th-place finish at the season-opening
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
on the
Streets of St. Petersburg. At the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
Kanaan qualified in 12th place. In the race Kanaan quickly moved up through the field and was battling for the lead with
Ed Carpenter,
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
and
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
. On lap 197 Kanaan passed Hunter-Reay for the lead on a restart for a crash by
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...
with the Andretti Autosport cars of
Carlos Muñoz, Hunter-Reay and Andretti right behind Kanaan. Moments after Kanaan took the lead Kanaan's friend
Dario Franchitti crashed in turn 1, causing the race to finish under caution for the fourth consecutive year. Kanaan won the race at an average speed of 187.433 miles per hour, breaking the record set by
Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luijendijk (anglicised as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Sp ...
in the
1990 race. The race also broke the record for the number of lead changes in the race with 68, breaking the previous record of 34 during the
2012 race. The race meant that the friends of Franchitti (
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
),
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
(
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
), Franchitti (
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
) and Kanaan (
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
) would have their faces in consecutive positions on the
Borg-Warner Trophy
The Borg-Warner Trophy is the trophy presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. It is named for and was commissioned by automotive supplier BorgWarner. It is permanently housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Speedway, Indiana. ...
. Kanaan later said "I was known for not winning and now I am known for winning. The last lap was the longest lap of my life. I get to put my ugly face on that trophy." It was his first
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
victory since his split from
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
and the first IndyCar Series victory for KV Racing Technology. Kanaan tied
Sam Hanks
Samuel Dwight "Sam" Hanks (July 13, 1914 – June 27, 1994) was an American race car driver who won the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He was a barnstormer, and raced midget and Championship cars.
Racing career
Hanks was born in Columbus, Ohio and l ...
in being the most experienced driver in the Indianapolis 500 driver to win, both doing so in their twelfth start. After his Indianapolis 500 victory Kanaan gained sponsorship from
Hippino.com at both rounds of the
Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at
Belle Isle State Park, starting 19th in each race and finishing 13th in race No. 1 and 12th in race No. 2. The team also gained sponsorship from
Sunoco (the official fuel provider for the series) and also gained sponsorship to the
Indianapolis 500 film ''
Turbo
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...
''. The reason for the latter sponsorship was due to Sunoco having an endorsement for the film from producer
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
and distributor
20th Century Fox Film Corporation. In his first race with the sponsorship, the
Firestone 550
The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...
at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
, Kanaan started 13th and finished 3rd. Kanaan then managed to finish 3rd at the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 Presented by DEKALB at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
after starting 5th. Kanaan attempted to win the second leg of the
Fuzzy's Triple Crown, the
Pocono IndyCar 400 fueled by Sunoco at
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
. In the race, Kanaan qualified in 5th place and led for 15 laps, and was battling with
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
for the win. When Kanaan attempted to pass Dixon the right side of Kanaan's front wing hit the left rear of Dixon's car, damaging Kanaaan's wing and causing him to have to make a green-flag pit stop. Dixon went on to win the race while Kanaan finished in 13th place, the last car to finish on the lead lap. Following his Indianapolis win and several other respectable results, Kanaan found himself in the top 5 in points. Kanaan's season began to have several disappointing results starting at the
Honda Indy Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...
twin races at
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
. In race No. 1 Kanaan started in 4th place and finished 5th. In race No. 2 Kanaan started 6th and crashed after 35 laps to finish in 24th (last) place. Following the second Toronto race, Kanaan dropped from 5th to 6th in points. At the next race of the season, the
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at the
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Kanaan started 19th and finished 24th (last) for the second consecutive race due to a loose wheel after 64 laps. At the next race, the
GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
The Indycar Grand Prix of Sonoma was an IndyCar Series race held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The USAC Championship Car circuit raced at the circuit in 1970. In 2005, American open wheel racing returned to the circuit with an IndyCar ...
at
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southe ...
Kanaan tied with his then-team owner
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
for the all-time IndyCar Series (including the
AAA Contest Board
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and m ...
, the
USAC National Championship and the
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
) record for most consecutive starts with 211, dating back to the
2001 Freightliner/G.I. Joes 200 Presented by Texaco at
Portland International Raceway
Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanpo ...
. In the race Kanaan started 16th and finished 13th. Following the race, Kanaan dropped from 10th to 11th in points. Kanaan would get a third 24th (last) place finish in six races at the
Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at
Reliant Park
NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway (I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses of land and consists ...
. Around this time on 27 September Kanaan was announced as the driver of the No. 8
NTT Data
is a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a partially-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).
