IndyCar: Tony Kanaan aiming to set new Indy 500 record in 2019

By Asher Fair | May 21, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 27: Tony Kanaan of Brazil, driver of the #14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Tony Kanaan is aiming to set a new Indy 500 record by breaking his old record in this year’s running of IndyCar’s most prestigious race.

When A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Tony Kanaan took the lead of the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 last IndyCar season for the first time on lap 64, he tied an all-time Indy 500 record that was previously held solely by…Tony Kanaan.

By leading lap 64 of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana, the 44-year-old Brazilian had led at least one lap in each of the last seven editions of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, as he led at least one lap in each of the six Indy 500 races from 2012 through 2017 as well.

Kanaan tied the record that he set by leading the 2008 Indy 500, as this Indy 500 was the seventh consecutive Indy 500 that he led. He led the race in each of his first seven starts in it from 2002 through 2008.

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Four-time Indy 500 champion Rick Mears, who led at least one lap in each of the six Indy 500 races from 1979 to 1984, held this record prior to Kanaan breaking it in 2008.

Now set to enter an Indy 500 having led at least one lap in each of the last seven Indy 500 races for the second time in his career, Kanaan, in addition to aiming to win the race for the second time in his career, is aiming to become the first driver in Indy 500 history to lead laps in eight consecutive editions of the race.

After leading at least one lap of the Indy 500 in the first seven Indy 500 starts of his career, Kanaan failed to lead any laps of the race in 2009, 2010 or 2011. But in the 2012 Indy 500, he led seven laps after starting in eighth place en route to a third place finish.

In the 2013 Indy 500, Kanaan led 34 laps after starting in 12th place en route to the first Indy 500 victory of his career. He led only one lap of the race in 2014 after starting in 16th due to the fact that other drivers made their first pit stops before he did, and he ended up finishing the race 23 laps off the lead lap due to issues during his first pit stop.

After starting in fourth place in the 2015 Indy 500, Kanaan led 30 laps before crashing on lap 152. The following year, he led 19 laps of the race en route to a fourth place finish after starting in 18th. In the 2017 Indy 500, he finished in fifth after starting in seventh and leading 22 laps.

Last year, Kanaan led 19 laps of the Indy 500 before a flat tire dropped him out of the lead pack. He managed to recover and make his way back into the top 10 late in the race, but he ended up crashing on lap 188. He is set to start this Sunday’s race in 16th place.

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Will Tony Kanaan set a new Indy 500 record for most consecutive Indy 500 races led in the 103rd running of the race this Sunday, May 26? Tune in to NBC at 11:00 a.m. ET for the live broadcast of the race, which is the sixth of 17 races on the 2019 IndyCar schedule, from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to find out. The race is scheduled to begin at around 12:30 p.m. ET.