Career Retrospective: Nigel Mansell

Our Career Retrospective series returns for a fourth year, as we have another batch of past IndyCar drivers to consider. We will look at a few drivers and how they ended up in IndyCar, what they did while competing in the series and how the series changed between the driver's first appearance and today. 

There is another theme in this year's set of drivers. It might not seem obvious, but it will become obvious once we get to the end.

The final part of this three-part series takes us to the most famous of the three drivers in this year's series. His career spans well beyond IndyCar. Most people probably only know him for what he did prior to arriving in IndyCar at the age of 39. It was quite a career, you can forgive those if they forget about his time in IndyCar, but this move was a pivotal point in global motorsports. The World Drivers' Champion left Formula One for IndyCar. The rest is history.

It is Nigel Mansell.

Where was Mansell coming from?

Formula One, and a lengthy career at that. 

Mansell debuted in 1980 with Lotus and remained with the historic team for one of its low points through the early part of the decade. Lotus was not what it had been in the 1960s or 1970s. Plagued with unreliable cars, Mansell was struggling for results. He became the defined number two driver to Elio de Angelis in 1983 and 1984.

Frank Williams hired Mansell to join Keke Rosberg at Williams F1. Driving with a Honda engine, Mansell was a more competitive driver, and he closed the 1985 season with his first two grand prix victories at Brands Hatch and Kyalami. 

With five victories in the 1986 season, led the championship entering the season finale from Adelaide. Eighteen laps from the finish and in third place, Mansell suffered a tire puncture and it cost him the title to Alain Prost. Mansell made another championship push in 1987 with six victories, but an accident in qualifying from Suzuka ended his season two races early.

Honda left Williams for the 1988 season, and Judd engines were placed in the Williams and were highly unreliable. Mansell retired from 12 of 14 starts. In the other two, he was runner-up and he missed two races due to the chickenpox. 

Enzo Ferrari selected Mansell to drive the team for the 1989 season just prior to Ferrari’s death in 1988. Mansell won on debut in Brazil, but the car could not regularly compete the McLarens. He had a strong summer, but finished fourth in the championship. Results dipped in 1990 with Alain Prost as his teammate. Prost competed for the title while Mansell scored one fewer points and finished one spot worse in the championship than in 1989. 

Mansell announced he would retire after the 1990 season, but Williams came offering a seat. Mansell demanded number one status in the team, and an assurance the organization and its engine supplier Renault. Williams agreed to the terms. 

Ayrton Senna and McLaren were still on top, but Mansell and Williams gave the Brazilian fits over the season. Mansell and his teammate Riccardo Patrese ended up second and third in the championship.

Williams further developed the FW14 into the FW14B, and it became one of the most dominant cars in series history. Mansell opened the season with five consecutive victories. He won eight of the first ten races. A runner-up finish in the 11th round, the Hungarian Grand Prix, clinched Mansell the world championship with five races remaining. He ended the year with a single-season record of victories. He won 14 pole positions, 88% of the races, and that remains the highest pole position percentage in a single year. 

What did IndyCar look like when Mansell started in the series?

IndyCar was still primarily North American-based. The 1993 season was only its third trip to Australia. While it raced at Surfers Paradise, it also ran in Nazareth, Pennsylvania and a new track in Loudon, New Hampshire. Of the 16 races, six were on ovals, six were on temporary courses and four were on permanent road courses. 

World champions were nothing new to IndyCar. Mario Andretti was well into his second stint in IndyCar. Emerson Fittipaldi had been present for nearly a decade. Along with those two, there were a few Formula One veterans on the grid, including Raul Boesel, Two Fabi, Stefan Johansson and Roberto Guerrero. 

Six different teams had won the previous six CART championships. Three of those teams were single-car operations. Five of those champions were American drivers, and 13 of the first 14 CART seasons had an American champion. Chip Ganassi Racing was entering its fourth season of competition. It had yet to win a race. 

Six other drivers who made their IndyCar debuts in the 1993 season opener. They were Andrea Montermini, Robbie Buhl, Mark Smith, Marco Greco, Gary Brabham and Andrea Chiesa. 

How does IndyCar look now?

IndyCar competes exclusively on the North American continent. It has been just over 11 years since it has raced somewhere other than the United States or Canada. There are no races at Surfers Paradise, Nazareth or Loudon. Nazareth is grown over. Of the 17 races in 2024, seven were on ovals but there were only five oval circuits. There were four temporary venues, but there were supposed to be five. Six permanent road courses host a race. 

In the 2024 season, no past World Drivers' Champions competed in a race. It has been four years since a past World Drivers' Champion ran an IndyCar race. That would be Fernando Alonso in the Indianapolis 500. Prior to Alonso, the most recent past World Drivers' Champion to start an IndyCar race was Jacques Villeneuve, who made a one-off start in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. There has not been a past World Drivers' Champion full-time in IndyCar since Emerson Fittipaldi in 1996, a year in which Fittipaldi's career was cut short due to an accident at Michigan with four races remaining in the season.

Two teams combined to have won the last 12 championship. Three teams have combined to win the 17 championship since reunification. Chip Ganassi Racing has four of the last five titles, and 11 of the last 17 championships. The Ganassi organization has won 16 IndyCar championships.

There has not been an American championship in the last five seasons, and American drivers have combined to win only three of the last 17 titles.

What did Mansell do in-between?

Mansell started with a bang, winning on debut from pole position after a back-and-forth race with Emerson Fittipaldi at Surfers Paradise. 

A practice accident at Phoenix knocked Mansell out of the car for the second round, but he only missed one race and he finished third at Long Beach. At Indianapolis, he qualified eighth, and he was a front-runner the entire race. He led 34 laps, but was passed on a restart with 16 laps remaining and fell back to third. He managed to finish third despite brushing the wall in the closing stages.

Despite the Indianapolis disappointment, Mansell won the next race at Milwaukee. He had six podium finishes in the first eight races. He won back-to-back races at Michigan and Loudon, the latter occurring on his 40th birthday. These victories put Mansell in control of the championship with five races remaining. 

Consistent finishes followed and victory at Nazareth in the penultimate race of the season clinched Mansell the CART championship with a race to spare. 

Returning for the 1994 season, Mansell started well with two podium finishes in the first three races. His second Indianapolis 500 ended just prior to halfway when Dennis Vitolo spun under caution and collided with Mansell's car, parking the year-old Lola on Mansell's shoulders. 

Despite sitting third in the championship with three podium finishes and five top five finishes through the first eight races, Mansell had yet to win in the 1994 season. The second half of his year was rocky. He retired from five of the final eight races. His best finish was seventh despite starting no worse than fourth over that stretch. In 14 of 16 races, Mansell started inside the top four with his worst starting position being ninth. 

This poor run dropped Mansell to eighth in the final championship standings on 88 points, 137 points behind champion Al Unser, Jr. Mansell was two points behind Raul Boesel and nine points ahead of Teo Fabi. 

During the 1994 season, Mansell returned to Formula One to drive for Williams. David Coulthard had taken over a race seat after the death of Ayrton Senna. Mansell ran the French Grand Prix during a break in the CART season. He qualified second, 0.077 seconds off teammate Damon Hill, but a gearbox failure ended his race after 45 laps.

Mansell returned for the final three races of the season and he finished fourth in Japan and he won the Australian Grand Prix from pole position after Hill and Michael Schumacher tangled as they battled for the world championship. 

After the 1994 season, Williams decided to run Coulthard full-time in the 1995 season. Mansell signed to drive for McLaren, receiving help from Bernie Ecclestone to get Mansell out of his Newman-Haas contract. Mansell missed the first two races as he could not fit in the car. A widened McLaren MP4/10 was ready for the San Marino Grand Prix, but he finished tenth clashing with Eddie Irvine while competing for points. He retired from the Spanish Grand Prix due to handling issues, and he decided to retire for good from Formula One then and there.

What impression did Mansell leave on IndyCar?

It remains the mountaintop for IndyCar. 

The World Drivers' Champion left Formula One for IndyCar. It does not get bigger than that, and it hasn't come close. 

Mansell took a healthy IndyCar Series and turned it in an international phenomenon overnight. Formula One viewership suffered and was particularly low come 1994 after the death of Senna combined with the absence of any past world champions. Prost was on sabbatical though he would never return to driving. Mansell was drawing bigger crowds in the United States than any of these venues had ever seen, and there was increasingly more interest from outside the United States in CART.

