Kanaan shifts to Chris Simmons-engineered No. 10 at today’s IndyCar test

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The trophy side of Tony Kanaan’s week is out of the way, and today restarts the business side of things for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver.

Kanaan is one of 11 IndyCar drivers set to test today at Sebring, 10 of whom are on hand for a Chevrolet manufacturer’s test. The others: his three CGR teammates Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball; the trio of Penske drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves and Will Power; Ed Carpenter’s Mike Conway; KVSH’s Sebastien Bourdais and Panther’s Carlos Huertas. A.J. Foyt’s Takuma Sato is the only Honda driver listed.

When Kanaan tested with CGR in December, he was still in the No. 8 NTT Data Chevrolet before the confirmation of Briscoe to that car, and Kanaan’s switch to the No. 10 Target car. That makes today the first time he’s officially testing with his 2014 engineer Chris Simmons, rather than longtime engineer Eric Cowdin.

But as TK explained Wednesday night, they already feel up to speed.

“In 2003, Chris was my second engineer (at Andretti Green Racing), so it was me, Eric and Chris,” Kanaan said. “I’ve known him for a while – we raced Indy Lights against each other in 96/97. I have not worked with him on IndyCar side, but in the DP race, he’s the engineer on the 02 car (at Daytona).

“That makes it a lot easier. Eric has worked with Ryan before. It’s all there, the confidence is there, and we know each other. There’s no adapting issues; it’s just more me getting used to the setup.”

And next week Kanaan, Dixon, Kyle Larson and Marino Franchitti will share one of the CGR Ford EcoBoost Riley Daytona Prototypes in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Kanaan raced in a GT class Porsche last year, co-driving with longtime friend Rubens Barrichello, and welcomes the return to a prototype this time around.

“It will definitely be different … but if I had to choose, I’d rather be in the DP,” he said. “I was getting passed every three corners last year. I’d rather pass. It’s easier when you have a more powerful car to make the pass, so you don’t have to stay out of the way.

“We’re in a good spot as a team having won 5 of the last 8 there. There’s a lot of new things we introduced to the team, chassis, engine, everything. We’re very capable and just need to make it last.”

Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

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INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.