Leading Arrow McLaren & Indy 500 swansong: Kanaan’s new IndyCar chapter
- Archie O’Reilly
- 3 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Written by Archie O’Reilly
It was an emotional day for Tony Kanaan.
After retiring following the 2023 race, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner was content with never running another lap on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) oval. Transitioning to a leadership role in the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, he was ready for a new chapter.
But even if for only a 30-lap refresher programme, the new role of Kanaan’s - at the forefront of the papaya outfit as team principal - brought him back on track at the Speedway.
His presence at the track and on the timing stands made Kanaan the logical candidate to be cleared to race in case Kyle Larson has to abandon his second attempt at ‘The Double’ of the Indy 500 and, his day job, the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 later that day.
Contrary to the decision taken in 2024, when Larson continued to finish the Indy 500 after weather delays, NASCAR has been made the unequivocal priority this time around after lots of administrative headaches with Playoffs eligibility waivers last year. So if rain delays the Indy 500 this year, Larson will have to be replaced.
Initially, Kanaan was slated to complete his two-hour refresher session on the opening day of practice on Tuesday. But rain fell and priority in a curtailed day of running was given to the 34 drivers set to try and qualify for the race this weekend.
Wednesday. Take two. Time for the anticipation to end. But more rain. Another day’s postponement.
“Why IMS was going to make it easy for me?” Kanaan quipped. “Made me wait 12 years [to win the race]. Two days was nothing.”
Finally though, Kanaan was able to get out on track on Thursday morning. Should weather oblige and Larson be able to run the race a week on Sunday, it will prove quite a momentous moment for one of the most popular drivers in Indy 500 history.
He may never run another lap at IMS again. That gave a chance for some reflection.
“[It was] awesome as usual,” said the beaming Brazilian. “I never really took it for granted, this place, driving an Indy car. I’m like: ‘I had the coolest job in the world for 26 years.’ I'm pretty lucky. This place never let me down.”
In order to be cleared in case he is required to replace Larson, Kanaan had to run 15 laps between 210 and 215 mph - to showcase car control - and a further 15 laps above a 215 mph average speed.
At least for the second phase of the programme, he could be let loose a little at the Speedway for quite possibly the final time.
“Just going to have to control myself for 30 laps,” Kanaan thought to himself. “After that, not wanting to do it again… I think I’d have to change homes, won’t have a wife and kids. She’ll divorce me for sure.”
The poignance of the moment was emphasised by the presence of one of Kanaan’s long-time mechanics, Kyle Sagan, being present for the run-out. It was unplanned but a much-appreciated touch.
“Even special little things… Kyle Sagan has been my mechanic for years - he was in my 2013 car,” Kanaan reminisced. “He was the one that buckled me up most of my career.
“He’s with the team now. He was not supposed to be there this morning because he is on the other car. He came in to buckle me in. Special moments like that, even though just a few laps, I got to enjoy.”
Kanaan is content in his racing retirement after a promotion from sporting director to team principal for 2025 as he nears two years as part of Arrow McLaren’s higher-up team.
He bowed out two years ago in a manner that delighted him, producing an iconic three-wide pass on the grass on the backstretch and battling until the death in fitting fashion with close friend, countryman and four-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves.
“I was totally fine with the pass on the grass for 11th place,” Kanaan reflected. “My last lap with Hélio, after the chequered, we battled like we’re little kids.
“Obviously my retirement, that whole month, it was really special. My biggest fear then was how much I was going to miss. The experience with not just the fans, my family, my friends… I don’t want to spoil that.”
While he did surpass a 218 mph average lap speed, Kanaan’s Thursday refresher was purely procedural. While, no doubt, he can now work a little closer with Larson in his mentorship of the former NASCAR Cup Series champion having got a feel of the car, rules stated only minimal setup changes were allowed for Kanaan in-session.
As to not allow an unfair advantage, tyres also came out of Larson’s 32-set allotment.
“We tried to be fair and do what IndyCar was asking,” Kanaan admitted. “I know we have a good car. Now [the drivers] are in trouble if they complain. They probably didn’t want me in the car…
“We didn’t really do anything. The only adjustment we made was the steering wheel was off a little bit for my liking. We really tried to be fair to the series.”
It was an opportunity for Kanaan to feel the weight of the hybrid system and the intricacies of hybrid deployment for the first time too. He had spoken to Castroneves about getting used to any balance changes and it quickly became competitive.
“He said: ‘I went flat out of the pits, Lap 1. I went flat into Turn 1,’” Kanaan recounted of their conversation. “I had to do it as well. I can’t just let him have that so we did it as well. Also if I crash the car, I was going to have to see the team principal [himself], which was going to be an easy conversation.”
Without explicit mention of Larson, an updated rule surrounding replacement drivers was formalised in April, outlining that a replacement driver is only permitted if the primary driver is competing in another marquee event with their principal racing series on Indy 500 race day.
Regardless of where Larson qualifies, Kanaan would be confined to the rear of the field if he is required on race day.
“I take the green flag, what do I do?” Kanaan jokingly questioned after his limited refresher laps. “Not sure I want to start 33rd and try to pass everybody and suffer for two-and-a-half hours.
“I’m doing the team commitments that I have to do as the team principal until whatever time they need me on Saturday night. I think I kept myself in shape - I can wake up, switch, just go. Probably be dead after the race. Will take me 15 days to recover because I’m old.