The best driver in world came and did what you expected the best driver in the world to do. Mansell won immediately, but he also adapted. Four of his five victories came on ovals, an entirely new discipline for him. He nearly won the Indianapolis 500, but he won the Michigan 500 in dominating fashion, leading over 90% of the race. He won on the short ovals at Milwaukee, Loudon and Nazareth. His road and street course form was still stellar, but he didn't fall back on his known skill set to win the championship. 

There has been no free agent signing that has come close to matching what Mansell did for IndyCar. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson moved to IndyCar and that was barely a blip in comparison to Mansell's move almost 30 years prior. Part of that has to do with how far IndyCar has fallen since The Split. A good portion of that has to do with how seismic of a move Mansell to IndyCar was. 

For as memorable as this was, the Mansell years were only two. He only won in one of those seasons. Like Mark Blundell and A.J. Allmendinger, Mansell was a one-year wonder, but he was the greatest of them all. 

A driver moving to another series on the verge of 40 years of age was never going to stay for long. Mansell did not become a staple on the IndyCar grid for a decade, someone a fanbase could grow up with. It was a brief moment that vanished. All the good that it did was quickly lost when The Split happened. 

It is hard to fathom something like this happening again. There is too much money in Formula One and nowhere near as much in IndyCar. Formula One drivers have no desire to leave even if the schedule has expanded to an exhaustive length. As much as Formula One drivers would like to leave that circus, they also know it is far more money they could make anywhere else. As much as they may wish to try the Indianapolis 500 or 24 Hours of Le Mans or any other motorsports series, they can make money in Formula One. It is far from a guarantee they can do that elsewhere. 

Mansell hasn't been around IndyCar since he left IndyCar. We do not see Mansell drop in for a random race at Mid-Ohio or Gateway. I don't even know if he attended any of the many anniversary Indianapolis 500s we had around the centennial celebration and centennial running. For as great as his one season was in IndyCar, it is not the defining moment of his career even if it was the defining moment for motorsports in the early 1990s. 

For as great as Roger Penske is in 2024, he couldn't do what Paul Newman and Carl Haas did ahead of the 1993 season. Sadly, Penske wouldn't have the ambition either. Penske would have to pay the equivalent of double entire season prize fund to get Max Verstappen to run for one season or Lewis Hamilton to join the series or have Lando Norris or Charles Leclerc switch at the start of their primes. Frankly, I am not sure any of them would leave.

Formula One has been their dreams. If they are making $20-40 million a year to race in Formula One, I don't think $60-80 million a year, or $100 million a year in the case of Verstappen, would get them to switch to IndyCar. Yes, it would be more money, but I don't think their hearts would be in it. There might be some prestige in Indianapolis, but outside of that, no race compares to even the most passionless grand prix. 

We will never see the equivalent of what Mansell did. Never is a strong word to use, but unless there is a major shakeup in the motorsports world, this will remain a one of a kind event that will only become more inexplicable as time goes on. 

Career Retrospective: A.J. Allmendinger

Our Career Retrospective series returns for a fourth year, as we have another batch of past IndyCar drivers to consider. We will look at a few drivers and how they ended up in IndyCar, what they did while competing in the series and how the series changed between the driver's first appearance and today. 

There is another theme in this year's set of drivers. It might not seem obvious, but it will become obvious once we get to the end.

The second part of this three-part series will be a driver who has made his name in a different discipline, but his short time at the top of North American open-wheel racing was inspiring. As a young driver, he was thrilling, but raw. Once everything clicked, it was clear he would be a winner. His career hit a rough patch and appeared lost, until it sprung an opportunity. It led to a rush of success and a near championship seemingly out of nowhere. However, the signs of the times led him away from a race winning seat. The Split drained away talent as money and opportunity was not in either of the series. Eighteen years later, the greatest thought is what could have been. 

It is A.J. Allmendinger.

Where was Allmendinger coming from?

From his home in Los Gatos, California, Allmendinger started in quarter-midgets and karting before making his way into the Barber Dodge Pro Series system. He made three starts in 2001, and he finished sixth in his third start in Vancouver. This led to a full-time ride in 2002.

Prior to the full season in the Barber Dodge Pro championship, Allmendinger won the Team USA Scholarship and went to New Zealand to run a few New Zealand Formula Ford championship rounds. In the New Zealand Grand Prix at Teretonga Park, Allmendinger and Team USA teammate Bryan Sellers both  finished on the podium. Sellers was second and Allmendinger was third behind future Supercars race winner Fabian Coulthard. That was the high point for Allmendinger, as he competed in seven of the 16 races and finished 11th in the championship.

Back in Barber Dodge Pro, he opened the season with a pair of victories and four victories in the first five races. Over the ten-race season, Allmendinger never finished worse than fourth and he easily won the championship.

Allmendinger's 2002 season led to a shot with Carl Russo's RuSPORT in the Atlantic Championship for the 2003 season. His winning ways continued at the next level. Allmendinger won seven of 12 races competing against the likes of Ryan Dalziel, Michael Valiante, Danica Patrick, Joey Hand and Luis Díaz. Allmendinger's success led RuSPORT to move up to Champ Car for the 2004 season.

What did IndyCar look like when Allmendinger started in the series?

The state of North American open-wheel racing also led to RuSport's move up. 

CART was gone. Bankrupt at the end of 2003, the series was sold with Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerry Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi taking over and re-branding as the Champ Car World Series. Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing were gone. Team Green was leaving for the Indy Racing League with Michael Andretti becoming a co-owner and Rahal Letterman Racing was leaving as well. Adrián Fernández announced his team's withdrawal and move to the IRL a month prior to the Champ Car opener from Long Beach. 

All Champ Car had were Newman-Haas Racing and Forsythe Racing as powerhouses. RuSPORT's two cars brought the 2004 grid up to 18 full-time cars. 

Allmendinger was one of five rookies in the 2004 season opener at Long Beach. One rookie spent the previous year in Formula One (Justin Wilson), one ran two CART races the year before and raced in World Series by Nissan two years prior (Roberto González), one was 17 years old and moving straight from ninth in Barber Dodge Pro (Nelson Philippe) and the other made two CART starts and a Barber Dodge Pro Series start the year before (Alex Sperafico). 

The 14-race calendar visited four countries. Three countries hosted multiple races. There were only two oval races, and the final two races were outside the United States.

Push-to-pass was introduced for the first time, as were multiple tire compounds during a race, and teams started the 2004 season with a mandatory number of green flag pit stops, which was dropped after two rounds.

Though there was only one engine manufacturer, there were two chassis providers on the grid, Lola and Reynard.

How does IndyCar look now?

I think it has been pretty well covered. 

Over two-dozen full-time entries. 

One chassis manufacturer. Two engine manufacturers. 

Seventeen-race calendar in two countries with only one race outside the United States. 

Compared to Champ Car, more ovals.

Compared to the IRL, fewer ovals. 

Newman-Haas, Forsythe, Kalkhoven and Gentilozzi are gone. 

Push-to-pass is the norm, and there are now hybrid systems that essentially act as another form of push-to-pass. Multiple tire compounds are the norm, and they have even been used at ovals. Mandatory total of green flag pit stops has never really come back. 

The big difference is IndyCar is not seeing teams join the series to fill the grid. Teams are joining because they see some value. The series is not desperate for cars. The series is full to the point that it is limit grid size at all races, especially now with the introduction of the charter system. 

What did Allmendinger do in-between?

For a team that was new to Champ Car with a rookie driver, 2004 was a rather promising first year for Allmendinger and RuSPORT. The first two races were not great, but he was fifth in his third start at Milwaukee. He finished in the top six in three of the next four races, including a third at Vancouver, his first career podium finish. 

He ended the season with five finishes in the top six in the final six races, including another podium finish in the finale in Mexico City. This stretch included a Montreal race where he led ten laps after starting second. He went on to finish fifth in that race. He started no worse than seventh in the final seven races. 

There was not much of a sophomore slump in 2005. It was a slow start with finishes of eighth and tenth to open the season, but he was second at Milwaukee, fifth at Portland and second at Cleveland. After a bad race in Toronto, Allmendinger picked up his first career pole position in Edmonton. 

