DETROIT – In 2000, Tony Kanaan left Detroit with a broken arm, multiple fractured ribs and a punctured lung after an Indy car qualifying crash on the Raceway at Belle Isle.
In 2007, the Brazilian-born driver waved goodbye to his fans in the Motor City after capturing the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.
On Tuesday, the Indy car veteran headed out of Motown with a brand-new pair of basketball shoes and a new tattoo after another adventure in the automotive capital of the world.
As usual, Kanaan, 43, had a smile on his face despite a torrid long weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, where rain and red flags played havoc during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by America’s First, won eventually by Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden on Monday.
Kanaan is a motorsports warrior and wasn’t about to miss a visit to Detroit to promote the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear June 1-3. In fact, he flew into Detroit from Birmingham, Alabama, following the rain-delayed race to have dinner with grand prix volunteers and to join Lear Corporation employees, Chevrolet executives, race officials and media Tuesday morning at the Lear Innovation Center in downtown Detroit.
“I like the layout at Belle Isle, the volunteers who work the race and the fans,” said Kanaan, who finished 18th at Barber in the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. “You put 100,000 people on an island. it’s just remarkable. Detroit is a fun weekend.”
Kanaan, who the Indy Lights races at Belle Isle in 1996 and ’97 before moving up to Indy cars, didn’t allow the waterlogged Alabama weekend to upset him. He was his usual upbeat self.
How does he find the new series car with its reduced rear downforce?
“A lot more difficult to drive, but that’s fun for me,” said Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner. “It reminds me of the old car (in the late 1990s) with lots of horsepower. It is a handful to drive.”
Kanaan added that he enjoys driving for legendary A.J. Foyt as the team rebuilds in an effort to recapture past glory.
“We are building the team,” said Kanaan. “I am not going to say we are ready to win, not right away. It’s going to take a little time.”
Kanaan is known for his love of designer shoes, particularly basketball footwear, and tattoos. He admitted to having 350 pairs of shoes to go along with a gorilla tattoo and a “story of my life” tattoo that famed Swedish ink master Niki Norberg put on his right shoulder and arm following his Indy 500 victory. It depicts, among other things, the Borg-Warner Trophy and hand and footprints of his children at birth.
Much to his surprise, Kanaan was inked again Tuesday – this time by Detroit College of Creative Studies student Joe Dao, who designed the cover of the 2018 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix poster.
When told Dao would tattoo the grand prix logo on him after lunch, Kanaan, a legendary practical joker in the paddock, shouted, “Where?”
Kanaan’s latest ink is only a temporary tattoo and should last around three weeks. By the time he returns to Detroit for the doubleheader race weekend, it will be long gone.
“Detroit, despite the biggest crash I’ve been in, is a great place to come to,” said Kanaan. “I’ve had three wins here – two in Indy Lights and one in INDYCAR. Yes, I had the accident but I was treated so well by everyone. I love the racetrack. It’s bumpy, but you find the right way to go through the bumps.
“Detroit is the only doubleheader and I like that. Detroit is a physical challenge and I’m a workout freak.”
Drivers who don’t enjoy the doubleheader?
“That’s for the lazy guys,” laughed Kanaan, a dedicated triathlete. “Guys who don’t work out, let them get tired. It’s easier for me.”
The Detroit weekend, of course, is preceded by the premier event on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule – the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on May 27. Kanaan never counts himself out.
“Anything can happen in that race, I should know,” he said. “Anyone who starts the 500 has a chance to win.”
Ticket information for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix is available at detroitgp.com.
Watch Kanaan's interview on WXYZ-TV in Detroit: