By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Tony Kanaan may be the oldest and most experienced driver in the Verizon IndyCar Series but that hasn’t deterred his happiness.
Racing for AJ Foyt Racing in 2018, it was a natural fit for Kanaan, who’s in the midst of his 17th season in IndyCar. Foyt himself ran more than 35 years of open-wheel action, which has given Kanaan a comfortable home following his leave from Chip Ganassi Racing after 2017.
“I told [Foyt] when I signed that I’m not going anywhere until he fires me,” Kanaan told Kickin’ The Tires. “He said he’s not going to fire me so I guess we’ll both be really old and doing the same thing over and over.”
Partnering with a legend, some would even say the Brazilian Kanaan still embodies that fresh ambition usually found in rookie drivers, even at 43 years old.
“I’m very fortunate to do what I love and to still keep doing it,” he said. “Yeah, the end result most of the time is not what I want but I’m enjoying my life.”
And for the No. 14 driver, it’s no mystery where he found that character trait.
“The biggest thing was when I lost my dad, he was 42 years old, I’m 43 now,” he said. “I decided I was going to enjoy my life because you never know how long you’re going to spend here. Every day I try to make the best out of it.”
Enjoying the moment is something many drivers encounter during their times in motor racing. However, while racing for championships and scoring week-to-week poles and victories, the very same competitive mindset that brings success can lack perspective. And though Kanaan sits 15th in points in 2018 while struggling with overall pace, his years in the sport gives him a different lens into what he’s doing.
“I always put everything in prospect,” he said. “I could be working behind a desk from 9 to 5 and be completely unhappy. I can’t put myself in anybody’s shoes or try to tell them what to do.”
Losing his father when he was a teen, Kanaan has used the tragedy to spark grit, drive and determination toward both life and the track every week. He also brings it home with his three children.
“The biggest part of my life was when I lost him,” he said. “I turned that around to be a positive spin to say, ‘You know, let me enjoy it because I don’t want to end up like him, it was gone too soon.’
“Life is full of ups and downs, you got to be happy, man. I’ve always been happy. I have kids, a great family, a good team that supports me. Life is good.”
And his passion for hitting Victory Lane has yet to simmer, too. During his first year with Foyt, Kanaan has nailed down expectations, which all include improvement alongside rookie teammate Matheus Leist.
“Expecting to improve the team, we knew it was not going to be as quick as we wanted it to be,” he said. “We have a few years ahead of us and slowly making the team back where it belongs.”
With four top-10 finishes in 14 races, there is much room to improve toward 2019.
“My expectations are always higher than reality. That’s just me,” he said. “We have to be realistic with the timing we have to fix. We’re not going to fix everything in six months. We proved this year that our oval car was much stronger than the street and road courses. We’re right on track.”
(Below is a video capture of our conversation with Tony Kanaan)
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EDITOR’S REPLY: While our focus is primarily on our NASCAR coverage, it is always out goal to expand coverage when we can do so and provide premium content. I can’t guarantee that we will cover every race but we will continue to work IndyCar into our future coverage – Thanks Jerry Jordan