In the inaugural Edmonton race, Allemendinger found himself in control approaching the final laps of the race, and his RuSPORT teammate Justin Wilson was in second. Under caution with nine laps remaining, Wilson spun behind Allmendinger running under caution speed. Allmendinger restarted with Sébastien Bourdais behind him and two laps after the restart, Allmendinger slapped the barrier exiting a corner while leading. It ended his race eight laps short of victory.

Allmendinger got back on the podium two races later in Denver. He closed the season with a pair of runner-up finishes and it lifted him to fifth in the championship, one spot better than his rookie season. 

Expectations were high in his third year, but Allmendinger was caught in an opening lap accident in the Long Beach season opener. He bounced back with a third two races later in Monterrey and then he was fourth at Milwaukee. Through four races, he was up to fifth in the championship.

However, five days after the Milwaukee round, Allmendinger was released from RuSPORT in favor of Cristiano da Matta in Russo's hopes of being a greater threat to defeating Bourdais and Newman-Haas Racing. Unexpectedly out of a ride, Allmendinger caught a break when Forsythe Racing decided to replace Mario Domínguez with Allmendinger only four days ahead of the Portland round.

Allmendinger responded with a second-place qualifying run in Portland. He then took the lead at the start and never looked back, leading 100 of 105 laps on his way to his first career victory. This began a three-race tear that would see Allmendinger win three consecutive races. After Portland, he won from pole position in Cleveland. He led 38 laps and won from second at Toronto. This run lifted him to second in the championship, 23 points behind Bourdais. 

Bourdais responded over the next two races but Allmendinger won at Denver while Bourdais tangled with Paul Tracy on the final lap. The gap was 32 points with four races remaining, unfavorable for Allmendinger, but not insurmountable. 

The championship hopes nosedived in Montreal. Allmendinger led the first 13 laps from pole position, but a broken driveshaft ended his race on lap 14. Bourdais went on to win the race. Allmendinger struck back with a victory at Road America and the gap was 58 points with two races remaining. Unfortunately, the hopes vanished in Surfers Paradise after an accident on lap 19. Bourdais clinched the title with a race to spare.

During Allmendinger's run in 2006, he was also linked to a move to NASCAR through his Red Bull sponsorship. He made his debut in Truck Series at Loudon in September, a week prior to his Road America victory, and he ran at Talladega the week after that. Four days after his accident in Surfers Paradise, Allmendinger was announced as a member of Team Red Bull's inaugural driver line-up for the 2007 NASCAR Cup Series season. Allmendinger did not return to Forsythe for the 2006 season finale in Mexico City, but he still finished third in the championship. 

NASCAR was tough sledding for Allmendinger, and he failed to qualify for his two attempted Cup races late in the 2006 season. He did not qualify for 19 races in 2007 and the first three races of 2007. He was sidelined for the next five races and veteran Mike Skinner took over to get the car some owner's points. Allmendinger returned and started the next 21 races, but he was removed for the final seven races with Skinner and Scott Speed splitting the Red Bull entry.

Allmendinger closed out the season with a race at Michael Waltrip Racing and five races with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. He remained with the GEM organization as it merged with the Petty Enterprises organization ahead of the 2009 season. Allmendinger was third in the rain-shortened Daytona 500, and he qualified for all 36 races, ending up 26th in the championship.

He would spend the next two seasons at RPM, rising to 19th and 15th in the championship. This led to an opportunity at Team Penske after Kurt Busch was released from the organization. Allmendinger had some tough races, but he was second at Martinsville and won his first career pole positional Kansas. Results started to improved and he finished ninth at Sonoma and Kentucky in consecutive weekends.

However, after the Kentucky race, Allmendinger was suspended from NASCAR due to a failed drug test after Allmendinger had taken Adderall. Allmendinger was released from Team Penske on August 1, 2012 and he was reinstated by NASCAR on September 18. He was able to run four races later that season for Phoenix Racing. 

Despite the failed drug test, Allmendinger remained in the good graces of Team Penske. He was offered an IndyCar test in the winter of 2013. His speed led to a two-race run between Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis 500. Allmendinger qualified tenth in his first open-wheel race in nearly five-and-a-half years and Long Beach was quickly added to his schedule. He finished 19th at Barber and he was 23rd after a mechanical issue in Long Beach.

At Indianapolis, Allmendinger was competitive immediately. He qualified fifth, the best Team Penske starter. He spent much of the first half of the race running in the top ten and he took the lead on lap 98. However, after leading 14 laps, Allmendinger was forced to make a pit stop as his seatbelt was coming loose. Despite the untimely pit stop, Allmendinger was able to rally to finish seventh, the second-best rookie behind race runner-up Carlos Muñoz. 

Allmendinger had the Belle Isle doubleheader and the Fontana finale added to his schedule. Sadly, he was taken out in the first corner on the opening lap of both Belle Isle races. He qualified second at Fontana, but he had an accident on lap 189.

While competing in IndyCar in 2013, Allmendinger remained active in NASCAR. He started 18 Cup races between Phoenix Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing. He won both his starts in NASCAR's second division for Team Penske, his first victories in NASCAR competition. This run of form led to a full-time ride with JTG Daugherty Racing in 2014. 

Allmendinger has remained in NASCAR ever since. His first career Cup victory came at Watkins Glen in 2014. He has since added two more Cup victories to his career, including the first Cup race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2021. He has won 18 races in NASCAR's second division, and he has been a regular championship contender, as he has spent three of the last four seasons full-time at that level. 

In 2025, Allmendinger will return to full-time Cup Series competition with Kaulig Racing.

What impression did Allmendinger leave on IndyCar?

When thinking about A.J. Allmendinger and IndyCar, the first thought is always, "What could have been?"

Allmendinger leaves in 2006. By 2008, Champ Car and the IRL merge. If he remained with Forsythe for the 2007 season, Allmendinger was bound to contend for the championship again. I don’t know if he beats Bourdais and Newman-Haas, but he would have won races, and maybe it is enough to win the title. If Allmendinger had won the title or at least been competitive in 2007, where does he go in 2008? Is Allmendinger enough to convince Forsythe to remain on the grid in a reunified IndyCar Series? Is he a prize free agent and get hired early by Team Penske or Newman-Haas or another organization? 

No matter what, IndyCar would have looked different. 

Allmendinger might not have been the ball of energy he is today, but he was far more of a personality than anyone in either series at that time other than possibly Hélio Castroneves. A successful American, who was not afraid of speaking and engaging with the media and fans was something IndyCar needed around 2008, and it just missed it.  

We have no clue how things would have played out, but there is a chance Allmendinger could have been the face of IndyCar for the last 15 years. He was comfortable on ovals as we saw in the handful of ovals races he did in Champ Car. All the road and street courses suited him. If it wasn’t Will Power filling in for Castroneves when the Brazilian was in court for tax evasion, it could have been Allmendinger, but Allmendinger could have gotten more all along. He could have been the one to replace Sam Hornish, Jr. heading into 2008. We will never know but that wouldn’t have surprised us. 

Allmendinger would have helped IndyCar during that period. I don’t know if it would have flipped anything, but it would have been a driver willing to be the face of the series at a time where no one stood out and was also succeeding. 

When considering the struggles Allmendinger went through in his first two years in NASCAR, the fact he is still competing there on a full-time basis and is a regular threat for victories, it is quite remarkable. He joined at a time when open-wheel talent was being offered opportunities left and right. Most of these drivers were mocked when they didn’t succeed, Allmendinger included. Some had short runs in NASCAR. Allmendinger has stuck it out, and now he can win anywhere. 

It will be 12 years since Allmendinger made that brief return to IndyCar. At the end of 2013, I probably would have bet Allmendinger would be back again. About to turn 43 years old next month, I don’t think we will see him return to IndyCar or Indianapolis for another run. Coincidentally, Juan Pablo Montoya returned to IndyCar in 2014 with Team Penske, a year after Allmendinger’s cameo comeback. Montoya returned and was a championship contender after over a decade away. If the offers had not been there for a return to NASCAR, Allmendinger could have a fruitful second act in a unified series. The ability was there. 

Sadly, like nearly everything in Allmendinger’s IndyCar career, it is a case of wondering what might have been. 