Japan Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation ...
/TNT Energy Drink
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
DW12-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Chevrolet Indy V6
The Chevrolet Indy V6 engine is a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-6 racing engine, developed and produced by Ilmor Engineering-Chevrolet for the IndyCar Series. Chevrolet has been a highly successful IndyCar Series engine supplier since 2012, sco ...
for
NTT Data
is a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a partially-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).
Japan Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation ...
Chip Ganassi Racing in
2014. At the season-ending
MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships at
Auto Club Speedway Kanaan started 9th and led for 3 laps. Kanaan finished in 3rd place behind
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
and Carpenter. The race was also notable for being the first race to not have Franchitti, due to his injuries at the
Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston at
Reliant Park
NRG Park, formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain, is a complex in Houston, named after the energy company NRG Energy. It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway (I-610). This complex of buildings encompasses of land and consists ...
after making contact with
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
and flipping into the catch fence in a crash similar to Wheldon's fatal accident, since the
2008 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300
The Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series race held at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, United States.
In 2001, American open wheel racing debuted at the circuit with an IndyCar Series event. From 2006 to 2008, the ...
at
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
(at that race it was due to Franchitti participating in the
NASCAR Cup Series that year). Following the race, Kanaan and 2nd-place finisher Carpenter wished Franchitti a recovery when the two were being interviewed on the broadcast by the
NBC Sports Network
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
. Kanaan finished 11th in points with 397 points, making it the first full-time season in the IndyCar Series that Kanaan failed to finish in the top 10 in points (Kanaan did finish 50th in points in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
due to only running the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
). On a positive note, Kanaan won the series' Most Popular Driver award.
Dario Franchitti's injuries were enough for him to announce his retirement from racing. This meant that his car at
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
Chip Ganassi Racing (the team that had won the series championship each year from
2008 to
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, except
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, with Franchitti and
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
) needed a replacement driver.
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
,
Alex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani (; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing.
Tagliani has competed in a variety ...
(who drove in Franchitti's place at Fontana and also did off season testing in the car),
Sergio Pérez,
Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
,
Oriol Servia
Oriol () is a Catalan name, which can be found as a given name or a surname. It derives from the Latin word ''aureus'' (golden). It was originally just a surname, but started to be used as a given name in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol. It may refe ...
,
Justin Wilson and Franchitti's cousin
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...
were all considered for the car at some point. Kanaan was eventually named to drive the car with Briscoe moving into the car originally intended for Kanaan (Briscoe had previously driven the car at the
2013 Indianapolis 500). In
2014 Kanaan drove the No. 10
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
DW12-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Chevrolet Indy V6
The Chevrolet Indy V6 engine is a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-6 racing engine, developed and produced by Ilmor Engineering-Chevrolet for the IndyCar Series. Chevrolet has been a highly successful IndyCar Series engine supplier since 2012, sco ...
with additional sponsorship from
GE Reveal,
Lexar
Lexar Media, Inc. is a Chinese brand of flash memory products manufactured by the Chinese company Longsys.
The Lexar "JumpDrive" trademark was often used synonymously with the term USB flash drives when the technology was first adopted.
Histo ...
,
Energizer
Energizer Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and one of the world's largest manufacturers of batteries, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. It produces batteries under the Energizer, Ray-O-Vac, Varta, and Eveready brand names, and for ...
, Suave, Suave Professionals for Men, TNT Energy Drink, Glad (company), Glad and Huggies. At the season-opening 2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the
Streets of St. Petersburg, Kanaan started in 2nd place and finished in 6th place. Over the next five races, Kanaan's best start was a 9th at the 2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and his best finish in these races was a 9th place at the 2014 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
after starting from 23rd (last) place. At the 2014 Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis 500 Kanaan qualified in a disappointing 16th place in a forgettable Indianapolis 500 for
Chip Ganassi Racing that had teammates
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
qualify 11th (he had the 3rd fastest speed in the field but had to start in the position due to not being fast enough to qualify for the Firestone Fast Nine after the first qualifying day),
Charlie Kimball
Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
qualify 26th, Briscoe qualify 30th and Sage Karam (in a car co-owned by both Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Davey Hamilton, Kingdom Racing) qualify 31st. On Carb Day practice (the final practice before the race) Kanaan and Dixon had the two fastest speeds for the session at 227.383 and 227.773 miles per hour each. In the race Kanaan was moving up through the field with various other cars who were quick but had a poor starting position, such as
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
and
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
. On lap 66 Kanaan ran out of fuel but managed to make it back to his pit stall. The pit stop took 43 seconds and dropped Kanaan down the running order. On lap 73 Kanaan returned to the pit lane with a broken starter. Kanaan's crew managed to repair the car, but Kanaan went down 18 laps and was out of contention for the rest of the race. Kanaan would eventually finish in 26th place with 177 laps complete (23 laps down). The finishing results were also a disappointment for the rest of Chip Ganassi Racing with Briscoe finishing 18th with all 200 laps complete after being nearly taken out in a crash in turn 2 of the first lap, Dixon finished 29th due to a crash on lap 168 and Kimball finished 31st due to a crash on lap 150 (the race had been caution-free to that point). The only positive for the team was rookie Karam having a respectable race to finish in 9th place. At the next race of the season, the 2014 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Race #1 at
Belle Isle State Park, Kanaan managed to finish in 3rd place after starting in 8th place. In the second race, Kanaan managed to get a 9th-place finish. At the following race, the 2014 Firestone 600, Firestone 600 at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...
