A WIN FOR HISTORY BOOKS

On 26 May 2013, Tony Kanaan rolled across the yard of bricks down the front stretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, destined to make history in this car.

Throughout the month of May, Kanaan had prepared, but quietly; he did not appear at the top of any practice session or qualifying run. When the green flag waved, “TK” got to work behind his iconic #11 machine. Starting on the outside of the fourth row, by lap 2 Kanaan was up to 7th place and challenging Helio Castroneves for 6th. The two remained locked together until the caution flag waved on lap 4. As soon as the race restarted, TK pounced, taking the outside line into turn one and exiting in 4th position. He continued to cut through the field and took the lead from Ed Carpenter on lap 9.

After getting an understanding of his car’s capabilities, the Brazilian veteran settled into the lead group and managed his fuel. Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, and Kanaan would spend the next part of the race trading the lead and managing their pace at the head of the field. At the end of lap 29 TK peeled into the pits from the lead and the rest of the front pack would cover the following lap.

The second caution arrived on lap 36 after the #6 car hit the barrier. The green flag went back out on lap 44 with Kanaan in 5th. Andretti and Carpenter had maintained their place in the first two positions and the order at the front of the field held until another caution arrived on lap 57 after Takuma Sato spun on the exit of turn four. Kanaan’s fuel saving during the previous stint allowed for a rapid service and he re-entered the track in 4th.

By this point Ryan Hunter-Reay had emerged as another contender and brought the field back to green on lap 61. Kanaan executed another spectacular restart pass around the outside of turn one and secured 3rd. Ed Carpenter would take the place back just a lap later, and Kanaan once again settled into the lead group. Another round of stops commenced at lap 90 and with a rapid car under him, Kanaan decided to take fuel and tires with no further wing adjustments. Emerging as the leader with Hunter-Reay in hot pursuit, Kanaan again fell comfortably into the lead group for the next batch of laps. As the race reached the three-quarter distance, TK had solidified his status as one of the strongest cars in the field.

Setting himself up for a golden opportunity, Kanaan took his final stop of the day on lap 179 as the leader. With just eight laps left on the pylon, the caution waved with Kanaan in 2nd. When the racing resumed with three laps to go, TK’s supreme confidence in the car allowed him to rocket down the inside of the front stretch past Hunter-Reay and take the lead back going into turn one.

As he made his way to the back stretch the caution came out one last time, securing the long-awaited victory for the fan favorite. “Finally I’m going to put my ugly face on that trophy,” Kanaan proclaimed in victory lane.

Kanaan additionally entered the history books by completing the 500 miles at an average speed of 187.4 mph. At the time this was the fastest anyone had ever completed the Memorial Day classic, a figure that still stands as the second-fastest 500 ever behind Helio Castroneves’ history-making win in 2021.

POST-INDY 500

Following the victory of the #11 Dallara DW12, KV co-owner Jimmy Vasser confirmed that the #11 Hydroxycut-sponsored Dallara/Chevrolet was sold to the consignor. With his blessing, Kanaan then raced the car again at Pocono Raceway for the Pocono Indy 400 on Sunday, 7 July 2013. Kanaan finished the race in 13th after 160 grueling laps, having started the race in 5th.

Kanaan’s special had its final appearance at the Fontana Auto Club Speedway on 19 October 2013 at the MAVTV 500 World Championship. The team secured a podium finish with a 3rd overall, less than two seconds behind the race-winner Will Power. Kanaan scored 36 points in the race, providing a fitting retirement send-off for such a successful and historically important racecar. Despite being a nerve-wracking pair of outings for the consignor, as the car’s new owner (who wanted the car undamaged and true to its Indy 500-winning condition), Kanaan held up his end of the bargain, and the car finished undamaged. KV general manager Steve Moore later confirmed that almost everything about the car is the same as when it left IMS, the exception being the newer vinyl wrap it still wears.

Every running of the Indianapolis 500 is historic, with the winning drivers immortalized on the Borg-Warner Trophy, their names etched into the record books. The racing machines that carried them to victory only rarely become available for private acquisition. Offered now in rolling condition without a drivetrain, this chassis will forever be a part of the story of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.