 

Career Retrospective: Mark Blundell

Our Career Retrospective series returns for a fourth year, as we have another batch of past IndyCar drivers to consider. We will look at a few drivers and how they ended up in IndyCar, what they did while competing in the series and how the series changed between the driver's first appearance and today. 

There is another theme in this year's set of drivers. It might not seem obvious, but it will become obvious once we get to the end.

The first part of this three-part series will be on a name who is tied to some famous IndyCar moments, but does not get considering as one of the best of his time. The talent was there and he made waves, but arriving during The Split, this driver did not receive the same exposure had there been one series. He also never raced in the Indianapolis 500. Though he did not light up the record books, he earned the respect of his fellow competitors.

It is Mark Blundell.

Where was Blundell coming from?

Blundell had already spent over a decade climbing the European ladder system, starting in his native United Kingdom. 

Using Formula Ford 2000 success to launch into Formula Three, he quickly was in International Formula 3000, but Blundell did not make a name for himself there. Results were not spectacular and he did not get a shot at Formula One. His big break came in sports cars.

Blundell joined the Nissan Motorsports program in the World SportsCar Championship. Results were good against the Sauber-Mercedes and Silk Cut Jaguar operations, and Blundell took pole position for the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, over six seconds clear of the next fastest car. Unfortunately, the Nissan R90CK could not go the distance and retired from the race. 

While running for Nissan, Brabham took on a testing role with Williams F1. For the 1991 season, Blundell co-opted his testing role with a race seat at Brabham. Teamed with Martin Brundle and strapped with a Yamaha engine, the entire team struggled for competitiveness. Blundell retired from nine of 16 races, did not qualify once and failed to pre-qualify for the Japanese Grand Prix. Blundell did score a point in the Belgian Grand Prix. Brundle only scored two points all season, both coming from fifth at Suzuka. 

Blundell was not retained for the 1992 season, and he stepped away from the Williams testing role to focus on getting a full-time seat. With no spot on the grid, he settled for a testing role at McLaren. He also joined Peugeot for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the race with Derek Warwick and Yannick Dalmas. 

After the sabbatical, Blundell was back in Formula One with Ligier in 1993 and he finished third in the season opener in South Africa. He was fifth in the next round in Brazil. He would finish third in the German Grand Prix and finished the season tenth in the championship. On a one-year deal, he moved to Tyrrell for 1994. He was third in the Spanish Grand Prix, but scored two fewer points than in 1993 and finished two spots worse in the championship.

Sponsorship issues led to Blundell's release from Tyrrell after 1994. In a fortunate break, McLaren came calling for the start of the 1995 season as Nigel Mansell did not fit in the car and could not run the first two races. Blundell also added a role in McLaren's Le Mans project with the F1 GTR. However, Mansell retired for good after two races with McLaren in the 1995 season. Blundell ran the remaining 13 races. He scored 13 points and finished tenth in the championship with his best result being fourth in Italy and Australia.

What did IndyCar look like when Blundell started in the series?

IndyCar was rather healthy. CART had a full grid with sponsors on every car and most a notable name. The series was more than competitive than ever, only a few years removed from Nigel Mansell coming off as World Drivers' Champion. 

CART was a fully international affair with a strong domestic spine. While it had the homegrown likes of Al Unser, Jr., Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy and Jacques Villeneuve, it still had Emerson Fittipaldi while Maurício Gugelmin, Stefan Johansson and Raul Boesel had made roots in the series. Even young drivers like Gil de Ferran and Christian Fittipaldi were finding homes in IndyCar. American Eddie Cheever was early into his second career after a decade in Formula One.

That international flavor was more than the drivers on the grid. Of the 16 races, four races took place outside the United States with trips to Brazil and Australia in March along with two separate trips to Canada. Due to the split, there were only six oval races, none of which were the Indianapolis 500. One of those oval races was in Brazil. There were four street course races and a race ant ann airport. The season began on March 3 and ended on September 8.

Blundell joined right as The Split started. 

The Indy Racing League was starting as a breakaway series to focus on developing American drivers and running on oval tracks. There were a number of opportunities created, but not for the likes of Blundell in mind. That did not stop Blundell from drawing interest from CART organizations. 

When Blundell was not retained by McLaren for the 1995 season and a deal with Sauber fell apart in the 11th hour, an chance to race in IndyCar presented itself. With guidance from Adrian Reynard, Blundell received an offer from PacWest Racing for the 1996 season with Gugelmin as his teammate. Blundell was in one of the 26 full-time entries.

How does IndyCar look now?

There were 27 full-time entries in the 2024 season, and the grid remains rather international. 

The domestic spine is still there but it is not as prominent as it once was. There were eight American drivers that competed in at least 70% of the races this past season. There were 11 different nationalities represented in the top 22 of the championship. 

IndyCar is also changing and looking a little more like CART. Ahead of the 2025 season, a charter system was announced that guarantees 25 entries spots on the grid for every race outside the Indianapolis 500. These 25 entries are the only ones eligible for the 22 Leader Circle spots, essentially a base payment determined by the championship finish from the previous year. Non-chartered teams are allowed to compete in races, but only two spots are available to non-chartered teams at every race outside the Indianapolis 500.

The 2024 season saw 17 races take place over 15 race weekends, 14 of which were run in the United States. There was also a non-championship round held at a country club racetrack in Southern California. Five ovals were on the schedule, two of which hosted doubleheader weekends. There were four street course races. The season began on March 3 and ended on September 15. 

In 2025, the season begins on March 2 and ends on August 31. There will again be five oval weekends, but only one of those will be a doubleheader. The non-championship round will become a full championship race. 

What did Blundell do in-between?

It was not a kind rookie season. Blundell broke his foot in Rio de Janiero and missed the next three races. He was back in time for the U.S. 500 from Michigan International Speedway. For his first 500-mile race, Blundell qualified 19th, the fourth-fastest of six rookies. Driving a rather smart race, Blundell finished fifth, one-lap down.

While he finished fifth at Belle Isle two races later, results were mixed. Blundell ended up 16th in the championship on 41 points, only 12 being teammate Gugelmin. Blundell was the second-best record, but 43 points behind Rookie of the Year Greg Moore.

The 1997 season did not start off with a swift change from the previous season, but he was knocking on the door of victory at Belle Isle only to run out of fuel on the final lap. After a devastating loss, Blundell bounced back with one of the most memorable victories in IndyCar history. On slick tires in Portland, while Gil de Ferran nursed a car home on wet-weather tires, Blundell chased down the Brazilian, erasing a 33-second gap in less than ten laps. 

With a damp track off-line, Blundell was cautious to make a move. He wait until off the final corner and it became a three-car drag race with de Ferran and Raul Boesel. Blundell got to the checkered flag 0.027 seconds ahead of de Ferran and 0.055 seconds ahead of Boesel. 

Portland sparked a second-half surge from Blundell. He won at Toronto two races later and was second in the U.S. 500. He ended the season with a runner-up finish at Laguna Seca and he won the inaugural Fontana race, a 500-miler that saw an intense battle with his teammate Gugelmin as well as Jimmy Vasser and Adrián Fernández. Blundell described Fontana as the best victory of his career. It placed him sixth in the championship on 115 points, two spots and 17 points behind Gugelmin as PacWest took fourth and sixth in the championship, sandwiching Team Penske's Paul Tracy and ahead of both Newman-Haas Racing entries.

Sadly, it was never as good as 1997 after that. Blundell spent the better part of the next three seasons in CART. A testing accident at Gateway caused him to miss eight races in the 1999 season. He never finished in the top five after his Fontana victory. His best result would be sixth at Fontana in 1998. Over his final three seasons, he scored a combined 63 points.

Blundell planned on returning for the 2001 season, but unsatisfied with the lack of personnel changes made heading into that season, he stepped away from the program. He was replaced by a rookie who competed in Indy Lights the year prior, a driver by the name of Scott Dixon.

What impression did Blundell leave on IndyCar?

Blundell is one of those names from the 1990s that remind you how good CART was at the time. Even during The Split, it attracted some top level talent, and after being shuffled around the Formula One grid and missing great opportunities, Blundell could showcase his talent. 

I don't think anyone mistakes Blundell as one of the greatest to ever race IndyCar, but he acclimated himself well to something foreign. His oval skills were incredible, and his ability in 500-mile races were far better than most. As much as we look back on losing the opportunity to see Greg Moore and Alex Zanardi compete in the Indianapolis 500, we also lost the chance to see Blundell run it, and he might have been the best suited for victory out of the three. 