, Kanaan started in 3rd place, and on lap 242 of 248 the caution came out for an engine fire on
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
's car. By that point in the race there were only six cars on the lead lap:
Ed Carpenter,
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver.
He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...
, Simon Pagenaud, Dixon, Kanaan, and
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
. All of the drivers, except leader Carpenter and 2nd place Montoya, pitted for new tires. On lap 246 the race was restarted and Kanaan finished 6th. Kanaan was poised to finish in 3rd place at the next race, the 2014 Grand Prix of Houston, Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race #1 at NRG Park when on the next-to-last lap
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...
in 4th place rear-ended Kanaan's car, dropping him to a 13th-place finish, Rahal was penalized from 3rd place to 11th place. Kanaan finished in 10th place after starting 8th in the second race. At the next race, the 2014 Pocono IndyCar 500, Pocono IndyCar 500 at
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
, Kanaan started in 8th place and led for a race-high 78 of 200 laps after battling with
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
teammates Montoya, Power and
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
. Kanaan's team then put Kanaan on a different strategy than the rest of the leaders that would only work if a caution came out late in the race. The race only had six laps of caution due to a single-car crash by Rahal on lap 159. Kanaan and Josef Newgarden, who was attempting the same strategy after struggling for most of the race, had to pit on laps 196 and 194. This resulted in an 11th-place finish with Newgarden in 10th. At the following race, the 2014 Iowa Corn Indy 300, Iowa Corn Indy 300 at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
Kanaan started in 2nd place to teammate Dixon. In the race, Kanaan led for 247 of 300 laps and it looked as if Kanaan would get his first victory of the season when on lap 282 the caution came out for a crash by Montoya. During the caution, the cars of Carpenter, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, and Newgarden all made pit stops for fresh tires. On the restart, on lap 291 Hunter-Reay and Newgarden quickly moved up through the field with Hunter-Reay taking the lead on lap 299. Kanaan would also lose 2nd place to Newgarden. At the next race, the 2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Honda Indy Toronto Race #1 at
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
Kanaan started in 5th place and finished in 3rd place. In the second race, Kanaan started from 9th place (the starting lineup was determined by drivers points following the first race) and nearly won his first race of the season. On lap 51 a crash occurred that involved several cars and the race was immediately stopped. The race was also a timed race with approximately 4:00 minutes left in the race Kanaan was in 3rd place behind
Mike Conway
Mike Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Biography
Conway who was born in Bromley, Lo ...
, who had older Racing slick, slick tires, and Wilson, who had older Rain tyre, rain tires. On the restart, Kanaan was held up by the slower car of Wilson along with several lapped cars. Kanaan would eventually finish in 2nd place, his best finish since winning the
2013 Indianapolis 500. At the following race, the Honda Indy 200, Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Kanaan started in 3rd place and crashed out on the first lap of the race and collected
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
. Kanaan finished the race in 21st place. At the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250, ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
. Kanaan started in 2nd place and finished in 3rd place after leading for 14 laps. At the following race, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southe ...
, Kanaan started in 8th place and finished in 13th place. At the season-ending 2014 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships, MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships at
Auto Club Speedway Kanaan started in 7th place. Kanaan led for 64 laps, including the final 54 laps, to win his first race since the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Kanaan finished 7th in points with 544 points. This was the highest position that Kanaan finished in the final point standings since the 2011 IndyCar Series, 2011 season.
![Tony Kanaan in car at Carb Day 2015 - Stierch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Tony_Kanaan_in_car_at_Carb_Day_2015_-_Stierch.jpg)
In 2015 IndyCar Series, 2015 Kanaan began to drive the No. 10
NTT Data
is a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a partially-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).
