Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Interview: Tony Kanaan Tells Us He’s ‘Not Going Anywhere’

By Brittany Frederick

Chip Ganassi Racing's Tony Kanaan on his pit stand at Sonoma Raceway. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar
Chip Ganassi Racing's Tony Kanaan on his pit stand at Sonoma Raceway. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tony Kanaan may be one of the veteran drivers in the Verizon IndyCar Series but he’s far from finished. Kanaan talked to Beyond The Flag about his future.

Tony Kanaan has long been one of the pillars of IndyCar. The league wouldn’t be the same without him, and though he’s heard the recent talk about his age, he’s not letting it get to him.

Before the season finale at Sonoma, Kanaan spoke with Beyond The Flag about those ridiculous suggestions of retirement, how he considered the 2016 season that saw him finish seventh in the championship, and his perspective on the year’s rookie class.

“We had an amazing season and we’re pretty strong,” he said, “but we’ve been close to winning a lot of the races so for me only a win will top it off. And when you’re not going for the championship anymore, that’s all you have.”

Unfortunately for Kanaan, his chances at a victory in the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma were dashed when Mikhail Aleshin made contact with him on the very first lap. But the 2004 IndyCar champion persisted to finish 13th and he keeps things in perspective when considering his record.

More from IndyCar

“Obviously you have to weigh in what happened [in the race],” he told us. “If you’re always in contention to win, to me, that’s what matters.

“So many other things have to fall in place for you to conquer that win, but if it’s not under my control I can’t do anything about it,” he continued, “so I’m pretty pleased with the season. As long as I know I was in contention to win, I’m happy.”

In all Kanaan recorded two podiums and ten other Top 10 results in the sixteen races of 2016. It’s the third consecutive year he’s been in the Top 10 for the championship battle, too. So when asked for his reaction to the recent chatter that he’s too old to compete, the 41-year-old couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think sometimes reporters run out of things to say, and they have to make some stuff up,” he said. “I don’t mind answering the question. I love to prove them wrong. I don’t know where it was written that a 41-year-old is old, but I guess somebody said that.

“All I can say is I’m still delivering, I’m still fast and I’m not going anywhere.”

Nor should he. Kanaan has long been known as probably the most in-shape driver in the whole of IndyCar. He was one of three to participate in NBC’s American Ninja Warrior earlier this year and ten months ago he and teammate Scott Dixon were running an Ironman marathon. Aside from the fact that he can obviously still hold his own on the track, he is most definitely not too old to do anything.

2017 will potentially be Kanaan’s 15th full-time season in IndyCar, and while hopefully he’ll be back alongside Dixon still driving the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry, he told us that he doesn’t know what’s going to happen for him just yet.

What he does know is what it takes to find success in this sport – he’s got an Astor Cup and an Indianapolis 500 victory, to name just his two biggest accomplishments – and he told us that he’s impressed by the younger drivers who have emerged this year to be competitors with the wily veterans.

“I think it’s awesome,” he enthused. “[Alexander] Rossi, Max [Chilton], RC Enerson, these guys I think are the future of IndyCar. Let’s face it, I’m not saying I’m retiring like people want me to, but we don’t have five, six, seven years anymore and we need continuity so it’s great to have those guys doing well.

“It’s great to see the new talent. It’s nice to see that IndyCar will have, as soon as the older guys will decide to go do something else, we’ll still have the young generation coming in and filling in the blanks and delivering great races.”

The technical side of that racing will change drastically in 2018, when IndyCar will not only introduce a brand-new Dallara chassis but also mandate the use of universal aero kits. With cars having the same chassis and the same aero kit, could that mean the driver – particularly one who is as well-versed as Tony Kanaan – will be the biggest difference on the grid?

“My perspective will be it’ll be awesome, because they’re going to need somebody with experience so to me, that means maybe I’m not going anywhere in another year,” he laughed. “I think it’s great. I think changes are always good; we’ll make a little bit of parity between the drivers so it’s more chances for other guys and new guys and old guys to be able to perform. I like the direction IndyCar is going. I think they have a good vision of what IndyCar needs.”

Next: Which IndyCar Free Agents' Stock Rose At Sonoma?

What IndyCar will always need is drivers like Tony Kanaan. Drivers who have not just talent, but years of experience and shrewdness to bring to the table, who remind us that racing is more than just who can drive really fast. And drivers who have intelligence, poise and presence to represent the sport well off track and also contribute something to its direction.

Whether it’s pushing for a win, being a good ambassador or just making us all look out of shape, Tony Kanaan has given so much to IndyCar over the years – and he’s most definitely not done yet.