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IndyCar: Indianapolis 500 is Tony Kanaan’s race to shine

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 27: Tony Kanaan, driver of the #14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, races during the 102nd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 27, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 27: Tony Kanaan, driver of the #14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, races during the 102nd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 27, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Since arriving at A.J. Foyt Enterprises ahead of the 2018 IndyCar season, Tony Kanaan has struggled. But the Indianapolis 500 is his race in which to shine.

Tony Kanaan joined A.J. Foyt Enterprises ahead of the 2018 IndyCar season, but unfortunately for Kanaan and the team, they were one of the slowest teams in the series throughout the year. Their two drivers, Kanaan and rookie Matheus Leist, combined to record just four top 10 finishes throughout the season.

Kanaan was responsible for recording all four of those top 10 finishes. His top finish was a sixth place finish in the race on the streets of Toronto, and he ended up finishing in a career-low (by far) 16th in the championship standings (not including his years in CART).

But in the Indianapolis 500, it was almost like they were a different team — specifically, it was almost like Kanaan was a different driver. However, given the history of the 44-year-old Brazilian at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, this did not come as a huge surprise.

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Entering the 102nd running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana last May, Kanaan had competed in 16 Indy 500 races.

His lone Indy 500 victory came in 2013, but he came close to winning it on several other occasions. In fact, the fact that he has only won the race one time is surprising, especially considering the fact that he has led 346 laps in the race, which is the 14th highest laps led total in race history. In his other 15 Indy 500 starts, he recorded seven top five finishes, including one second place finish and two third place finishes.

Kanaan qualified for the 102nd running of the race in 10th place in his #14 Chevrolet, and he worked his way up to the lead by lap 63. For the next several laps, the race was dominated by Kanaan, polesitter Ed Carpenter of Ed Carpenter Racing and Team Penske’s Will Power.

A flat tire hindered Kanaan’s chances of winning the race after he led 19 of its first 89 laps, all in a 27-lap span, but he still managed to battle his way back up into the top 10 in a race during which it was tough to pass.

However, with 13 laps remaining, he crashed in turn two, relegating him to a season-low 25th place finish. Meanwhile, Power went on to win the race over Carpenter in second.

The start to the 2019 season for Kanaan been worse than any of his previous IndyCar seasons, even when compared to his start to the 2018 season. Through the first five races, he has not yet finished a single race in the top 11, and he entered the season having never started a season without finishing in the top eight at least once in the first five races (not including his years in CART). He currently sits all the way down in 22nd place in the championship standings.

Meanwhile, A.J. Foyt Enterprises are in close to the same position that they were in last year at this time, although Leist is coming off of a career-high fourth place finish in the most recent race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. But after their struggles early on last year, they proved that they could contend in the Indy 500 with Kanaan’s strength in this race.

With the 103rd running of the Indy 500 being the next race on the IndyCar schedule and with practice for this race scheduled to commence later this morning, this is Kanaan’s race in which to shine.

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Can Tony Kanaan get legendary IndyCar team owner and four-time Indianapolis 500 champion A.J. Foyt back to victory lane at the Brickyard? The 103rd running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 26, and it is set to be broadcast live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on NBC beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. The race is scheduled to go green at roughly 12:45 p.m. ET later that afternoon.