INDY 500 FIELD ‘SO TIGHT’: Kanaan

Tony Kanaan anticipates the most competitive Indianapolis 500 in his 18 years in the race. In other words, Kanaan will need all the speed he finally found Friday. Kanaan turned a quick lap of 363.082 km/h to top the charts in the final practice for Sunday’s running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. “The field is so tight,” said the popular Kanaan, who won the race in 2013. Rookie driver Santino Ferrucci was second fastest for Dale Coyne Racing and former winner Takuma Sato was third fastest in his Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. In fact, the top six cars after Kanaan were carrying Honda power. “It’s the most competitive field I’ve ever seen,” Kanaan said. Simon Pagenaud has the pole for Sunday’s race. Canada’s James Hinchcliffe will start from the back row, 32nd overall in the 33-car field. Last year, Hinchcliffe failed to qualify for the Indy 500.