FAMILY LOSS DRIVES KANAAN
Dad’s influence on IndyCar champ still felt
Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2004 IndyCar champion, currently ranks fifth in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings for Chip Ganassi Racing. Chris Jenkins, Special for USA TODAY Sports, caught up with the driver before the Grand Prix of Long Beach:
Q: So it was your dad who got you into racing ?
A: Dad was a huge race fan, and we used to watch races on TV when I was 4,5,6. I wasn’t at an age to race yet. Nowadays, kids start when they’re 6 years old, 4 years old. Back then, we couldn’t. And one day, when I was like 7, we went to a go-kart race to watch, and I kind of popped the question, ‘Hey, dad, can I have a go-kart?’ Sure enough, 20 minutes later, he took me to the gokart factory and bought me one. We had to hide it from my mom a little bit, but that’s how I got it.
Q: Your mom had safety concerns?
A: Mom didn’t know for like six months. I didn’t start racing until a year later. I was really teeny, so he wanted me to reach a good lap time so I would be competitive; I wouldn’t suck at it in my first year. We took a year, going to the go-kart track. But of course, that’s five or six months of telling my mom, “We’re going to do a boys’ thing.” He wouldn’t tell her what it was. My mom started getting really suspicious, thinking that dad was doing something shady and taking me as an alibi. He got home one day, she was so pissed. “You’ve got to tell me what’s going on. Do you have somebody else?” I guess that helped me. Because when she was thinking that dad was doing something completely absurd, then we go, “No, we’re just go-karting,” she was like, “Oh, OK.”
Q: So you were 11 years old when your dad was diagnosed?
A: He had cancer. The doctor first told him he had three months, and the guy lived like two years. I guess he was a lot stronger than the doctor thought. And during that time, I never think it went through his mind that he was going to die. But I think he just tried to cover his bases with me as far as, “If I’m not around, I might have to teach this kid responsibility.” Which in a way, worked out pretty good. But I keep saying that one day when I find him in heaven I’m going to have a chat with him. At 13 years old, I don’t think that was really cool. I don’t think he had an option, you know?
Q: So the night before he passed away, he made you promise to take care of your mom and sister and keep racing ?
A: I woke up Friday morning, and mom was at home. And I’m like, “What are you doing here?” She pulled me aside and told me, “Your dad passed. Right before he passed, he told me that you guys had a conversation; he told me just to remind you. I said, “Is everything organized, for the services?” Then I said I’m going to go to the racetrack. Because that’s what I promised him. I raced that weekend, and I won the race. That trophy that I won is sitting in my mom’s house. And that made me keep going. I had all the reasons not to, to choose something else to do. Because it’s a very risky career, you don’t know if you’re ever going to make it or not. And I kept going, and here I am today, man.
Q: And from there you went to race in Italy?
A: I had no money. … I had nowhere to live, I had no way to survive. The team owner said, “It’s OK, you can live in the shop. We have food and stuff there, and we can find you a personal sponsor.” I was making like $500 a month. I didn’t need much. So I lived in the shop for three years, sleeping on a mattress on the floor in my boss’ office. I didn’t speak the language; I didn’t know anybody. So I had to learn all that. But it was a promise that I made to my dad, and it also was the opportunity that I had. Looking back, I’m not trying to be arrogant or anything; I’m not sure how many kids would give up everything to do that. But I also think that when you don’t have a choice, that’s why you do it. I had no choice because of the promise that I made.
Q: So now you’re here as an Indy 500 winner. How do you think that experience drove you or made you the person that you are today?
A: The way I conduct my life today with my family and my two kids, my philosophy in life for sure was made when I went through all the struggles. I’m not here trying to say, “Oh, I had a tough life.” Because where I come from, people had it much tougher, and all around the world. But losing my dad, going through all the cancer and stuff, he was 41. I’m going to be 41 this year. A lot of things make me think how much you just worked and never enjoyed life, and look what happened.
Q: What makes Long Beach challenging ?
A: There is no margin for error, an extremely fast street course. Long straightaways, fast corners. Every time you go through a specific corner, like Turn 5 or Turn 6, you go, “I could have gone quicker here.” And then you try it the next lap, and that’s not true and you’re in trouble. And you almost hit the wall.
Q: Favorite track you’ve driven?
A: Obviously, I’m going to have to pick the Indy 500 because of the history of the race. But for a street course, I would say Long Beach by far — and not ( just) because I’m going there this week. I like everything about it.
Q: One track you’ve never raced on that you’d like to?
A: In America, I would say Daytona, the oval. For sure. In Europe, I would say the old Nürburgring, the long track.
Q: Favorite city in the world?
A: I love Miami. I’ve been here for a long time.
Q: If you weren’t a race car driver, what would you be?
A: An FBI agent!