The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Kanaan heads to Foyt Racing for another Indy shot
INDIANAPOLIS — For all the success Tony Kanaan has had in an Indy car, from winning the series title to his long-sought Indianapolis 500 triumph, you’d think he would have landed with one team for good.
Instead, one of the sport’s most popular drivers has always been searching for stability.
The 43-year-old Brazilian began his open-wheel career in the U.S. with small, underfunded teams in the CART World Series. Then came a eight-year run with the Andretti team, where he never finished outside the top six in points and won the 2004 championship, only to be let go before the 2011 season.
He spent the next three years with a small team founded by Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser, then four more with Chip Ganassi Racing before he was forced to look for another ride this year.
Kanaan landed with A.J. Foyt Racing, uniting two of the sport’s iconic names for the first time.
“I never thought of that,” Kanaan said of his rollercoaster career, “but I drove for Michael (Andretti) and Mario (Andretti). I learned their experience. And now being with A.J., it’s kind of cool. It’s something I didn’t expect to happen in my career but now that it’s happened, I’m taking advantage of it. And at the end of the day, I’ll have a lot of stories that I drove for three legends.”
Foyt had tried to hire Kanaan years ago, but he wound up signing elsewhere. But the multiyear deal they agreed upon this past offseason represented a fresh start for both sides.