Despite Andretti Autosport’s sweep of the front row for tomorrow’s Pocono IndyCar 400, KV Racing Technology’s Tony Kanaan isn’t ready to concede anything.
“It’s a 400-mile race,” said Kanaan, who will start fifth in the middle of Row 2. “The Andretti guys were strong for the entire season. If you look at their Indy 500 effort, I don’t expect anything less. I don’t think I had anything for [Marco Andretti] today for pole.
“I don’t think you can pick a favorite yet. They did a great job putting three cars in the top three. But it’s a 400-mile race.”
Kanaan is looking to continue his bid for the Triple Crown with a victory tomorrow after winning the Indianapolis 500 this past May. An interesting wrinkle was added earlier this week for the remaining Triple Crown events at Pocono and Fontana in October, which will see three-wide starts.
The Brazilian believes that Pocono’s large frontstretch will be more than adequate in accommodating the start, but nonetheless maintains that everyone will need to take care of each other at the drop of the green flag.
“We only do it once per year,” said Kanaan, alluding to the three-abreast starts at Indy. “Being in a 400-mile race, I hope we respect each other. This straightaway, it’s longer than Indy. It’s wide. I don’t see a problem doing it. But it’s definitely going to be different. We can’t get greedy. We have to respect each other. It’s going to be difficult.
“My boss tells me all the time – that’s why I get paid the big bucks.”
