One of Tony Kanaan’s sons watched the race car his dad was about to drive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday and came to a startling realization. The handy speed chase wasn’t going to be on the iconic oval where Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500 in 2013.

“You are going to run on a earth track ? Deco Kanaan said.  » Why not that (famous) piece? »

His father laughed. Soon he would feel like a child again.

Kanaan has raced around the world, winning season championships in Indy Lights and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. But until Monday at the IMS Dirt Track, his natural-surface experience had been limited to two races in Tony Stewart’s SRX series and one model race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Kanaan was invited to race Clauson Marshall Racing’s #39BC midget, an experience he’s sure to never forget. The 47-year-old Brazilian had never driven an open-wheel car on the short circuit before, which gave him thrills and some sore muscles.

« It’s the fastest car I’ve ever driven, » Kanaan said without hesitation. “My heartbeat — I’m still shaking. It’s hard, physical. I mean, I’m preparing so physically to drive an Indy car, and it felt like it was 50 laps here today, and I did 12. So, that’s a lot of work.

“You fight against the steering wheel, but what a great car, great to drive. I want to do it again. »

Kanaan completed 21 laps on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the grand circuit, which will host the Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by WeatherTech for the fourth time on August 3-4. Kanaan’s towers were divided into segments, with nine in the first and 12 in the second. During the short break, he asked how many laps there were in the BC39 final. He was surprised to learn that there were 39.

« I have to say that I now understand why midget and sprint car drivers are so good at everything they do, » Kanaan said. “If you can drive this, you can drive any race car in the world. I will never complain about being free (in an Indy car) again in my life after doing a few laps here. »

Kanaan said he was « crazy how fast a midget feels on such a short track and how aggressively a driver has to work the wheel, especially compared to the precision required of an NTT INDYCAR track. SERIES on the big oval of IMS.

« Here you fight against the steering wheel every lap, and if you don’t fight you are slow, » he said. “It’s the opposite (in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES), really the opposite. I have to say this thing is 10 times more physical than an Indy car. Obviously I was nervous, grabbing the steering wheel and hanging onto it so tightly, but it’s going to take me some time (to prepare)…if I ever want to race this thing.  »

Clauson Marshall Racing co-owner Tim Clauson, the father of the late Bryan Clauson, who along with Tony Stewart lobbied IMS officials to make the dirt track permanent, was impressed with how quickly Kanaan is adapted to this different type of riding. Clauson said he would have been interested in fielding a car for him if Kanaan didn’t have to be in Nashville for sponsor commitments associated with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. August 5-7.

“You really spun the car on the pad and then you went over the throttle,” Clauson told Kanaan.

Kanaan said, “You can tell the momentum (which is needed). »

Even if Kanaan can’t make it to both nights of BC39 next month, one of the Indy 500’s most popular drivers will be there on the first night to perform a series of demonstration laps, and the president of IMS , Doug Boles, hopes to give him a ceremonial role.

Kanaan is just happy to have driven the car, and he said he felt a special connection to the Driven2SaveLives initiative. Bryan Clauson was an organ donor who, through his death in 2016, helped save the lives of five people who benefited from the use of his organs. That’s how the Clauson family became involved in the Driven2Save Lives campaign through the Indiana Donor Network, where Clauson’s sister, Taylor, works.

« I live in Indianapolis and I’m an organ donor, » Kanaan said. « When I got my (driver’s) license, I was proud to see that (designation) there. »

Tickets for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 race presented by WeatherTech are on sale at the following address https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/usac/buy-tickets.

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