Japan Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation ...
Chevy for Ganassi due to Target focusing only on
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
.
In 2017 IndyCar Series, 2017 Kanaan would have his worst and last season in the No.10 NNT Data Chevy for Ganassi, He would lose the ride at the end of the Year.
In 2018 IndyCar Series, 2018 Tony Kanaan would begin the year with a new ride in the No.14 ABC Supply Chevy for A. J. Foyt Racing he would team up with Rookie Matheus Leist who drove the No.4 ABC Supply Chevy for A. J. Foyt Racing. In 2018 and 2019 Tony Kanaan would finish no better than 15th in the standing. Tony Kanaan entered the 2020 season stating it would be his last, running only a five-race schedule at the oval tracks. He shared the No.14 ABC Supply Chevy with other drivers who ran it at the street & road courses. In 2021 he returned to Chip Ganassi Racing on a partial schedule, driving the No. 48 Dallara Honda on oval courses. Seven-time NASCAR series champion Jimmie Johnson shared the No. 48, driving it on the road and street courses.
Sports car racing
United States Road Racing Championship
Kanaan competed in the Sports Car Club of America United States Road Racing Championship in 1998 United States Road Racing Championship season, 1998. Kanaan would only compete at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Rolex 24 at Daytona, the largest sports car race in terms of prestige in the United States. Kanaan would drive the No. 4 Tom Gloy, Tom Gloy Racing
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
Ford Mustang, Mustang AC Cobra, Cobra with Mike Borkowski and Robbie Buhl. Kanaan's car owner was a former Indy car driver and sports car champion in Tom Gloy. The team would participate in the GT1 class. The car would start in 5th place and finish in 3rd place after completing 624 laps due to a mechanical problem. Kanaan would finish 19th in points in the GT1 class with 35 points in a tie with teammates Borkowski and Buhl.
American Le Mans Series
Kanaan would begin to compete in the American Le Mans Series in 2007 American Le Mans Series season, 2007 in the No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura Courage Compétition, Courage Acura ARX-01, ARX-01a-Acura AL7R 3.4L V8 for
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
in the LMP2 class. Bryan Herta and
Dario Franchitti would co-drive with Kanaan at the season-opening 2007 12 Hours of Sebring, Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, the series' most prestigious race, the car started 4th in class and win in the class. The car would finish 2nd overall. Kanaan would then return at the 2007 Petit Le Mans, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in the same car with Herta and
Vítor Meira
Vítor Meira (born March 27, 1977) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500.
IndyCar Series
2002
After participating in an open test for Panther Racing ...
. The car would start 4th in class and finish 9th due to a crash after 50 laps. The car would finish 28th in the overall results. Kanaan then drove at the next race, the season-ending 2007 Monterey Sports Car Championships, Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Kanaan would co-drive with Herta. The car would start 3rd in class and finish 4th with all 357 laps complete. The car would finish 6th overall. Kanaan would finish 17th in points with 39 points in the LMP2 standings. The team would finish 5th in the LMP2 standings with 98 points.
Kanaan would return in 2008 American Le Mans Series season, 2008 in the No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura Acura ARX-01, ARX-01b-Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8 for
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
. Kanaan would first drive at the 2008 Petit Le Mans, Petit Le Mans powered by the New Mazda6 at Road Atlanta in the LMP2 class with Franck Montagny and
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
. The car would start in 4th place in its class and finish in 7th place due to a crash after 347 laps. The car would finish 16th overall. Kanaan would also drive at the next race of the season, the season-ending 2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships, Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with Montagny. The car would start 5th in its class and would win the race. The car would finish 3rd overall. Kanaan would finish 22nd in the LMP2 standings in a tie with fellow Andretti driver James Rossiter. The car would finish 4th in the LMP2 standings with 128 points.
Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series
Kanaan would begin to compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series, Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series in 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series season, 2013. At the season-opening 2013 24 Hours of Daytona, Rolex 24 at Daytona, the largest sports car race in the United States in terms of prestige. Kanaan would drive the No. 21 Porsche in motorsport, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Brazil Porsche Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 911 GT3 Cup-Porsche in motorsport, Porsche 4.0L Flat six engine, F6 for Dener Motorsport in the GT class. Kanaan would co-drive in an all-Brazilian driver-lineup with
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
, Nonô Figueiredo,
Felipe Giaffone
Felipe Giaffone (, born 22 January 1975) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competes full-time in the Copa Truck, driving the No. 4 Iveco Hi-Way for Usual Racing. He also works as a commentator for Rede Bandeirantes and BandSports.
