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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Kanaan, Andretti Divorce Completed
One of the longest, most successful partnerships in IndyCar racing is over, at least for now, as Tony Kanaan and Andretti Autosport have parted company.
Tony Kanaan hoped to secure his second IndyCar Series championship with Andretti Autosport, but with his formal exit from the team, the popular Brazilian will have to start that quest elsewhere. (LAT)
One of the longest, most successful partnerships in IndyCar racing is over, at least for now, as Tony Kanaan and Andretti Autosport have parted company.
The popular 2004 champion couldn’t be guaranteed a ride after longtime sponsor 7-Eleven bailed a few weeks ago so he took a buyout and now he’s a free agent.
“I don’t agree with some things and it’s very disappointing but I have no hard feelings,” said Kanaan, who joined a team then known as Andretti-Green in 2003 and proceeded to win 14 races and lead more than 2,600 laps.
“It’s sad because I wanted to be there. It’s been my home for nine years and I have a lot of great memories but it’s life, it’s reality, and now I’ve got to find a new home.”
Michael Andretti, who took over sole ownership of the team in 2009, issued the following statement:
“It’s difficult to believe that Andretti Autosport and Tony Kanaan will no longer be competing together, but that is now the reality with the signing of this agreement. When 7-Eleven notified us that they would not be returning as primary sponsor, we were left with a very challenging situation. Given the timing of that notification, we felt it was important to give Tony the freedom to review his options outside of Andretti Autosport.
“We understand his value as a driver in this series and we did not want to prevent him from furthering his career in the event we could not arrive at a reasonable solution for 2011.
“So today we agreed the best option for both Tony and our race team is to allow him the freedom to sign with another team. Personally, I want to thank him for all the effort and passion he shared with our team and I am proud of what we accomplished. He brought us our first pole, our first race win and our first championship. We wish Tony many wins in the future.”
John Lopes, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of Andretti Autosport, said every attempt was made to keep this combo intact.
“We heard rumblings last summer that 7-Eleven was having business issues that would ultimately impact the sponsorship so we started working to restructure our deal with them,” said Lopes, who revealed that 7-Eleven will remain on Danica Patrick’s car as an associate sponsor.
“We were shocked when they told us a few days before Homestead they were getting out but we felt we did everything we could to save the deal. And we also tried to help TK find a ride.”
The 35-year-old Brazilian who resides in Miami turned down an offer to drive for Chip Ganassi in the summer of 2008 to stay at AGR.
“I’m still convinced it was the best choice for me and it wasn’t about money,” said Kanaan, whose bad luck at Indianapolis rivals Lloyd Ruby and Michael Andretti. “We had won three championships and two Indy 500s and it was the Big 3 with Penske, Ganassi and AGR.
“It’s easy now to say I was stupid but I was loyal to my team and that’s just the way I am.”
Justin Wilson and Kanaan are the top free agents in the IndyCar paddock and there are some decent seats available at KV Racing, Luczo/de Ferran and Newman/Haas.
“I know some people might think they can’t afford me but I’m not looking for money right now, I’m looking for a competitive team where I can go and win races,” said Kanaan, who was scheduled to make $3 million in 2011, 2012 and 2013 with Andretti.
“You know it sounds crazy but if I get a good sponsor and bringing it back to Michael is my best option, that’s what I’ll do.”
Andretti received a double whammy when IndyCar title sponsor IZOD informed the team it would not sponsor Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2011, nor would ICM or Green Plains. And Meijer is also gone from the Indy-based team.
“It’s difficult, for sure, but not as bad as 2007, even after winning the Indy500, when we lost Canadian Club, Jim Beam, Argent, Vonage and XM Satellite Radio in a single week – that was over $13 million,” said Lopes, who has GoDaddy returning with Patrick and Venom Energy Drink with Marco Andretti.
“I’m confident we’ll be a four-car team next year because I’m confident we will sell our way out of this. We’ve got 49 loyal sponsors associated with this team and that group, along with IZOD, helped keep Ryan on track in 2010.
“But we got blindsided by this deal and it’s a tough situation for TK and for us because he’s like family.”
Kanaan tried to put a positive spin on his situation.
“I’m good on starts and restarts,” he said with a laugh. “Well, this is a restart, I just don’t know if I’m going low or high yet.”
