MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Tony Kanaan had planned for last season to be his final year of racing Indy cars, but thanks to the pandemic and a new opportunity the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2004 NTT IndyCar Series champion’s career is now in overtime.
Kanaan will drive the No. 48 Carvana/America Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing on the ovals for the next two years. He teams with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who will drive that car on the road courses.
Last season was supposed to be the end of the line for the popular Kanaan. It was to be a chance for him to say goodbye to his fans, especially during the 104th Indianapolis 500.
COVID-19 intervened and the Indy 500 was run without fans on Aug. 23. Kanaan was committed to extending his farewell season to properly say goodbye to his fans.
Enter Johnson, who successfully put together a deal with Chip Ganassi Racing that includes every race except those on the ovals. Ganassi wanted to make the No. 48 a full-time entry, so he needed an oval ace to share the ride.
Kanaan was the obvious choice and he will compete in the doubleheader at Texas Motor Speedway, Indianapolis and World Wide Technology Raceway. He is also scheduled to drive on the ovals in 2022.
“I feel like a kid that got a new toy,” Kanaan told SPEED SPORT. “I was getting ready to look for other things in my life because I thought this last year was going to be the last lap. Then the pandemic came and I kind of played around saying it was not going to be fair for me to go away without racing in front of my fans. Then I got a call from Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi, all of a sudden I’m back for two more years.”
Kanaan is ready for an encore.
“I don’t think I can express how lucky I am and how grateful I am,” Kanaan continued. “It’s something I don’t take for granted. I also believe that people still believe in my skills. A guy like Chip Ganassi would not hire me to fill in just because. There are plenty of good drivers out there to be able to do so.
“Physically, I’m a lot better in shape than a lot of people out there. It’s an awesome experience, really exciting to be able to be around a couple more years.”
Although he is no longer a full-time driver, Kanaan is far from retiring. In fact, this season he will be busier than ever.
He is competing in four SRX races for Tony Stewart and 10 stock car races with his lifelong friend and former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello in Brazil.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Kanaan said. “It’s been a difficult year for everybody on the personal side. All of a sudden, I was getting ready to call the ‘T.K. Last Lap.’ Now everybody is making fun of me because that was not a last lap anymore.
“I’m still doing the oval races like I did last year. That was actually my choice, as well. It ended up being a really good coincidence that Jimmie didn’t want to do the ovals.
“I’m happy, excited. I can’t wait. Counting everything, it’s an 18-race season,” Kanaan added. “For somebody that was slowing down, my wife asked me, ‘Where did that go?’ I haven’t done 18 races in a long time. I’m going to be busier than I’ve ever been.”
The combination of Johnson and Kanaan may be considered a cross between “The Odd Couple” and the “Dynamic Duo.”
“Me and Jimmie talk twice a week on a weekly basis,” Kanaan said. “We discuss things. We talk about training. We trained together here at PitFit in Indianapolis when he came to Indy. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and on the phone.
“Jimmie is an amazing individual. Hats off to him to be able to actually have the courage to put himself in a position that after winning seven championships like that, come back and become a rookie. I appreciate that a lot.”
Kanaan’s wife, Lauren, was set to resume her television career while her husband was going to take care of the kids.
Instead, Kanaan is back where he wants to be, in the seat of an Indy car.
“She wants to go back to work with some shows and I was going to be the stay-home dad,” Kanaan said. “That was a little bit the plan that I was only going to do four IndyCar races so she could do that. Now we have a problem that I’m trying to solve.
“It’s all Jimmie’s fault, and Chip’s,” Kanaan added. “She actually said that when I took the job and started talking to Jimmie and Chip.
“I was so afraid what she was going to say. She’s a trooper, she understood.”
Lauren’s loss of having her husband do more around the house will wait for another two seasons.