He competed in ...
and Ricardo Mauricio. The car would start 25th and would finish 28th with 352 laps complete. Kanaan returned later in the season for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results#Brickyard Grand Prix (since 2012), Brickyard Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in the No. 02
NTT Data
is a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a partially-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).
Japan Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation ...
Riley Technologies, Riley Mk. XXVI-BMW in motorsport, BMW 5.0L
V8 owned by Chip Ganassi Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the DP class with Joey Hand. The car would start 10th and finish 9th with 106 laps complete. Kanaan would finish 58th in the DP standings with 22 points and 138th in the GT standings with 16 points.
Tudor United SportsCar Championship
After 2013 Grand-Am and ALMS merged to form the United SportsCar Championship, Tudor United SportsCar Championship sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association. Kanaan would begin to compete in the new series for Chip Ganassi Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the No. 02 Riley Technologies, Riley MkXXVI-
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
Ford EcoBoost engine, EcoBoost 3.5L Turbo
V6 in the P class. Kanaan first drove at the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona, Rolex 24 at Daytona with sponsorship from Telcel and
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
and co-drivers
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
, Kyle Larson and Marino Franchitti. The car would start 5th in its class and finish 8th after retiring after completing 667 laps. Kanaan then competed in the next race of the season, the 2014 12 Hours of Sebring, Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida in the same car. This would be the first time that Kanaan competed in both of the United States' major sports car races, the
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
and 12 Hours of Sebring. At Sebring Kanaan had sponsorship from Big Machine Records and Comfort Revolution and co-drivers Dixon and Karam. The car would start and finish 6th in its class. The car would also manage to finish 6th overall in a race that had the top 9 finishing positions come from cars that were a part of the P class. Following the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results#Brickyard Grand Prix (since 2012), Brickyard Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Kanaan is 38th in points with 50 points in the P class while the car is 14th in points with 50 points in the P class.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Kanaan made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2017 edition, replacing the injured Sébastien Bourdais in the #68 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford GT
Formula Nippon
Kanaan would compete in Super Formula, Formula Nippon in 2007 Formula Nippon season, 2007 for Kanaan Racing in the No. 27 Bridgestone, Bridgestone Potenza Lola Cars, Lola FN06-Mugen Motorsports, Mugen Honda, Honda HF386E. Kanaan would only compete in the season-ending race at the Suzuka Circuit as a special entrant under the authorization of JAF. Kanaan would finish the race in 6th place. Kanaan would finish in 22nd place in points with no points.
Prelude to the Dream
In 2010 Tony Stewart, champion in both the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
and
NASCAR Cup Series (the only driver to win the championship in both) and owner of Eldora Speedway, offered the driver who won the 2010 Indianapolis 500 a chance to drive in his charity race, the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway Kanaan would participate in the race after Indianapolis 500 winner
Dario Franchitti decided not to compete in the race. Kanaan accepted and drove the No. 11
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
Cadillac for GRT Race Cars in a car based on his
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
car from
2003 to
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. The race would have drivers competing on teams each representing a different children's hospital being benefitted from the race. Kanaan would be a part of Team St. Jude, representing the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The other hospitals were the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the Levine Children's Hospital. Also on Kanaan's team were team captain Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards from the NASCAR Cup Series, Ken Schrader, Aric Almirola, and Ricky Carmichael from the NASCAR NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Camping World Truck Series and former NASCAR crew chief and car owner Ray Evernham. Kanaan would qualify 26th out of 27 cars and would finish 24th, three laps down. Jimmie Johnson won the race for Team Levine. Bowyer would finish in 2nd place and would be the highest finisher from Kanaan's team. The race was likely the first race that Kanaan participated in on a dirt track.
Kanaan returned in 2011 with GRT Race Cars in the No. 82
GEICO/
Lotus Cars/
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
in a car based on Kanaan's No. 82
GEICO/
Lotus Cars Dallara, Dallara IR07-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-Honda, Honda Indy V8 owned by
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
-
Lotus from
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
(the original Indy car was itself based on the
Lotus 38-
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
V8 that
Jim Clark used to win the
1965 Indianapolis 500). Kanaan would be a part of Team Dallas representing the Children's Medical Center (Dallas), Children's Medical Center. The other hospitals represented were the Levine Children's Hospital, the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the St. Louis Children's Hospital. Also on the team were Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Marcos Ambrose and J. J. Yeley from the NASCAR Cup Series and Aric Almirola from the NASCAR NASCAR Nationwide Series, Nationwide Series. Kanaan would start 15th out of 28 cars and would finish 27th due to a loose wheel after 18 of 30 laps. Clint Bowyer would win the race for Team Atlanta. Yeley would finish in 2nd place as the high finishing driver on Kanaan's team.