“I’m the team principal. I’m not going to be thinking about [driving in] the race until we wake up in the morning. Then it’s raining, I might drink a little bit more water and go.”
If Kanaan does have to vacate his team principal role for the race, he feels the team is well-set given his focus is on Larson’s No.17 Chevy - partnered again with Hendrick Motorsports - and others are more involved in the running of Arrow McLaren’s other three entries anyway.
Across Larson’s two Indy 500 attempts, Kanaan has been a key figure by way of mentorship. Larson was present on the timing stand as Kanaan underwent his refresher.
“Kyle’s a true racer,” Kanaan said. “I don’t need to sit here and talk about his qualities because the results show it. But Kyle’s biggest advantage is he adapts pretty quickly because he races everything. He complains a lot less than all of us.
“Being with him last year but even this year the first two days: ‘The car is fine. The car is fine.’ You can see engineers getting a little like: ‘Woah, it can’t be fine.’
“It’s fine. He was right. I drove around… the car was fine.”
One of the key qualities often raised about Larson is how calm and almost unflappable he is, no matter the magnitude of the situation. That was distinctly evident throughout his first Indy 500 campaign last year.
“He’s pretty chilled,” Kanaan added. “We learned a lot from him on that as a team, especially translating to the teammates. He brings a lot.
“I raced with Kyle - we won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2015. He already amazed me there when he was pretty young, no road course background. Came in there with me and [Scott] Dixon there, ran the same lap times in the race.
“Thank God he’s in NASCAR, not IndyCar. I truly admire him as a racer. To me it’s one of the biggest talents we’ve ever seen around the world. Pretty cool to live the experience with him.”
Even for Kanaan, it is the worst-case scenario having to get in the car to replace Larson. Regardless of his enjoyment of being back on track at the Speedway, he remains happily retired and is embracing his new role.
As unexpected as it may have been, it has given him the opportunity to remain heavily involved in the sport he so dearly loves.
“Nobody [expected] for me to be running the team,” Kanaan said. “I’m so focused on that - no disrespect to my previous career. I did it. I won everything I wanted to win… not as much as selfishly I wanted to.
“I’m fully committed to the team. I have no desire to be back in the car - I don’t think I will. That doesn’t mean in any diminishing way. I have a bigger commitment.
“I have a huge responsibility right now with the team. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing. I did go out on my own terms. I’m very intense. I’m fully focused on making this team one of the best teams in IndyCar for the standards that everybody thinks about us and myself.
“[The refresher] was cool but I’m okay. I don’t have the need to go back in the race car.”
Kanaan does not look at his role as doing the “dirty work” of McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. The Brazilian IndyCar legend is in control of the Arrow McLaren operation.
“The way I want to run the team, Zak and I think the same,” Kanaan said. “It’s not that he doesn’t want to do it. I’m in charge. I should do it. If he’s going to do everything for me, why am I here? I try as much up front as I can.
“People say: ‘You’re extremely transparent.’ I can’t fake it. If I’m mad, I can’t even look at you so I might as well tell you. When you’re being honest - good or bad - it’s going to be uncomfortable. I had to do a few things these few months that I’ve been in, people that were my friends. It’s not about that. We run a company now.
“It’s also my reputation and how I wanted this team to be perceived to be successful. If people are not able to separate the friendship to the professional, then too bad.”
There is hope that Arrow McLaren have now found the stability they have lacked - both from a leadership side and on the driving front.
Between new addition Christian Lundgaard (with three) and stalwart Pato O’Ward (with two), the team has five podiums from the first five rounds of the 2025 season. Completed by the ever-improving 20-year-old Nolan Siegel, it is an exciting young lineup.
But tough decisions had to be made to get to this point.
“I think I’m a fair person,” Kanaan said. “I think I try to run the team as fair as I can. If you’re lacking, I will tell you. Or if you’re doing good, I’ll tell you. I don’t take myself as the big boss all the time.
“I will never forget, Zak told me one day: ‘You don’t need a title. If 10 people walk in the room, they should be able to pick who the boss is. We have a good relationship we’re building here.”
With McLaren’s Formula One arm excelling, there is some added weight on the shoulders of Kanaan as the person in charge of the IndyCar operation.
“Expectations are high,” he acknowledged. “The pressure’s really high on us. Pressure? You guys follow my entire career. This is nothing.
“I’m getting year after year asked if this was going to be the year to end this [wait for an Indy 500 win]. I’ll take it. I told Zak that I’ll run it until the day I don’t want to anymore or he doesn’t want to anymore.”
The transition from driver to working behind the scenes has taken some adjustment for Kanaan - chiefly surrounding his decision-making.
“As a leader, I learned I can make slower decisions when it comes to race personnel and drivers in the team,” he said. “We make decisions on the spot as race car drivers.
“One thing is how important it is to be the leader not just as a team principal but as a race car driver. The driver is the leader of that team. How you communicate to your people depending on what the situation is, you can change the entire dynamic.
“Speaking of myself, I’m pretty vocal and I should take a breath. I should have taken a breath a few times in my career before I said something that would affect good or bad. That’s something I’ve grown a lot the last two years, learned how to do it.
“I had to remove myself from the position to see how would that affect the entire group. As a driver, you put us out there, 240 miles an hour banging wheels, you want us to take a breath and answer a question really calmly… it’s hard.”
