1 year ago
97
Tony Kanaan couldn't clasp backmost tears arsenic the world acceptable in. With thigh 200 of this year's Indianapolis 500 successful the books, his racing vocation was complete.
It ended the mode it began, racing wheel-to-wheel with countryman Helio Castroneves.
The brace were kart racing rivals arsenic children successful Brazil's Belo Horizonte and teammates erstwhile they began racing successful the United States.
Stan Sport is the lone spot to ticker the 2023 IndyCar Series, featuring Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon. All the enactment streaming advertisement free, unrecorded and connected demand
In 1996, Kanaan and Castroneves raced unneurotic nether the Tasman Motorsports banner successful the then-known Indy Lights, 1 rung beneath IndyCar.
Kanaan won the rubric successful 1997 portion Castroneves finished runner-up. A twelvemonth later, they some graduated to the large time, albeit with antithetic teams.
Although they've some been connected the IndyCar grid each play successful the 24 years since, they ne'er reunited arsenic teammates again.
"That's what's ironic," said Kanaan, present 48.
"We started it successful '87 and the past thigh of the contention we're really battling – my past contention successful IndyCar – and we're battling similar it was for the lead.
"But I wouldn't person it immoderate different, neither to him.
"The past restart. We went side-by-side similar twice. A batch of memories came to my mind, and I adjacent said however ironic it is that we started it unneurotic and I get to conflict him connected the past thigh of my past race.
"It's beauteous neat. It's a beauteous chill story. He's a large friend, my reference, a feline that I emotion and hatred a batch passim my career, and similar helium conscionable told maine – I was coming up present and helium conscionable said, 'Who americium I going to look connected the timesheet erstwhile I travel into the pits now?'
"We ever said that it didn't substance if I was -- 22nd and helium was 23rd, my time was okay. And vice versa. Yeah, it was beauteous cool."
Kanaan's status was somewhat overdue. He had planned for 2020 to beryllium his last afloat season, but the COVID-19 pandemic enactment paid to that.
Saying farewell astatine the Indianapolis 500 successful beforehand of an bare grandstand wasn't an enactment either.
Finally, 3 years aft initially announcing his impending departure, Kanaan made it official. The 107th moving of the Indianapolis was to beryllium his last.
It was an affectional rollercoaster for the Brazilian-born instrumentality favourite, who held backmost tears arsenic the assemblage roared during operator introductions.
Having begun his vocation alongside Castroneves, it was alternatively fitting past that they battled successful the closing laps of this year's race.
"I told the guys earlier we started, it was either going to beryllium a triumph oregon thing isolated from the triumph we were going to observe regardless," Kanaan explained.
"I deliberation I would bash a disgrace to astir 400,000 radical that were determination that made maine consciousness the mode they did to accidental I'm sad.
"I had a laugh. Helio and I battling for 15th and 16th connected the past thigh similar we're going for the lead. It was like, 'who's playing pranks with us?'
"We some went side-by-side connected the backstretch aft the chequer and we saluted with each other, and I conscionable told him really I dropped a teardrop due to the fact that of that, and helium said, 'I did, too'.
"It was a bully time for me, man. What tin I say? We cried connected the grid."
For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
:contrast(4)/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fe2bc6a8b-63cd-4f11-95e5-569d2fadc842)
English (US) ·