Though he has not been regularly around IndyCar for nearly a quarter-century, Blundell has represented others who have competed in the series. His management company, 2MB Sports Management, has represented Mike Conway, Jordan King and Callum Ilott, three drivers who participated in IndyCar in the previous decade.  

He is more a cult icon in IndyCar circles than anything else. Blundell's success comes down to one season, and not even a full season, half of a season where he won three races. He and PacWest Racing all clicked at the same time, and for a brief moment in time it was one of the most competitive teams in CART. He had plenty of other good rounds, but PacWest did not have the might to remain with Team Penske, Newman-Haas Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing at the front. 

There is a little wonder of what could have been if Blundell had come to IndyCar at a younger age. He turned 30 early in his rookie season. There are not many 30-year-old rookies in IndyCar today. It isn’t rare. Romain Grosjean debuted well into his 30s and Jimmie Johnson was well over 40. Blundell left prior to turning 35 years old. There are not many drivers that willingly call it quits on IndyCar at 35 years old. When you consider his oval ability, he could have had a late-career surge had he been with a good team that switched to the Indy Racing League. If he had received the call to replace Greg Moore instead of Hélio Castroneves at Penske, I don't think he has four Indianapolis 500 victories, but I bet Blundell has at least one. He definitely has more than three career victories as well. 

It is good to have these drivers that you had to be there to see. Blundell got his moment to shine and we saw it at its brightest. If you just missed it, it doesn't seem like much, but it was fun while it lasted. These drivers come around once or twice in a generation. I am not sure who it is for those in the year 2024. Carlos Muñoz? Robert Wickens? Could it be Marcus Ericsson? Maybe we will know in a few more seasons. 

Blundell is not written in the history book for a great day in May or a championship run, but for a brief moment he captured our attention, and it was rightful deserved. 

Career Retrospective: Gil de Ferran

For the third IndyCar offseason, we will look at a series of drivers through a Career Retrospective, taking into consideration how their careers and IndyCar changed from their first start to their last. We will look at where these drivers came from and what impression they have left on the North American based open-wheel series. 

The final part of this year's series brings us to a driver many quietly forget. There is entire generation of the fanbase that will have never seen this driver race, just missing his illustrious but brief career. Considering some of his Brazilian contemporaries, the record book could have looked much different if this two-time champion had not decided to walk away from IndyCar with arguably a decade of a career ahead of him.

It is Gil de Ferran.

Where was de Ferran coming from?

Unlike many drivers, de Ferran balanced a budding racing career with university studies in his native Brazil, which caused him to miss races in Formula Ford competition. It wasn't until he won the Brazilian Formula Ford championship that he started considering becoming a full-time driver.

After success in Brazil, de Ferran earned a move to the United Kingdom to compete in the British Formula Three championship in 1991 where he was third in points driving for Edenbridge Racing behind West Surrey Racing's Rubens Barrichello and Paul Stewart Racing's David Coulthard. De Ferran won three races that season, taking only five races to get his first victory. With that success, and with Coulthard moving to International Formula 3000, Paul Stewart Racing hired de Ferran for the 1992 season.

De Ferran went on to have a dominant season, winning six races and standing on the podium 14 times with his next worst finish being fifth and he had one retirement. De Ferran's season was so strong that a third-place result and that fifth were dropped from his championship total as only a driver's best 13 results counted to the championship. Despite dropped points, he still claimed the title by 46 points over Belgian Philippe Adams. This championship led to a test in the 1992 world championship winning Williams FW14 while Alain Prost tested the FW15C.

It did not take long for de Ferran to find success in International Formula 3000, winning in his second start of the 1993 season at Silverstone. However, retirements hampered his season and he only scored points in three of nine races, but a victory and two runner-up results still earned him fifth in the championship.

De Ferran's junior formula pedigree did earn him a Formula One test with Footwork Arrows at Estoril, but this experience did not go well. He struggled to fit into the cockpit, and he split his head open on a locker door on the side of the transporter. It also did not help that Jos Verstappen was also testing for Footwork Arrows at that time and Verstappen was significantly quicker. 

However, de Ferran's focus was not only on Formula One. During the summer of 1993 he visited the CART weekend at Michigan and was awestruck at the speed and the likes of Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti competing. He also met team owners Jim Hall and Derrick Walker.

With no move to Formula One, de Ferran returned to International Formula 3000 and improved. He did suffer a neck injury in testing, but remained alive for the championship into the Magny-Cours finale. However, a retirement left him settling for third in the championship. Though he lost the title, his future was set. Jim Hall had called him up and locked him up for the 1995 CART season.

What did IndyCar look like when de Ferran started in the series?

It was 1995, so unified. CART was the only series in town. There were over two-dozen full-time entries and the drivers were predominantly from the Western Hemisphere. 

Eight American drivers were regulars while the number of Brazilian drivers were increasing to six drivers. Emerson Fittipaldi had been around for a decade and he was over two decades removed from his second and final World Drivers' Champion. Maurício Gugelmin had found a home after driving in Formula One for Leyton House and Jordan. Raul Boesel had made 120 starts and yet to win a race.

Entering the fray was also Christian Fittipaldi, Emerson's nephew, who spent the previous three seasons driving for Minardi and Footwork in Formula One. Fittipaldi picked up three fourth-place finishes in those machines. André Ribeiro was also new to IndyCar after finishing second in Indy Lights the year prior. There was even Marco Greco as a regular, competing in 12 races between Galles Racing and Rick Simon Racing.

Of the top 21 drivers from the 1995 championship, 19 were from the Americas. The only European drivers mixed in there were Italy's Teo Fabi and Sweden's Stefan Johansson. Arie Luyendyk had stepped away from full-time competition that season. No driver from the United Kingdom nor Spain started a race that season. Franck Fréon was the only Frenchman to start a race. There were no Australians nor New Zealanders in the series. A Dane had never started an IndyCar race up to that point. 

Forty-six drivers started a race over the 17 events that season. Nineteen of those drivers called the United States home. Fifteen different nationalities were represented on an IndyCar starting grid that season. Four different nationalities were represented in the championship top ten. 

How does IndyCar look now?

One Brazilian competed in the entire 2023 IndyCar season: Hélio Castroneves. Only one other Brazilian competed in another event: Tony Kanaan. 

Seven different nationalities were represented in the championship top ten, including four different ones in the championship top five. Fifteen nationalities were represented at some point over the 2023 season, but 13 of those countries had a full-time participant. 

There were eight American drivers that completed every race. Of the top 21 in the championship, only ten were from the Americas. The countries that had been represented in the 1995 CART season that were not represented in the 2023 season include Italy, Chile, Belgium, Germany, Colombia and Austria. 

No past World Drivers' Champion was on the grid, and only four drivers who started a race in 2023 have made at least one Formula One grand prix start prior. Of those four drivers, none of them have won a grand prix. 

Thirty-seven drivers competed in one race this past season. 

What did de Ferran do in-between?

Competing in a Reynard-Mercedes, de Ferran had growing pains, though he showed speed. He qualified in the top ten in each of the first four races, but suffered two accidents and a transmission failure. He had accidents in four of his first six starts, including one that saw him only complete a single lap in his first Indianapolis 500. Things turned in Milwaukee, finishing eighth though five laps down. 

The speed remained there. In the final nine races, he started in the top ten seven times. He won his first career pole position at Cleveland, however, he was still plagued with accidents. The final three races were a swing in the right direction with a seventh at Loudon, though two laps down, but he was second at Vancouver and he won the finale at Laguna Seca, leading 54 of 84 laps. This three-race stretch left de Ferran with 56 points, two more than Christian Fittipaldi, and narrowly handing de Ferran rookie of the year honors. 

De Ferran's sophomore season started like gangbusters, second at Homestead and he had four podium finishes and eight top ten finishes in the first ten races, including his second career victory at Cleveland. He was third in the championship, ten points off Jimmy Vasser at that point. He did suffer a rough spell to end the season, five finishes of 17th or worse in the final six races, leaving him sixth in the championship.

After 1996, Jim Hall retired from team ownership, and de Ferran was rumored for a ride at Stewart Grand Prix in Formula One, but de Ferran moved to Walker Racing for1997. Though he didn't win in his first season at Walker, de Ferran's seven podium finishes were tied for the most with Alex Zanardi, and de Ferran ended up second, 33 points behind Zanardi, in the championship.

