Kanaan to become 100th face on Indy 500's Borg-Warner Trophy tomorrow - MotorSportsTalk

Tomorrow afternoon in Indianapolis, Tony Kanaan’s bas-relief image on the Borg-Warner Trophy will be unveiled as a permanent reminder of the Brazilian’s victory in this year’s Indianapolis 500.

For an entry fee of $5, fans are invited to be part of tomorrow’s 2 p.m. ET ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum.

Kanaan’s face is the 100th to grace the Borg-Warner, which has been the official prize for winners of the ‘500’ since 1936.

The trophy has the faces of all 97 Indy 500 winners (plus two years in which co-drivers assisted the main driver on their way to victory) and includes a 24-karat gold likeness of late IMS owner Tony Hulman to commemorate his efforts in saving the Speedway following World War II.

Follow @estradawriting

In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

Kanaan to become 100th face on Indy 500’s Borg-Warner Trophy tomorrow

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

Read more about SuperMotocross