Tony Kanaan will drive in Indy 500 for Ganassi with no other 2022 IndyCar races scheduled

By Jan 17, 2022, 8:45 AM EST
Tony Kanaan IndyCar schedule
Elsa/SRX via Getty Images
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Tony Kanaan will race the 106th Indy 500, which is his only race on his NTT IndyCar Series schedule this season but not necessarily his last in the series.

Kanaan will be running in a fifth car with Chip Ganassi Racing. The 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner drove the No. 48 Dallara-Honda on ovals last season while Johnson focused on road and street course races. Ganassi initially announced Kanaan also would race on the ovals in 2022, but those plans changed last month when Johnson decided to race full time this season in IndyCar.

Kanaan, who turned 47 a few weeks ago, once announced the 2020 IndyCar season would be his “Last Lap.” But he said Monday during a Zoom news conference that he is making no pronouncements about his IndyCar career, which started as a CART rookie in 1998.

“We called it ‘TK’s Last Lap’ three years ago, and I’m still making laps,” Kanaan said. “Do I still think I can do it 100 percent? My question will be what if I win No. 2? Would I be coming back or not? So I’m not announcing anything. My intentions are for this not to be the last one. Next year will be my 25th year in IndyCar, and it would be pretty cool to do that.”

“I jumped the gun three years ago when I said that was going to be my last,” Kanaan said. “I actually decided that that’s gone. We called it ‘TK’s Last Lap’ three years ago, and we’re still doing laps.

“It’s hard to tell. Obviously, we knew it was a two-year deal. Do I have any things lined up for next year? No. Do I still want to do it? 100 percent. Do I think I can do it? 100 percent. Look at what happened to Helio (Castroneves, who has returned full time this year). My question would be what if we go and win No. 2; are we coming back or not? I’m actually not announcing anything because I don’t know. My intentions are for this not to be the last one. Next year will be my 25th year in IndyCar, and I think it would be pretty cool if I could do that. We’ll see, but for now, ’22 is just Tony’s another Indy 500.”

In addition to the Indy 500, the 2004 IndyCar champion will be running 10 stock car races in his native Brazil, the six-race season in Tony Stewart’s Superstar Racing Experience (which he also raced last year) and three Porsche Cup Endurance races.

“More races than I’ve done in the past 21 years,” Kanaan said. “So quite busy

He also will be helping Johnson, whom he calls his “partner in crime” in making the transition to ovals.

“This year we have the opportunity to be teammates, and I’m really excited about that,” Kanaan said. “The guy is a master in the ovals. He won seven NASCAR championships. A lot of people were asking that question when he announced (a road and street course schedule) that it didn’t make any sense I was subbing for him on the ovals.

“It’s great for the Indy 500 and great for Jimmie. When he threw his rookie hat at the end of the year away, I said, ‘Not too soon, my friend, you’re still going to be a rookie when you get to the 500,’ which it’s pretty cool. In the team, he has plenty of support between myself, (Scott) Dixon and Dario (Franchitti). I think he will be OK.”

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).