Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Four possible landing spots for Tony Kanaan in 2018

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Tony Kanaan of Brazil, driver of the #10 NTT Data Honda, leads a pack of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Tony Kanaan of Brazil, driver of the #10 NTT Data Honda, leads a pack of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
AVONDALE, AZ – APRIL 28: Carlos Munoz of Colombia, driver of the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ – APRIL 28: Carlos Munoz of Colombia, driver of the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet

In the DW12 era, Tony Kanaan had only ever driven for Chevrolet teams up until this season when Chip Ganassi Racing switched  back to Honda. He drove for KV Racing in 2012 and 2013 in Chevrolet cars, winning his first career Indianapolis 500 in 2013 with Chevy power.

He then went to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014, the season they switched to Chevrolet engines. From 2014 through 2016, they used Chevrolet engines, with Kanaan driving for the team in each of those three seasons. Only this season did the team switch back to Honda power for the first time since 2013, the most recent season during which Kanaan was not on the team.

While Kanaan has driven for Chevrolet teams in five of the last six seasons, he does have some strong ties to Honda. Plus, he currently drives for a Honda team. With three of the four teams on this list being Honda teams, it would appear that his likelihood of being a Honda driver next year is stronger than his likelihood of being a Chevrolet driver.

However, a small likelihood is still a likelihood, and AJ Foyt Enterprises is certainly an option for Kanaan in 2018 and 2019. In 2016, the team ran Honda engines before completely cleaning house before the start of this season, switching to Chevrolet engines and replacing Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth with Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly.

This season, the team has struggled arguably more than they did last season, with just one combined top 5 finish (Conor Daly, 5th place at Gateway) among Munoz and Daly. Also, Munoz and Daly occupy two of the lowest three spots in the championship standings among full-time drivers.

Perhaps the team could shake things up once again this offseason. And perhaps they could do so by having a veteran like Kanaan come in and really kick things off for the team, perhaps helping a younger driver or younger drivers learn the ropes more easily as well.