| MICHIGAN
INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Sunday,
July 30, 2006 on ABC
Tony
Kanaan tests at MIS, "You've got to respect it."
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com
Tony
Kanaan addresses the media after testing his car at MIS.
BROOKLYN,
MI. – His first open-wheel victory came at MIS in
1999. He won the 2004 Indy Racing League championship. He came in
2nd place in 2005. His name is Tony Kanaan and he's been struggling
a little bit this season. On Wednesday, he tested his car on the
track and spoke with the media.
Kanaan was
born in Brazil. He currently lives in Miami, Florida. He is 5'5"
tall and weighs 147 lbs. He has won six IRL races and won the pole
in 6 races. Tony Kanaan spends a lot of time working out and staying
in shape. He said, "Working out gives me the inspiration
to drive the car."
Tony Kanaan
mentioned that athletes are staring younger and younger these days.
He reports, "The mentality is being changed more and
more. We have pretty good athletes in our series. In every sport,
they are staring sooner and sooner."
When asked
if he was planning to return to his country of Brazil, Kanaan answered,
"I've been in America since '96. I feel very comfortable
here. I live in Florida, in Miami. I run, I swim. I cycle a lot.
It's definitely what I enjoy to do." Tony Kanaan works
out for three hours each morning.
Currently,
Kanaan is in 6th place in the 2006 IRL Standings. He has 224 points
and is just 92 points behind the leader, Sam Hornish Jr. One of
Tony Kanaan's goals is to win the Indy 500. Kanaan has already won
the IRL championship, a feat he accomplished in 2004. His next goal
is to win the big one, the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan says, "IndyCar
always fascinates me. Indy was something I always wanted to do.
My biggest thing would be Indy. I should say as many championships
as I can. As many Indy 500's as I can. I can't be that greedy. I'll
take only one Indy 500."
Tony Kanaan
hasn't won any races yet this season. He has four top five finishes
so far. When looking at a driver who has won 10 or 11 races in a
season and seeing these statistics, you might say what's wrong?
Kanaan reports, "I think people step up their games
and we kind of expected that that good moment was going to end one
day. In the Indy Racing League, it's so competitive that we're not
going to dominate for so long. We thought after the first year that
it was going to be harder and then we did it again but now the time
has come and we're struggling a little bit. "
When asked
about racing at Michigan International Speedway, Tony Kanaan answered,
"It's a long race always. [It's] such a fast track.
I've been fighting for wins since I came to Michigan so it's a track
that I really like." Kanaan won his first open-wheel
victory of his career at MIS back in 1999. It was the second-closest
Indy finish ever at Michigan. "When your winning, everything
is beautiful. The small problems we always let it go."
Kanaan adds,
"I would like to see Michigan the way like we had the
Michigan 500 back in the days when you couldn't get in and out of
the race track because of the traffic and you could see the grandstands
completely full. That's my mission now. If I can succeed by doing
that, my dreams will definitely be fulfilled."
A reporter
asked if he ever considered moving from IRL to NASCAR racing. Fellow
Indy driver Juan Montoya is planning on moving to NASCAR. Indy star
Danica Patrick is also thinking about making the move to the stock
car series. Tony Kanaan is under contract with the Andretti Green
Racing for the next two years.
Kanaan announces,
"The NASCAR thing, I don't know. I think it could be
a possibility one day but as you guys know I have contract until
the end of 2008 with the team. I am not going anywhere before that.
Maybe I will renew for even longer than that. Never say never. I'm
a race car driver. Give me four wheels and a steering wheel and
i'll drive the hell out of it. Whatever comes for the future, I'll
be more than happy to take it."
Danica Patrick
has also considered moving from the Rahal Letterman Racing team
to the Andretti Green Racing team. Tony Kanaan says if she moved,
"She'll be more than welcome. It may be a possibility.
I know that her contract is up. She is a big asset for the series."
Marco Andretti,
is a new addition to the Andretti Green Racing team. He is the son
of Michael Andretti and grandson of auto racing legend Mario Andretti.
He is only 19 years old and is already part of the Indo Racing League
series. He competed in the junior formula series for three seasons.
Tony Kanaan says, "I think the results speak for Marco
and his development. The kid is very talented. "
Kanaan adds,
"Bringing new blood to the team. I feel old. I'm 31
and he's 19. I look at myself and say, 'Man. They call me a veteran
now.' He brought a new attitude for the team. We keep pushing each
other to step up our game. I can help him with my experience. He
can help me with his young mentality. He's learning a lot.
I think Marco will be the future of the American race car
drivers."
There has
been recent talks about merging the IndyCar racing league with the
Champ Car racing series. Kanaan reports, "It's not
easy to merge. They're trying really hard. The answer is: Yes, we
all know we gotta get back together. A lot of things need to fall
in place. I leave it up to the big guys to make it happen. We just
put a good show on every weekend. We keep bringing fans to the race
track. Eventually, hopefully, we'll be back together."
Tony Kanaan
has the keys to winning a race at MIS. He says, "It's
such a fast track that you've got to be careful because you run
full throttle the whole time. It's very hard on the engine and on
the equipment, so it's just trying to take care of your car as much
as you can during the race. You've got to respect it."
Kanaan will return to Michigan on Sunday, July 30th for the Firestone
Indy 400.
Kanaan says,
"I gotta thank god everyday for what I do."
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com
Tony
Kanaan makes a pit stop at MIS during testing.
Return
to our 2006
IRL FIRESTONE INDY 400 Index.
SPONSOR:
Choose
NascarRaceTickets.com
for all your Nascar
Tickets. We have premium Nascar
Nextel Cup Series Tickets for all Nascar
races.
::
IRL :: IRL :: IRL :: IRL ::
To
order tickets:
Call
the MIS Ticket Hotline
(800)
354-1010 or (517) 592-6672
Order
online 24/7 at www.MISpeedway.com
BACK
TO OUR AUTO
RACING SECTION |