There was a lull in 1998. His podium finishes dipped to two, and he had a dozen finishes outside the top ten, including ten finishes worse than 15th. There was a rebound in 1999. De Ferran won at Portland and he had four podium finishes. That July, Roger Penske contacted de Ferran for a ride in 2000, and the duo agreed to terms. Despite this good news, de Ferran's season ended on a sour note. He failed to finish six of the final 11 races and ended up eighth in the championship. 

Team Penske had gone through two seasons of futile when de Ferran joined along with Hélio Castroneves in place of the late Greg Moore. De Ferran set the tone with two pole positions in his first two starts. He won his fifth start with the team at Nazareth and then won three races later at Portland. De Ferran rattled off good results and he took the championship lead at Laguna Seca. He ended the season with five podium finishes in the final nine races and he claimed the title by ten points over Adrián Fernández. 

The title defense began on a strong note with finishes of second and third in the first two races. De Ferran did get to run his first Indianapolis 500 in six years and was competitive with teammate Hélio Castroneves as the two drivers combined to lead 79 laps. Castroneves had the better car that day as de Ferran settled for second. 

Indianapolis success aside, after starting the CART season with two podium finishes, de Ferran had only one top five finishes over the next eight races. He began the final ten races fifth in the championship, 31 points off leader Kenny Bräck. De Ferran went on a tear with four consecutive top five finishes, including three trips to the podium, and he took the championship after Vancouver despite having not won yet that season. 

De Ferran lost the championship lead after the Lausitzring round, but what followed was one of the greatest battles in IndyCar history between him and Bräck on the 1.5-mile Rockingham Motor Speedway in England. They were the only two drivers to lead over the entire race and were nose to tail in the closing laps. Bräck took the lead with two to go, but de Ferran made an emphatic pass on the final lap to claim the victory. Bräck still led the championship after this race with five points between him and de Ferran, but it swung the tide in the title. 

De Ferran led every lap in the next race at Houston and took an 11-point championship lead. A suspension issue ended Bräck's race after only six laps at Laguna Seca while de Ferran was third and saw his championship lead increase to 27 points. A fourth at Surfers Paradise while Bräck finished fifth allowed de Ferran to clinch his second consecutive championship with a race to spare. 

Off-track, Team Penske decided it would move to the Indy Racing League in 2002, meaning de Ferran could not properly defend his championship. It didn't seem to bother him as he began his IRL career with finishes of second, second, fourth and third. He had nine top five finishes in his first 11 starts, including a victory at Pikes Peak. He led the championship entering the final four rounds, but an accident at Kentucky knocked him down to third. He won at Gateway and was a point out of the championship lead with two races remaining. 

The hopes of a third championship in three seasons were dashed at Chicagoland when an accident in turn two gave him a concussion and fractured wrist, ruling him out for the Texas finale though still mathematically alive for the championship. 

De Ferran recovered for the 2003 season and started again with a runner-up result, but an accident at Phoenix in the second race left him with fractures in his neck and back and caused him to miss the Motegi round. He recovers in time for the start of Indianapolis 500 practice, but he struggled getting comfortable in the car. He qualified tenth, but battled pain the entire race. Roger Penske called strategy and placed de Ferran at the front behind Castroneves. De Ferran took the lead while the Penske drivers negotiated lapped traffic in the closing stages. After going through three restarts in the final 31 laps, de Ferran took the Indianapolis 500 over Castroneves.

Keeping up the form, de Ferran had nine consecutive top ten finishes after Indianapolis, including another victory at Nashville. While in great form and working his way to second in points with three races remaining, de Ferran announced he would retire at the end of the season on August 25. Team Penske announced Sam Hornish, Jr. as his replacement in 2004 the same day. 

De Ferran's championship hopes were stunted after two consecutive results outside the top ten prior to the Texas finale. Five drivers were mathematically alive for the 2003 IRL championship entering Texas. Scott Dixon and Castroneves were tied while Tony Kanaan was seven points back in third with Hornish, Jr. 19 points back. De Ferran had a slim hope at 30 points off the top. 

Things started on the right note with a pole position. De Ferran's hope slipped when he was caught in an accident on the front straightaway on lap 98, but he continued with only minor damage. He was able to cycle back to the lead through pit stops as other title contenders started to experience problems. Hornish started leaking fluid and retired. Castroneves and Kanaan had slight contact take each other out of the fight though both cars kept running. De Ferran led but Dixon remained on his heels with an 18-point cushion. 

With 13 laps remaining, Kenny Bräck and Tomas Scheckter made contact entering turn three, sending Bräck's car into the catchfence. Due to the catchfence damage, the race ended after 195 of the scheduled 200 laps. De Ferran ended up 18 points behind Dixon in the championship, good enough for second after all the troubles from the other drivers, but de Ferran ended his career with a victory, though in a sober setting.

What impression did de Ferran leave on IndyCar?

To be honest, this isn't going to be about what impression de Ferran left, but what impression de Ferran could have left. 

I grouped these three drivers, Kanaan, Castroneves and de Ferran, together, one, because they are Brazilians, but they were also contemporaries and the other two are kind of a measuring stick for the career de Ferran could have had. 

De Ferran retired about a month before he turned 36 years old. Kanaan and Castroneves both competed this season at 48 years old. The 1990s and the 2000s were a different era where drivers didn't regularly race deep into their 40s. It was a period where it wasn't uncommon for a driver to step away in his late 30s and move to sports cars, which de Ferran did, but Kanaan and Castroneves are torchbearers for a changing trend, one where it is now normal to see IndyCar drivers competing into their 40s. 

Scott Dixon is still competing and doesn't appear to be going anywhere and he is 43 years old. Will Power is 42 years old. Ryan Hunter-Reay returned to regular IndyCar competition in his 40s. Juan Pablo Montoya returned to IndyCar after 14 years away at age 39! 

De Ferran wasn't forced into retirements, though I suspect the injuries from the 2002 and 2003 seasons, along with accidents like Bräck's, likely helped de Ferran decide to walk away at that moment rather than hang on any longer. His skill wasn't diminishing. This wasn't a driver who had gone years without a victory and been a shadow of his former self. De Ferran was on top of his game. 

There is a world where de Ferran competes for another decade and he is the forerunner for Kanaan and Castroneves. Based on what we were seeing in his mid-30s, the record would likely look vastly different if de Ferran had continued, especially if he had continued with Team Penske. 

De Ferran ran nine full seasons in IndyCar. He won 12 times in 160 starts. If he competed for ten more seasons, de Ferran would have had 166 points starts. He would have been looking at 24 career victories, but that is taking into consideration his Hall/VDS Racing and Walker Racing years. His numbers were better at Penske alone. In 71 Penske starts, he won nine times, a winning percentage of 12.67%. That wouldn't have lasted for a decade, but if it did hold, we could have been looking at 21 more victories, a career total of 33, and considering Hélio Castroneves' numbers and that Castroneves began at Penske at the same time as de Ferran, it is conceivable de Ferran could have achieved that. 

And that is just talking about race victories. This is forgetting de Ferran was already a two-time champion and had just won an Indianapolis 500. Give him another ten years and the numbers in those two categories likely increase as well. 

There are many things to take into consideration. The IRL was still oval-heavy, but it was starting to add road and street courses two years later. It would become a spec-series. De Ferran already had his share of injuries, but I don't think any of that would have slowed him down. 

I am writing this because I believe de Ferran's impression on IndyCar is he is a forgotten driver and yet he is one of 15 drivers to win consecutive championships, and those two championship came during a highly contested, though fractured, era. In his final four seasons, his championship finishes were first, first, third and second and he went to the final with a mathematically shot in the two years he did not come out on top. 

The reverence for de Ferran is not there like it is for Kanaan or Castroneves, and it should be. De Ferran is arguably the best of this Brazilian bunch. 

Some of it is because he lost part of his career to the split. He only made four Indianapolis 500 starts with a five-year gap in the middle. His career was only nine seasons to begin with, but part of the lack of recognition is because de Ferran has been gone for so long. He did have a stint in the television booth and briefly owned part of an IndyCar team. He was recently brought back as a consultant for McLaren, but over 20 years after his final start, it is safe to say de Ferran wasn't a regular around IndyCar, and why would he be? He stepped away from driving and was free to do whatever he wanted. There are many other more important places to be in this world than at a racetrack. He wasn't a stranger but he didn’t have a weekly presence that entire time.

