Kanaan prefers champagne shower; notes

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EDMONTON, Alberta – The flames that briefly engulfed the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car on the City Centre Airport pit lane during last year’s race was “one of the scariest moments of my career,” Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan recalls.

Quick action by pit crews and safety workers to douse the car and driver with water, along with Kanaan having the presence of mind to stop the car, was credited with minimizing damage and preventing potential serious burns.

“I said that I wanted to have a different kind of a shower this year,” Kanaan jokes. “I want to have a champagne shower.”

The fuel hose spewed ethanol on the car as it pulled away from the pit stall and a spark ignited the fuel.

“We always look back on incidents like that to find out what really happened,” Kanaan said. “I’ve been around a long time and between the crashes and some accidents that have happened, you always go ‘Wow, that was close.’

“Thank God our equipment is very safe, the driver’s suit and the helmet did its job and I just burnt a tiny bit of my hand and my face.”

Honda Performance Development has been testing a first gear lockout system, in which sensors on the fueling hose and car will disengage the gears until there is appropriate separation between the two. It is expected to be introduced yet this season.

Kanaan, with a victory at Iowa Speedway in June and coming off a fourth-place finish in the Honda Indy Toronto, enters the Honda Indy Edmonton in seventh place in the standings.

HPD parts and services division expands to Canada

Honda Performance Development is expanding its Honda Racing Line program to make HPD parts and services available to amateur and entry-level professional racers in Canada.

Launched in July 2009, the Honda Racing Line is a program targeted at licensed participants in sanctioned amateur and entry-level professional racing. Licensed Canadian competitors may register for the Honda Racing Line through HondaRacingLine.com.

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