Tony Kanaan came away from Sunday’s KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America satisfied with his best result of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season so far.
From third on the grid, Kanaan tried to dive down the inside of pole-sitter Will Power and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon at the first corner, but was forced to settle back into his starting position.
Kanaan took the fight to Power through the middle stint of the race after Dixon retired, only to slip behind Simon Pagenaud and come under pressure from Graham Rahal ahead of the late full course caution called following Conor Daly’s crash.
Running on alternate red Firestone tires, Kanaan produced a late charge that saw him sweep past Pagenaud before piling pressure on Power late on.
On the final lap, Power used the Push-to-Pass that he had saved to defend from Kanaan, leaving the Brazilian to settle for second at the checkered flag.
“That extra lap of yellow definitely didn’t help us because we had the faster tire,” Kanaan told NBCSN after the race.
"[Power] did a good job saving his Push-to-Pass. The extra lap, maybe if we both ran out of Push-to-Pass, that was probably going to be interesting.
“Great job, the guys did a great job in the pits. During the race up front, there wasn’t a lot of battles, but towards the end I think I made them excited.”
Kanaan was impressed by IndyCar’s long-awaited return to Road America, saying that the championship could do with more events like the KOHLER Grand Prix.
“We need more events like this,” he said.
“This, Mid-Ohio, places where people can camp and bring their kids, these are the races we need.
“Great job by IndyCar and Road America. Can’t wait for next year.”