Tony Kanaan’s NASCAR-IndyCar message needs to be heard

Tony Kanaan’s message to NASCAR and IndyCar fans is one that needs to be heard as both seasons are at a standstill due the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic brought the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season to an unexpected stoppage with just four of the 36 races on the schedule having been run, and it brought the 2020 IndyCar season to a halt before it could even get started.

Both series have launched iRacing sim racing series so that their drivers are still able to compete against one another doing what many of them have described as the “next closest thing” to real-life racing.

NASCAR launched the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series two weekends ago while IndyCar launched the IndyCar iRacing Challenge this past weekend.

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One key headline from this past weekend was the fact that seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who had been planning to test an IndyCar for the first time with Arrow McLaren SP this upcoming Monday, April 6 before those plans were canceled because the pandemic, competed in the IndyCar race at virtual Watkins Glen International.

In response to that, 2004 IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan stated the he was going to invite himself to see if he could compete in one of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series races. He followed that up by stating that “it is not us and them. It is the motorsports world.” His comment, of course, references the divide between the NASCAR and IndyCar fanbases.

IndyCar released a new schedule in response to the many postponements and cancellations caused by the pandemic, and among the changes in this schedule was the postponement of the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. This race was moved to Saturday, July 4.

NASCAR had already been scheduled to be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 5. Now all that talk about 2022 being the earliest possible season for a NASCAR/IndyCar doubleheader is out the window. Assuming that there are no more schedule changes, Independence Day weekend 2020 is set to feature that doubleheader.

This has Kanaan even more focused on bringing the two fanbases, which have a history of animosity and friction toward one another, together, especially in the midst of one of the darkest times the world has experienced.

Here is what Kanaan had to say during an interview with Kevin Harvick and Matt Yocum on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Channel yesterday afternoon.

"“It’s time to send that message. If we don’t come out of this situation as better people, globally, in every way, shape or form…it’s just being kind to people. Hopefully, we’ll be sending the right messages, doing radio shows together, doing live on Instagram together, doing races together.“I was bugging Jimmie Johnson to say, ‘Can I be a guest in NASCAR on iRacing?’ I think the misperception [sic], and probably a little our fault as well, is that people don’t know how (IndyCar and NASCAR drivers) respect each and how we think each other’s jobs are so cool.”"

He further discussed the misconception about NASCAR and IndyCar drivers.

"“We always respected each other and thought each other’s jobs were cool. That tweet was for our fans who say, ‘Those cars are too fast. Those cars are too slow.’ It’s time for us to stop. It’s a racing family.“For people who don’t understand about racing, any race car is cool. Doesn’t matter if it’s a go-kart, a sprint car, a Cup car, it doesn’t matter. … The situation, we’re in, we’re all equal. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. We’re all in the same boat now. We can’t do what we love. It just clicked. I said it’s time to send that message. Hopefully this will be the end for ‘you guys and us’ for the fans. For drivers, I don’t think we ever thought of it that way.”"

During the interview, Harvick agreed with Kanaan that the issue is not the idea that the drivers themselves don’t get along, but the fact that there is a “separate stigma” as far as the fans are concerned.

But this is a perfect opportunity for that to change, which would be the ultimate silver lining to an otherwise dark time. When racing does eventually return, fans are going to be hungry for it, and this is a message that needs to be reiterated until that happens.

This isn’t anything like an offseason, where the break in action is planned ahead of time and the end is predetermined. This is an unprecedented stoppage in action caused by a global crisis that has kept the drivers and cars from the track and the fans from being able to spectate for an indefinite amount of time. As far as when it will end, we likely won’t know until it does.

As Tony Kanaan stated, now is the time to unify the NASCAR and IndyCar fanbases. The iRacing series should certainly play a role in that with no real racing to watch, and the planned doubleheader at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a chance to make a huge difference when racing does actually return and fans are more excited about it than they have ever been before.