Photo Credit: LAT Photography
While Scott Dixon won the series championship last season, Kanaan would wound up finishing eighth in points. More importantly, Kanaan would fail to reach victory lane during the season.
It was a season full of close calls, as he was consistently running in the front pack at each of the events through the second half of the season. In total, he had six top-six finishes in the final eight races, including a pair of runner-ups. However, either by luck, strategy or being out-performed, each time the pieces didn’t fall as he would’ve hoped.
Certainly going into the new season, Kanaan hopes to change the narrative and make his first trip back to victory lane since winning the season finale in 2014 at Auto Club Speedway.
This weekend’s IndyCar Series season-opener at St. Petersburg marks the first opportunity as the Florida street course has treated him well in the past. In 11 previous starts, he has eight top-fives and 10 top-10s for the third best average finish of active drivers at 6.1. Notably, though, he has yet to score a victory there.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get the season started this weekend in St. Petersburg,” he commented. “We’ve been testing a lot as a team in the offseason and have been able to pull together some solid data leading into this first race. The No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet felt really quick in Phoenix at the open test and at our last test in Sebring, so the whole NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing team is feeling confident heading into the season opener. I know the fans are just as ready as we are to get back into the racing season, so hopefully we can give them a good show at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.”
Coming out of the gate strong could bring confidence and momentum moving forward, something that could bode well for the Brazilian as it could lead to having more success, and perhaps cracking the top-five in points for the first time since 2011.
