Kanaan, Johnson shine during Day 2 of Indy 500 Open Test

Tony Kanaan began his Indianapolis 500 Open Test by riding to the track with Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb on Wednesday to unveil his No. 1 American Legion Honda. The car emphasizes the Legion’s “Be the One” campaign to end veteran suicide.

Kanaan concluded the two-day open test by driving the No. 1 American Legion Honda to the third-fastest speed out of 31 drivers.

Kanaan’s raced his Honda around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval with a fast lap at 228.767 miles per hour. The 2013 Indianapolis 500 winning driver completed 72 laps.

The only drivers ahead of Kanaan out of the 31 that participated in Thursday’s fiercely fought four-hour test session were Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who had the fastest speed at 229.519 mph in the No. 2 Chevrolet; and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, who was second at 229.427 mph in the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda.

Then came Kanaan, who is racing in an Indy car for the first time since finishing 13th for Chip Ganassi Racing at World Wide Technology Raceway near Gateway on Aug. 21, 2021. Kanaan is back with The American Legion at the Indianapolis 500 for the second year in a row.

“It's not that I haven't done anything in nine months,” Kanaan said after Thursday’s practice session at IMS. “I've done twice more races than these guys already this year with the stuff I was doing. It's not like I was sitting at home watching TV. That helps a lot, regardless of the car. If it's go-karting or whatever you're racing, it helps.

“I wasn't, like, rusty. Just like obviously this is the fastest thing I'm ever going to drive in my life. In comparison to my stockcar, it's twice the speed. But, yeah, it took me a little bit yesterday, the first hour, then today just felt like home.”

Being back in The American Legion Honda at Chip Ganassi Racing feels like returning home to the 2004 INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner.

“Nothing has changed,” Kanaan said. “The cars are prepped the same. (Team owner) Chip Ganassi wouldn't field me a car just because he wanted to do me a favor. The car is the same prep as the other ones.

“The team, it's a bunch of good guys. I think as a team we're competitive. As a team we've been working really hard. There is no doubt that we'll do everything we can to win this race.

Kanaan’s Chip Ganassi Racing team was able to work through its checklist for the test and once that was completed, it was time to take part in the frantic group running that highlighted Thursday’s test session.

“Today we did quite a bit actually,” Kanaan said. “We have the advantage; we have five cars in the team. We're sharing a bunch of things. Everybody had a list. Everybody went through it.

 “If you look at the results, draft, no draft, still we had five cars in the top 10. That's a pretty good day for us.”

Kanaan was the fastest of the five Chip Ganassi Racing drivers. Teammate and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon was fourth with a best lap at 228.689 miles per hour. Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou was seventh at 228.058 miles per hour.

Jimmie Johnson was eighth in the Carvana/American Legion Honda with a fast speed of 227.900 mph. Marcus Ericsson rounded out the five Chip Ganassi Racing drivers in 10th place at 227.785 mph in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda.

“For us, we took it really slowly,” Kanaan explained. “We're a new team as far as my car. We had to just get everybody together in the groove. Obviously the guys are working with me, I mean, half of them worked on my (No.) 10 car when I was at Ganassi. We just took it easy. We did a lot of race work, like everybody else.

“Obviously my teammates did a pretty good job giving me something to start. That was pretty decent. It was an easy day really. I think we had a lot of information gather. The guys went through it. We were just trying – a lot of my guys are working on the IMSA side this year. Just to get really in the groove, get everybody working together.

“I'm comfortable in the car. It had been, what, nine months I hadn't run. Yesterday was a little, took me a little bit, especially with the conditions. I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Today just felt like home. So good day for us. Obviously lap times, nice to be here, but it doesn't really matter.”

This will be Kanaan’s 21st Indianapolis 500.

For Johnson, who is the lead spokesman for The American Legion’s efforts and campaign, the two-day test session was extremely valuable as he prepares for his first Indianapolis 500.

“It means so much to me to have Tony as a friend, as a teammate,” Johnson said. “I think it's really cool to be competitors this year in the Indy 500. Our pit stalls, located on pit lane, he's right behind us. Every time I pulled out and went around, I just smiled and thought how cool it is to share the track with one of my great friends, many of my friends that I've been able to share racing with over the last year, year, and a half.

“Tony has been a huge part of this deal happening for me, the split season, then his willingness to allow me to race the ovals this year. He's been a friend in so many ways.

“I know the general public hasn't been able to see a lot of that, but I'm very thankful for our friendship, his understanding, and certainly look forward to racing hard with him.”

Before Johnson and Kanaan get to race each other in the 106th Indianapolis 500 on May 29, Johnson “hits the road” for the next two INDYCAR contests.

That begins next week at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala., for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on May 1. The following race is the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 14.