It would be right to recognize de Ferran differently than we do now. I am not saying he must be seen as an undisputed all-time great, someone that should be held higher than 99% of those that came before him, but he should be recognized more than he currently is. He did more with less and it earned him a shot at Team Penske at the right time. De Ferran made the most of it. It was a brief career when taken into consideration, but we saw enough to know how special a driver Gil de Ferran was. 

Career Retrospective: Hélio Castroneves

For the third IndyCar offseason, we will look at a series of drivers through a Career Retrospective, taking into consideration how their careers and IndyCar changed from their first start to their last. We will look at where these drivers came from and what impression they have left on the North American based open-wheel series. 

Part two of this year's series takes us to one of the most recognizable names in IndyCar ever. Forget the 21st century, forget the last five years, this name will be said for decades, perhaps for centuries to come. Success on many different levels has raised this driver above most, but for all of his success, there will always be that one missing part to his career, as unfathomable as it is to think about. 

It is Hélio Castroneves.

Where was Castroneves coming from?

A successful kart driver in his native Brazil, Castroneves moved up to Brazilian Formula Three in 1994 where he was second in the championship to Cristiano da Matta. These results led to Castroneves moving to the United Kingdom to run in the British Formula Three championship with Paul Stewart Racing. 

Paul Stewart Racing had produced the likes of David Coutlhad and Gil de Ferran up to that point and the team had won three consecutive British Formula Three titles with de Ferran, Kelvin Burt and Jan Magnussen entering 1995. Magnussen won the title with Dario Franchitti as his teammate and finishing fourth in the championship.

Castroneves was paired with Ralph Firman at Paul Stewart Racing. Da Matta also made the move and was racing with West Surrey Racing. Castroneves won his fifth race at Donington Park. Consistency earned him third in the championship, only 15 points off champion Oliver Gavin and only seven points off Firman, who won six of 18 races. Castroneves was third in the Masters of Formula Three race held at Zandvoort behind Norberto Fontana and Ralf Schumacher.

Phillip Morris brought Castroneves to the United States to run in Indy Lights with Tasman Racing to join Tony Kanaan and José Luis Di Palma. Castroneves had spotty results in 1996, but eh ended up on the podium three times, including a victory at Trois-Rivières. Castroneves and Kanaan returned to Tasman for the 1997 season. Castroneves won two of the first four races, but Kanaan had better consistency over the second half of the season, going on a seven-race podium streak while castroneves finished 12th or worse in three of those seven races. Kanaan took the title by four points. 

Despite falling short of the championship, Castroneves drew some attention after his two Indy Lights seasons.

What did IndyCar look like when Castroneves started in the series?

Entering his first CART season, Chip Ganassi Racing had just won its first two championships. In 1996, it was with the experienced Jimmy Vasser. In 1997, it was the sophomore Alex Zanardi. Reynard was the dominant chassis while Honda battled Mercedes-Benz with Ford-Cosworth and Toyota hanging in the background. 

Though Ganassi had won two consecutive championships, five different teams had won the CART championship in six seasons.

Team Penske was a few seasons removed from its immaculate PC-23 chassis, which ran the show and won the championship in 1994. The team had gone winless in 1996 and had a slightly better 1997 as Paul Tracy won three consecutive races, but Al Unser, Jr. ended up 13th in the championship. Walker Racing was winning races. PacWest Racing was leading the fray. Forsythe Racing had a young hotshot named Greg Moore. Dario Franchitti was entering his sophomore season. Patrick Carpentier was the reigning rookie of the year. 

The Bettenhausen name was still on the grid as was Patrick Racing, All American Racing and Walter Payton was still a part-owner in Dale Coyne Racing. 

At that time, we were only seven years removed from Rick Mears' fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. We were 32 years removed from the most recent rookie winner at Indianapolis, Graham Hill. Team Penske was the all-time leader in Indianapolis 500 victories with ten while no other team had won more than five. 

The only driver in IndyCar history with ten victories or more and no championship was Paul Tracy, who had 13 career victories at that time.

How does IndyCar look now?

We are coming off Chip Ganassi Racing's 15th championship and third in four seasons. Ganassi's last two titles have come at the hands of a Catalan driver named Álex Palou, who completed his fourth IndyCar season this September. 

Chevrolet somehow won the manufacturers' championship over Honda despite Honda winning 12 of 17 races. Dallara has been the only chassis on the IndyCar grid since the start of the 2008 season.

Ganassi and Team Penske have combined to win 11 consecutive championships. The two teams have combined to win 15 of 16 championships since reunification.

The Andretti name is now on the grid in an ownership role. McLaren is on the IndyCar grid. There is an owner-driver in Ed Carpenter, though part-time on the driving part while full-time on the ownership side. IndyCar has a foreign-born owner in Ricardo Juncos. One of IMSA's best teams for last decade, Meyer Shank Racing runs a two-car IndyCar program, and Dale Coyne Racing is still around, but runs one car in partnership with Rick Ware Racing.

It has only been a little more than two years since we had our fourth four-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Sadly, Al Unser and Bobby Unser have passed away. It has been seven years since a rookie winner. Team Penske has won 19 Indianapolis 500s. Still, no other team has won more than five. 

Castroneves is all the all-time leader in victories without a championship, having won 31 times. The only other driver with at least ten victories and no championships is Adrián Fernández with 11 victories. 

What did Castroneves do in-between?

Before marking his spot in IndyCar history, Castroneves got his break with Bettenhausen Motorsports, replacing the 1997 rookie of the year Patrick Carpentier. Compared to Carpentier and previous Bettenhausen drivers, Castroneves ran on par with them, making the most of mid-pack equipment. He found early success on ovals, finishing seventh at Gateway and a second at Milwaukee. His rookie season ended on a rough patch of retirements, but he moved to Hogan Racing for the 1999 season.

Reliability was Castroneves' downfall in 1999. He showed great speed, qualifying fourth at Homestead and second at Nazareth, but mechanical issues he could not escape. Everything held together at Gateway. After qualifying third, Castroneves ran most of the race in the top five and had a shot at victory before Michael Andretti held on for the victory, leaving Castroneves second. 

After Gateway, he finished outside the top twenty in eight of the final 14 races. He retired ten times, nine of which were down to mechanical issues. Off the track, Castroneves was having funding issues as he was working with Emerson Fittipaldi to raise sponsorship. However, the two-time world champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was falling short fundraising and this led to a breakdown between him and Castroneves. Castroneves was left attempting to negotiation his own ride for the 2000 season, but continuing his career proved difficult. Many top tier riders were taken at the time Castroneves and Fittipaldi ended their partnership. 

Greg Moore lost his life in the 1999 season finale at Fontana. Moore had signed to drive with Team Penske starting in the 2000 season. Due to sponsorship pressure, which would lead to legal trouble for Castroneves almost a decade later, Penske hired Castroneves less than a week after Moore's passing. 

Joining Gil de Ferran at Team Penske, Castroneves' arrival also coincided with Penske adopting the Reynard chassis, abandoning building its own cars for over 20 years. Penske had gone winless in the two previous seasons and failed to have a top ten championship finisher in either as well. 

The 21st century started on a bright note. De Ferran won twice and the championship, but Castroneves won three times, his firstvictory coing at Belle Isle in his seventh race with the team. He would win at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca as well. And so started the rise of Penske and Castroneves. The following year saw Penske return to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1995. The De Ferran-Castroneves duo were more than up for the occasion, and though the speed was not shown in qualifying, Penske had the pace in the race. In his first visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Castroneves proved to be the car to beat and led a Penske 1-2. 

In CART that year, Castroneves again won three races, but he could not match de Ferran's consistency as he won a second consecutive championship. After the 2001 season, Penske switched to the Indy Racing League, and the team immediately went to the front. Castroneves won the second race of the season at Phoenix. The two drivers finished in the top five in each of the first four races. Castroneves won his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 in controversial fashion as race control ruled he was leading when the final caution came out though Paul Tracy was slightly ahead. 

