MADISON, Ill. – It had been quite a while since Lauren Kanaan had nerves like she experienced in the closing stages of Saturday night’s Bommarito Automotive Group at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Her husband, Tony Kanaan, was battling for the lead in the Saturday night short-oval race in the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing. It was just like old times for one of the most popular drivers in NTT IndyCar Series history. The driver from Brazil was racing hard under the lights on an oval, similar to his great victories at such places as the Milwaukee Mile and Iowa Speedway in the past.
As the laps wound down, however, Kanaan’s car began to fade. Takuma Sato was the leader and began pulling away. Ed Carpenter was behind Kanaan and closing in.
Kanaan started way back in 20th position in the 22-car field but raced his way to second place by Lap 190 of the 248-lap contest. He stayed there until Carpenter passed him for second with just three laps to go.
Lauren Kanaan dropped her head. But as her husband drove under the checkered flag in third place, she started clapping and a big smile came across her face.
It was Tony Kanaan’s first podium finish since he was second at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2017. It was only his seventh podium finish since his last career win at Auto Club Speedway in the 2014 NTT IndyCar Series finale.
“I’m so excited for him,” Lauren told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “It really looked like he might have been able to push there at the end, too. But a podium is a big relief.
“This means everything to us. He has put so, so much into this. I don’t know whether the people can see that from the outside or not, these guys working harder than anybody. Even though it’s been a bummer of a year, to this point, everybody on the team needs this.
“This is incredible.”
Throughout Kanaan’s career, he has contended for championship. He won the 2004 NTT IndyCar Series title with Andretti-Green Racing and the 97thIndianapolis 500 for KV Racing Technology in 2013.
This year, however, has been one to forget for the driver and team. He entered Saturday night’s race 17thin the standings.
The podium finish is just the type of boost that AJ Foyt Racing President Larry Foyt is hoping for to jump-start the fabled team owned by his legendary father, the great AJ Foyt.
“It has been a long year, but it feels great,” Larry Foyt told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “Finally, some things fell our way. Tony did a great job. It was great to see that ABC Supply car up front. That’s where it deserves to be. The pit stops were great. We didn’t have the fastest car, but Tony did a great job to bring it home third.
“This year beats you down so much, it’s great to finally get a good result.”
The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Portland, Ore., for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland. Live race coverage on NBC begins at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT local) with the green flag at approximately 3:45 p.m. Live radio broadcasts will be available on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM 209, Sirius 98, Internet/App 970).