Tony Kanaan still driving for more wins, another IndyCar title

ELKHART LAKE – He’s running out of time.

It’s a gorgeous afternoon in a park where cars just so happen to race, a demanding track that drivers love. Tony Kanaan is determined; he’s faster than leader Will Power and closing, closing, closing. But just as quickly, the laps are counting down. No, even faster.

In less than 4 miles, Kanaan chews almost a second off Power’s lead. He can see him, he knows his own strengths and Power’s. Kanaan gives everything he has, every ounce of grit and strength and experience. But when the checkered flag flies, everything isn’t enough.

Would one more lap around Road America have been enough for Kanaan to beat Power in the Kohler Grand Prix last year?

Two more laps? Who knows? It doesn’t matter.

“This year they lengthened the race five laps, so, we’ll see,” Kanaan said, joking but hopeful before the cars hit the track to prepare to race again Sunday.

“Maybe I’ll have enough time."

LINEUP: IndyCar Kohler Grand Prix

Kanaan will have a challenge Sunday, coming from 16th on the grid behind pole-sitter Helio Castroneves and the No. 2 qualifier Power. But the entire Verizon IndyCar Series has been a challenge lately for the charming and popular Brazilian.

NOTES: Castroneves leads Penske parade in IndyCar qualifying at Road America

A contender since he arrived in the series full time in 2003, Kanaan captured a season title and an Indianapolis 500 but hasn’t been the guest of honor in victory lane since the season finale in 2014.

Had he been able to beat Power a year ago, Kanaan would have ended a 24-race winless streak.

Now it’s a 41-race drought, all with Chip Ganassi Racing, one of the top teams in IndyCar, year in and year out. And he is 42 years old.

“I think I have a championship in me,” said Kanaan, who won his first 13 seasons ago. “If I didn’t, I don’t think I would be here.

“It’s actually my option. I’m not here to try to make a number on the grid or because I really need to be here.

“Your perspective changes a lot over the years. You have a family, you have kids, you make an amount of money that is probably way more than you ever thought you were going to make. So it’s not about that either.

“Yes, I believe I can still win.”

Although Kanaan has won 16 races in the series, only three of those — including the 2013 Indianapolis 500 — have come since 2010.

It’s not that Kanaan hasn’t had chances. He does have six podium finishes since his last victory.

But the opportunities also are fewer and further between than when Kanaan graduated to Indy-style cars on the old CART circuit 20 years ago or when he claimed his title in 2004.

Kanaan won three times in his championship season, and his team, Andretti Green Racing, accounted for nine of the 16 victories. Through nine races this year, seven drivers from five teams have won.

“I’m not saying it was easier, but on a bad day (then) you were going to finish eighth,” Kanaan said. “On a bad day here, you’re going to finish 16th.

“Not taking anything away from it, but it was different times.”

The competition also could play into Kanaan’s favor because the idea of any driver running away from the field seems unlikely. Coming into the weekend Kanaan was eight in points — after a runner-up finish to Power two weeks ago in Texas — but just 62 behind the leader, teammate Scott Dixon.

Mike Hull, managing director for the Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar program, bristled at the thought Kanaan’s statistics show him to be anything less than a championship contender.

Hull pointed to last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Kanaan was a last-minute substitute in Ganassi’s defending GTE class-winning car for injured Sebastien Bourdais. Kanaan had seen the 8.4-mile circuit only in a simulator and never in person.

Sports cars seem the most likely next stop in Kanaan’s career, whenever he steps away from IndyCar.

“From all his stints, double-stints, triple-stints, lap-time-wise he was equal to his teammates on all four cars we ran there,” Hull said. “So we have a race driver there who is able to get the job done. And in IndyCar racing it’s the same.

“The reality is one of the reasons Scott Dixon has done as well as he has is because of Tony Kanaan. The fact that he’s such an unselfish teammate, he gives 100% to the team and he dedicates himself fully to be prepared every weekend.”

As the Kohler Grand Prix weekend approached its end last year, a caution set up a six-lap shootout with Power leading — as he had for all but four laps — and teammate Simon Pagenaud second and Kanaan third.

Kanaan had the grippier but less durable alternate, red-sidewall tires on his car, whereas Power had the normal blacks for the run to the finish. Pagenaud quickly faded with an engine problem.

“When I left the pits, my first two laps were extremely quick, and they said, ‘Look, you’re running a second quicker than Will, a lap. Keep pushing,’ ” Kanaan said. “That’s what I did.

“Who knows if he was really taking it easy on the last lap because he knew I was never going to catch him. My perspective, I was catching him.”

But in addition to having the lead, Power also had two extra activations of the push-to-pass function that provides a limited number opportunities for a brief horsepower boost. Kanaan had used his battling for position with Graham Rahal, who finished third.

“Had things maybe played out in some segment of the race differently, he would have been on Will’s transmission sooner than he was,” Hull said.

So Kanaan pulled into his pit and headed to the podium celebration, where Power would be the guest of honor.

A dozen years ago, second place would have been heartbreaking for a young, stubborn Kanaan. Fifteen years of perspective made this one — a close second to a driver who looked unbeatable all day — merely disappointing.

“If you look back at last year, we didn’t win, so I’ve got to look at it as the best result I had,” Kanaan said.

“But still, you’re in a team that’s used to winning races and championships. You don’t want to finish second.”

Sometimes you just need a little more time.