In 2012 Kanaan returned to drive the No. 11
GEICO/
Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics is a global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components. With over $3 billion in annual revenue, Mouser is ranked as the seventh largest electronic component distributor in the world. The company has 27 locations ...
/
Itaipava/Braskem Chevrolet for GRT Race Cars in a car based on the No. 11
GEICO/
Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics is a global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components. With over $3 billion in annual revenue, Mouser is ranked as the seventh largest electronic component distributor in the world. The company has 27 locations ...
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
DW12-
Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...
-
Chevrolet Indy V6
The Chevrolet Indy V6 engine is a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-6 racing engine, developed and produced by Ilmor Engineering-Chevrolet for the IndyCar Series. Chevrolet has been a highly successful IndyCar Series engine supplier since 2012, sco ...
owned by
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. For 2012 each driver was not part of a larger team. In the race, Kanaan started 17th of 26 cars and would finish 22nd due to a mechanical problem on the second lap.
Touring car and stock car racing
International Touring Car Championship
In 1996, Kanaan drove a Opel Calibra at the Interlagos round of the 1996 International Touring Car Championship, International Touring Car Championship.
Stock Car Brasil
In 2012 Stock Car Brasil season, 2012 Kanaan began to compete in Stock Car Brasil in the No. 100 Bassani Racing Peugeot Sport, Peugeot Peugeot 408 (saloon), 408. Kanaan first competed at the race at Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet (Brasília), Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet. In the race, Kanaan finished in 19th place. Kanaan then raced at the next race, the season-ending 2012 Stock Car Corrida do Milhão, Stock Car Corrida do Milhão at Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Kanaan started in 26th place and finish in 31st place due to retiring after 8 laps. Kanaan was ineligible to score points towards the championship and as a result, Kanaan went unranked in the final championship standings.
The driver raced full-time in the 2021 Stock Car Brasil Championship, 2021 season, driving a Toyota Corolla for Full Time Bassani. He had a best finish of 12th at round 4 at Interlagos.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
When Kanaan was in the process of leaving
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
Kanaan had an offer from NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing to first drive in the NASCAR NASCAR Xfinity Series, Xfinity Series and later the
NASCAR Cup Series. During this time Kanaan wanted to remain in the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
and negotiated with KV,
Chip Ganassi Racing,
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
and Bryan Herta Autosport for IndyCar. Kanaan stated that each team needed Kanaan to bring sponsorship to the team. Before the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400, Federated Auto Parts 400 at
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
J.D. Gibbs stated that Kanaan was "It's way too early to even talk about that [possibility of driving for JGR]. Listen, guys, we just had a meeting, and I don't know when we'll talk to him again. If all it takes is a helmet and personality to get a ride with us [as some have suggested], I'd still be driving. And if I had $8 million [to sponsor a Nationwide team] I'd still have a ride. But he's a really neat guy and he'd be better than me." Had Kanaan joined Gibbs he would have likely driven the No. 20 Dollar General
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
Toyota Camry, Camry in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in place of Brian Vickers who would begin to drive full-time for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 2014. Kanaan eventually got a team in INDYCAR with
NTT Data
is a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a partially-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).
Japan Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation ...
Chip Ganassi Racing and was later switched to
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
Chip Ganassi Racing.
Superstar Racing Experience
In 2021, Kanaan entered four races of the Superstar Racing Experience, an all-star stock car racing series. His best results were 7th at Stafford and Eldora.
Indianapolis 500 history
Kanaan arrived at Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis as a rookie in 2002, and despite being one of the top drivers on the IndyCar circuit, experienced a notable streak of bad luck for eleven seasons until finally winning the race in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. Kanaan won the pole position in 2005, finished second in 2004, and also broke a historical race record by leading at least one lap in his first seven starts. Despite being competitive in most years, numerous near-misses, unfortunate crashes, and his status as a fan-favorite driver, made his 2013 long-awaited triumph a popular victory.
*2002 Indianapolis 500, 2002: In his rookie year, Kanaan led 23 laps and was leading the race on lap 90, when
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
and
Bruno Junqueira
Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.
Racing career
Early c ...
both slowed with mechanical problems. An oil leak on the racing line went unnoticed, and Kanaan spun in the oil, crashing out of the lead in turn 3.
