Tony Kanaan didn’t win his second race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two months, but he had fun trying to accomplish the feat.

Kanaan, who won the 97th Indianapolis 500 in May, teamed with Joey Hand to bring home the No. 02 NTT Data car in ninth place for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series’ three-hour Brickyard Grand Prix on the road course.

“We had a great race,” Kanaan said. “It's always nice to be back at the Speedway. It's always awesome to come back to the Speedway. It was my win in the ‘500’ that made it possible for me to be here and do this race for Chip. I can't thank them enough. I hope the fans are still the same as they were nine weeks ago when I came here and won the ‘500.’ ”

Kanaan started the race in 10th place and drove his way to third during the opening 20 minutes. He was running fifth when he pitted to hand off the wheel to Hand for the final hour, but a slow pit stop and then a black flag resulted in the pair finishing down the order.

“We drove from 10th to fourth. We had a couple of pit stops that weren't as good as we had expected, but we were in the top six all day," Kanaan said. "Unfortunately, Joey got a penalty on one of his pit stops, and we wound up finishing ninth. It was a great experience. I can't think Chip Ganassi Racing and NTT Data for the opportunity.”

Kanaan was the top finisher among the three who have competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series this season. Sebastien Bourdais finished 11th, while AJ Allmendinger finished 10th in the race won by Ryan Dalziel and Alex Popow.

Bourdais was on track for another top-five finish at Indianapolis when he was penalized with a 60-second stop and hold penalty for avoidable contact with the car of Oswaldo Negri while battling for fourth.

“I’m very disappointed for the team because clearly we didn’t have the fastest car,” Bourdais said. “But, overall, I thought on our side we did a pretty good job."

Kanaan presents Johnson with winner's ring

“I’m going to rub it for luck like (Alex) Zanardi did before he gave me his gold medal before the 500,” said Kanaan, referring to a good luck gesture by CART champion and Paralympic gold medalist Alex Zanardi the morning that Kanaan won the Indy 500.

Johnson, a five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion going for his fifth win at Indianapolis, was honored to receive the ring from Kanaan.

“That was special with TK,” Johnson said. “What a great surprise. The fact he was here racing and was able to present the ring to me was a lot of fun. Excited to receive it and hope I can get another one next year.”