MORE INDYCAR
American J.R. Hildebrand spent this week meeting with some of the National Guard brass and could be in line for the Panther Racing seat….Justin Wilson was in Indy last week talking to Dreyer & Reinbold, KV Racing and Panther but remains on the market….Graham Rahal is getting closer to a real good ride we speculated about months ago…KV has laid off two thirds of its mechanics, as expected, while HVM’s crew returns from a month off on Nov. 8.
The popular 2004 champion couldn’t be guaranteed a ride after longtime sponsor 7-Eleven bailed a few weeks ago so he took a buyout and now he’s a free agent.
“I don’t agree with some things and it’s very disappointing but I have no hard feelings,” said Kanaan, who joined a team then known as Andretti-Green in 2003 and proceeded to win 14 races and lead more than 2,600 laps.
“It’s sad because I wanted to be there. It’s been my home for nine years and I have a lot of great memories but it’s life, it’s reality, and now I’ve got to find a new home.”
Michael Andretti, who took over sole ownership of the team in 2009, issued the following statement:
“It’s difficult to believe that Andretti Autosport and Tony Kanaan will no longer be competing together, but that is now the reality with the signing of this agreement. When 7-Eleven notified us that they would not be returning as primary sponsor, we were left with a very challenging situation. Given the timing of that notification, we felt it was important to give Tony the freedom to review his options outside of Andretti Autosport.
“We understand his value as a driver in this series and we did not want to prevent him from furthering his career in the event we could not arrive at a reasonable solution for 2011.
“So today we agreed the best option for both Tony and our race team is to allow him the freedom to sign with another team. Personally, I want to thank him for all the effort and passion he shared with our team and I am proud of what we accomplished. He brought us our first pole, our first race win and our first championship. We wish Tony many wins in the future.”
John Lopes, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of Andretti Autosport, said every attempt was made to keep this combo intact.
“We heard rumblings last summer that 7-Eleven was having business issues that would ultimately impact the sponsorship so we started working to restructure our deal with them,” said Lopes, who revealed that 7-Eleven will remain on Danica Patrick’s car as an associate sponsor.
“We were shocked when they told us a few days before Homestead they were getting out but we felt we did everything we could to save the deal. And we also tried to help TK find a ride.”
The 35-year-old Brazilian who resides in Miami turned down an offer to drive for Chip Ganassi in the summer of 2008 to stay at AGR.
“I’m still convinced it was the best choice for me and it wasn’t about money,” said Kanaan, whose bad luck at Indianapolis rivals Lloyd Ruby and Michael Andretti. “We had won three championships and two Indy 500s and it was the Big 3 with Penske, Ganassi and AGR.
“It’s easy now to say I was stupid but I was loyal to my team and that’s just the way I am.”
Justin Wilson and Kanaan are the top free agents in the IndyCar paddock and there are some decent seats available at KV Racing, Luczo/de Ferran and Newman/Haas.
“I know some people might think they can’t afford me but I’m not looking for money right now, I’m looking for a competitive team where I can go and win races,” said Kanaan, who was scheduled to make $3 million in 2011, 2012 and 2013 with Andretti.
“You know it sounds crazy but if I get a good sponsor and bringing it back to Michael is my best option, that’s what I’ll do.”
Andretti received a double whammy when IndyCar title sponsor IZOD informed the team it would not sponsor Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2011, nor would ICM or Green Plains. And Meijer is also gone from the Indy-based team.
“It’s difficult, for sure, but not as bad as 2007, even after winning the Indy500, when we lost Canadian Club, Jim Beam, Argent, Vonage and XM Satellite Radio in a single week – that was over $13 million,” said Lopes, who has GoDaddy returning with Patrick and Venom Energy Drink with Marco Andretti.
“I’m confident we’ll be a four-car team next year because I’m confident we will sell our way out of this. We’ve got 49 loyal sponsors associated with this team and that group, along with IZOD, helped keep Ryan on track in 2010.
“But we got blindsided by this deal and it’s a tough situation for TK and for us because he’s like family.”
Kanaan tried to put a positive spin on his situation.
“I’m good on starts and restarts,” he said with a laugh. “Well, this is a restart, I just don’t know if I’m going low or high yet.”
MORE INDYCAR
American J.R. Hildebrand spent this week meeting with some of the National Guard brass and could be in line for the Panther Racing seat….Justin Wilson was in Indy last week talking to Dreyer & Reinbold, KV Racing and Panther but remains on the market….Graham Rahal is getting closer to a real good ride we speculated about months ago…KV has laid off two thirds of its mechanics, as expected, while HVM’s crew returns from a month off on Nov. 8.
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