One year earlier in 2001 Indianapolis 500, 2001, Kanaan's friend and former Indy Lights teammate at
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
,
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
, won the race as a rookie. In 2002, Castroneves repeated, winning the race back-to-back.
*2003 Indianapolis 500, 2003: Kanaan started 2nd, and finished 3rd. He led 2 laps but was no match for the
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
cars, who finished 1st and 2nd.
*
2004: Kanaan ran among the leaders all day and led 28 laps. Rain halted the race 20 laps short of the finish, and Kanaan managed to finish only 2nd place.
*2005 Indianapolis 500, 2005: Kanaan won his first Indianapolis 500 List of Indianapolis 500 pole-sitters, pole position, and led 54 laps. Kanaan was not a factor in the final 50 laps and dropped to 8th place at the finish. Kanaan's
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
teammate and friend
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
won the race.
*2006 Indianapolis 500, 2006: Pit stop shuffling in the final 20 laps caused Kanaan to inherit the lead on lap 183. Kanaan needed one final splash-and-go pit stop, but a caution came out on lap 191. Kanaan made his stop under yellow, and the sequence saw him lose the lead. Running 4th, Kanaan was blocked inadvertently by teammate and team owner
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
and lost momentum. On the final lap Wheldon slipped by to take 4th, and Kanaan finished 5th.
*2007 Indianapolis 500, 2007: Kanaan was leading the race just beyond the halfway point when rain brought out the red flag on lap 113. If the rain continued, Kanaan could have been declared the winner, since the race had passed the point in which it had become official. The rain stopped, and the race was resumed. Kanaan continued to lead, and the leaders pit under caution on lap 151. During the restart on lap 156, Kanaan came up on the back of Jaques Lazier and lost control. Kanaan then spun into the entrance of the pits, blowing a tire. An angry Kanaan was credited with 12th place, while his
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andret ...
teammate and friend
Dario Franchitti won the race.
*
2008: On lap 94, Kanaan set an all-time Indianapolis 500 record by leading at least one lap in his first seven consecutive starts. The lead was short-lived, however. On lap 105,
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
was trying to pass Kanaan in turn 3, which sent Kanaan into the marbles. Kanaan lost control, crashed into the outside wall, then collected the car of
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American retired professional race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League (IRL, now IndyCar Series) and the Indianapolis 500 intermittently from 1999 to 2010. She also raced in the NAS ...
.
*
2009: On lap 98, while running in 3rd place Kanaan suffered a driveshaft failure at speed down the back straightaway. The car suddenly pitched into the wall at the entrance to turn 3. The car lost steering, bounced off the wall, then went straight into the wall in turn 3. In television interviews, Kanaan appeared visibly shaken. The next day Kanaan stated the hit was recorded at 175 g force, Gs.
*
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
: On the morning of pole day, Kanaan spun out of turn 1, and wrecked hard in the south short chute. The crash prevented Kanaan from making a qualifying attempt on Saturday. The following day (Bump Day), Kanaan was practicing in his backup car, when he suffered another, nearly identical crash, in the same part of the track. The second crash put in question Kanaan's chances of qualifying and set the team and driver back a considerable amount of time and effort. Kanaan finally managed to qualify and started the race from the final row in 33rd place. On race day, Kanaan charged to the front and ran as high as second in the last ten laps of the race. Kanaan nearly matched Tom Sneva's 1980 Indianapolis 500, 1980 record of being the only driver to start last (33rd) and lead a lap. A fuel strategy gamble failed, and Kanaan was forced to make one final splash-and-go pit stop with four laps to go. The pit stop dropped him to 11th in the final results. Kanaan garnered much praise from the fans and media for the accomplishment.
*
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
: Kanaan was released by
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
. Kanaan began to drive for driving for
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
-
Lotus. Kanaan qualified 22nd and worked his way up to 4th by lap 60. In the pit lane on lap 61, Kanaan was involved in a mishap with
Pippa Mann
Pippa Mann (born 11 August 1983) is a British racing car driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series. She was born in London, United Kingdom.
Career
Formula Renault
Mann began her career in 2003, after signing a three-race contract with Ma ...
. Mann was pulling out of her pit box as he was trying to pull in his, and he was forced to overshoot his pit stall. After being pushed back and receiving service, he dropped down to 24th place. He charged dramatically back up to 2nd place by lap 178. He pitted for fuel with 21 laps to go, which dropped him to an eventual 4th-place finish. Kanaan later stated he felt he did not have a car fast enough to win.
