Tony Kanaan will be running this year’s Indy 500 just has he has for the past 20 years, despite announcing over two years ago that he would be winding down his lengthy IndyCar career.
After seeing other drivers find success while continuing their racing careers well into their forties, such as Helio Castroneves winning his fourth Indy 500 last season, the 47-year-old feels that he can also continue his career for a while longer.
Kanaan has now admitted that he was a bit premature in his retirement announcement, which came with its own hashtag #TKLastLap, and he hopes to keep racing in at least some IndyCar races for years to come.
“I jumped the gun three years ago when I said that was going to be my last. I actually decided that that’s gone. We called it TK Last Lap three years ago, and we’re still doing laps.
“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.
“My question would be what if we go and win [Indy 500] No. 2; are we coming back or not? I’m actually not announcing anything because I don’t know. I can tell you my intentions are 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.’”
2022 marks the second year that Kanaan will be driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, although the Indy 500 is the only race he is scheduled to run at this time.
Shortly after his original retirement announcement at the start of 2020, the pandemic swept over the world and changed the feel of what was going to be his final season.
Looking back on the races that were run with no fans in the stands, Kanaan feels that was one of the lowest points in his career, and it gave him extra motivation to keep racing long enough to see full grandstands again.
“I’ve always said that I think racing without anybody there two years ago was the lowest point of my career, and that place was just dead.
“I think this year because of what happened in the past two years, it’s going to be probably the biggest one we’ve seen in a long time.”
This year’s Indianapolis 500 will take place on May 29, and it is hoped that a full complement of 300,000-plus fans will allowed inside to cheer on the spectacle.