*
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
: On a restart on lap 186, Kanaan made a bold move going from 5th to 1st into turn 1, and led for 7 laps. With less than six laps to go Kanaan was passed for the lead on lap 194 and finished 3rd.
*
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
: In the fastest and most competitive Indianapolis 500 in history (a record 68 lead changes), Kanaan slipped in front of
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
in turn 1 on a lap 198 restart.
Dario Franchitti crashed a few seconds afterward, and the race went under caution again, securing Kanaan his first Indianapolis 500 victory.
*2014 Indianapolis 500, 2014: Kanaan left
KV Racing Technology
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pol ...
to drive for
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
Chip Ganassi Racing. Kanaan only led the 31st lap of the race after starting on the inside of the sixth row (16th). Kanaan's chances of a repeat win ended when he ran out of fuel on lap 66 and coasted into the pits. He returned to the track after a 43-second stop but was back in soon after with a broken starter which lost him 18 laps while repairs were made. Kanaan finished 26th, 23 laps down on winner Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Personal life
Kanaan is of Lebanon, Lebanese ancestry. Kanaan is a member of the "brat pack", a group of CART drivers that were close friends off the track, that included
Dario Franchitti,
Max Papis
Massimiliano "Max" Papis (born 3 October 1969) is an Italian professional motorsport driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the s ...
and the late Greg Moore (racing driver), Greg Moore.
Kanaan is an avid triathlete. He credits triathlon training
for his ability to stay in shape for driving. Kanaan has completed numerous half Ironman competitions (1.2-mile swim/56-mile bike/13.1-mile run) and competed in the Ironman World Championships (2.4-mile swim/112-mile bike/26.2-mile run) in 2011 with a time of 12:52:40. Kanaan has been married twice and has four children.
Media appearances
Film and television
Kanaan appears in the 2001 film ''Driven (2001 film), Driven'' as himself in a scene where several drivers prepare for the final race of the season (and film) at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit (likely
Belle Isle State Park). The racing series used for the film is the Champ Car, FedEx CART Championship Series, which Kanaan raced in at the time for
Mo Nunn Racing
Mo or MO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series
* Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke
* Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo''
* Mo, the ...
.
The first episode of the television series ''36 (TV series), IndyCar 36'' was about Kanaan's weekend leading up to the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the
Streets of St. Petersburg. The episode was aired on 1 April 2012 before the
Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is an IndyCar Series race held at Barber Motorsports Park, a 17-turn road course, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Officially announced on July 27, 2009, the inaugural event was on the weekend of April ...
at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
.
Kanaan has also appeared in Celebrity Family Feud alongside several other drivers
Racing record
American open–wheel racing results
(Template:American Open Wheel driver results legend, key)
Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires
CART World Series
IndyCar Series
(Template:American Open Wheel driver results legend, key)
''
1 Run on same day.''
''
2 Non-points race.''
''
3 The IZOD IndyCar World Championships, Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.
Indianapolis 500
* Kanaan qualified 32nd in a backup car but decided to switch back to his primary car for the race. This forced him to start from the 33rd position on the grid.
24 Hours of Daytona results
Complete American Le Mans Series results
Complete Formula Nippon results
† Ineligible for championship points.
Complete Stock Car Brasil results
(:Template:Motorsport driver results legend, key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Driver ineligible for championship points.
* Season still in progress.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(:Template:Motorsport driver results legend, key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(:Template:Motorsport driver results legend, key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Superstar Racing Experience
(Template:American Open Wheel driver results legend, key)
* – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner.
Season still in progress
Shared points with Hailie Deegan
Notes
References
External links
*
IndyCar Driver PageIndyCar 36: Tony Kanaan– IndyCar documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanaan, Tony
1974 births
Living people
Brazilian racing drivers
Lebanese racing drivers
Brazilian Champ Car drivers
IndyCar Series champions
IndyCar Series drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indianapolis 500 polesitters
Indy Lights champions
Indy Lights drivers
Formula Nippon drivers
Italian Formula Three Championship drivers
EFDA Nations Cup drivers
Stock Car Brasil drivers
Brazilian people of Lebanese descent
Brazilian IndyCar Series drivers
Brazilian people of Arab descent
Sportspeople from Salvador, Bahia
American Le Mans Series drivers
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Indianapolis 500 winners
Brazilian WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
American Ninja Warrior contestants
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent
Cram Competition drivers
Tasman Motorsports drivers
Forsythe Racing drivers
Mo Nunn Racing drivers
Andretti Autosport drivers
KV Racing Technology drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
Multimatic Motorsports drivers
Team Joest drivers