Castroneves had seven consecutive top five to open the season, but a 17th at Richmond set him back in the championship against Sam Hornish, Jr. Castroneves ended the season on strong form and took the championship after a runner-up result at Gateway, being him a point ahead of Hornish, Jr. with two races to go. However, Hornish, Jr. won the final two races to snatch the title for Panther Racing over the mighty Team Penske. 

Over the following seasons, Castroneves remained a championship contender. Outside of 2004 and 2005 where Penske made the most of a substandard Toyota engine, Castroneves was in the mix. He led the championship into the final race in 2006, only to finish fourth in the race and drop to third in the final championship standings, two points off the Hornish, Jr.-Dan Wheldon draw with Hornish, Jr. winning on count back. 

Castroneves continued to be a regular race winner. In 2008, he had eight runner-up finishes, the second-most all-time. He became the sixth driver with at least 15 top five finishes in a season, and yet, Castroneves fell short in the championship to Scott Dixon, who won six times.

As Castroneves was winding down his glorious championship effort, the Internal Revenue Service charged Castroneves with tax evasions relating to income earned from his first contract with Team Penske signed in wake of Greg Moore's death. The trial forced Castroneves out of the car for the start of the 2009 season with Will Power hired to substitute for the Brazilian. 

Castroneves was acquitted in April, and a little over a month later, he won his third Indianapolis 500, but his absence for only one race opened the door for increased competition at Team Penske. Power became a full-time driver in 2010 and immediate was fighting for championships. Castroneves struggled for a few years as Power took over the spot as team leader. Castroneves rebounded in 2013, keeping up consistency though not winning an abundance of races. It left him with the championship lead with three races remaining, but a disastrous Houston doubleheader cost him the lead to Dixon. In the finale, Castroneves could not overtake the New Zealander.

Though he finished second in the championship in 2014, form started to drop off for Castroneves. He went winless in 2015 and 2016 while Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud were two of the top drivers in each of those seasons. Josef Newgarden joined Team Penske in 2017. Castroneves continued to rattle off top ten finishes, and he even won at Iowa, his first victory in over three years, but he was third-best in the team as Newgarden took the title. 

Penske created a succession plan and announced Castroneves would move to the organization's IMSA sports car program with Acura starting in 2018, reducing his IndyCar appearances to Indianapolis one-offs. 

In IMSA, Castroneves, paired with Ricky Taylor, took a season to work out the bugs though they won at Mid-Ohio. Year two saw consistent finishes but no victories. Year three started poorly with three consecutive retirements. Castroneves and Taylor then went on a tear winning four of five races with a second mixed in. Despite another last place finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring finale, the Brazilian-American duo won the 2020 IMSA Daytona Prototype international championship by one points. 

While succeeding in sports cars, Castroneves still had a fondness to be in IndyCar. He had a few good days in his cameo appearances at Indianapolis, but it wasn't enough. After 21 years together, Penske granted Castroneves a release and the Brazilian moved to Meyer Shank Racing, starting out as a part-time driver in 2021 before a full-time role beginning in 2022. 

The MSR-Castroneves partnership would begin at Indianapolis with about 135,000 spectators allowed into the facility during the pandemic. Qualifying eighth, Castroneves quietly hung in the background in the top five. He slowly picked off the positions one at a time and after the final round of pit stop he was running in the top two with Álex Palou. Castroneves remained on Palou's backside and on the penultimate lap, Castroneves took the lead into turn one. He was able to hold off Palou and became the fourth driver to win four Indianapolis 500, the fastest Indianapolis 500 at an average of 190.690 mph. 

It started well, and Castroneves was confirmed for full-time in 2022. The magic did not continue beyond Indianapolis. In two seasons, his best finish was seventh and he finished outside in 30 of 34 races, including 15 consecutive finishes worse than tenth to close out his full-time career.

What impression did Castroneves leave on IndyCar?

Castroneves is the last IndyCar superstar. He is the last driver the causal viewer could pick out if they saw him on television. Times have changed and television viewership habits have changed, but Castroneves being invited to participate on Dancing with the Stars meant something in 2007. No driver in 2023 is getting on the current equivalent. Castroneves had that pull. 

It wasn't revolutionary. Castroneves wasn't on billboards all across the country and on every other commercials. Castroneves wasn't bringing two million additional viewers to each race and when he stepped away from full-time competition the viewership dropped off. That did not happen, but he had some standing beyond the IndyCar bubble, something no current driver could pull off. 

That is beyond the racetrack. On the racetrack, Castroneves amassed a terrific career, and yet something is lacking. 

Four Indianapolis 500 victories will never be denied. That milestone is the dream for every driver. Joining the likes of A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears is company no one would turn down. Castroneves did it and then some with 31 victories, one of 12 drivers to break 30 career victories, and yet Castroneves never won a championship. 

The careers of Hélio Castroneves and Denny Hamlin in NASCAR are rather identical. Both drivers won each series' most historic race at a historic level. In the overall victory totals, they are at the top, but a championship has not quite gone their way. 

It wasn't for a lack of trying. Castroneves as championship runner-up four times. He lost a toe-to-toe battle with Sam Hornish, Jr., ran a historically good season concurrently with Scott Dixon running a historically good season and then threw a championship away in 2013 before being a distant second to his teammate Will Power in 2014. 

Though a championship is missing, Castroneves had 14 top five championship finishes in 22 seasons. He was in the top ten of the championship 18 times. The only time he wasn't in the top ten were his first two seasons as a full-time driver and his final two seasons as a full-time driver. It was rather remarkable his level of consistency for two decades. 

A lack of a championship hurts him in the overall discussion of drivers, especially when teammates were beating him. During his time at Team Penske, five teammates won a championship. After reunification, his winning percentage dropped off, from 11.578% from 2002 to 2007 to 7.05% from 2008 through 2017. The only season he won multiples time after the introduction of the DW12 chassis was 2012, the first season of the chassis. He had a pair of winless seasons in 2015 and 2016.

Compared to contemporaries like Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Will Power and even Josef Newgarden, and Juan Pablo Montoya, and perhaps soon even Álex Palou, it is hard to make an argument Castroneves is ahead of any of them. Indianapolis 500s alone cannot solve all problems. Yet, when he stepped away from IndyCar, Castroneves still was on the top of his game. The IMSA title and subsequent sports car success confirms that. The man won four Indianapolis 500s and three 24 Hours of Daytona. The only other drivers to win each race multiple times are Montoya, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser, Jr. 

Considering his consistency and that consistency occurring at the highest level, one cannot help but imagine what Castroneves' career was like if the funding was there to remain in Europe after the 1995 season. Perhaps he was good enough to make it to Formula One. There was stiff competition on the rise in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but everywhere Castroneves has gone he has made a living at the front and his speed has been undeniable. 

What ifs aside, Castroneves had a wonderful career, and no one would turn down four Indianapolis 500 victories if offered, but it is rather perplexing puzzle of blemished greatness.

Career Retrospective: Tony Kanaan

For the third IndyCar offseason, we will look at a series of drivers through a Career Retrospective, taking into consideration how their careers and IndyCar changed from their first start to their last. We will look at where these drivers came from and what impression they have left on the North American based open-wheel series. 

There will be a theme in this year's drivers, and they each share something very obvious. A few of these drivers are at the very end of their driving careers while one has been out of IndyCar for a generation. However, their decisions show a stark contrast a few years can make in how a career plays out.

In part one of this three-part series, we will dive into the most beloved of the drivers, the one that makes every current fan smile, but also makes everyone a little sad that we have likely seen his final race. A past champion who overcame tremendous heartbreak on and off the track, but one who ultimately got his glorious day in the sun, this driver spanned the split and then some. As he is about to enter the next phase of his career on a timing stand, he remember his time in the cockpit.

It is Tony Kanaan.

Where was Kanaan coming from?

After winning karting championships as a teenager in his native Brazil, Kanaan went to Europe to compete in the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries for a partial season in 1993. That led to a seat in the Formula Opel Nations Cup, competing for Brazil, finishing third with teammate Luis Garcia at Estoril. 

The following year, Kanaan was full-time in Italy, competing in the Formula Europa Boxer, where he won the championship. He moved to the Italian Formula Three championship in 1995. Though he won a race and was fifth in the championship, and Kanaan moved to Indy Lights in 1996, joining the Tasman Racing organization. 

Paired with Argentine José Luis Di Palma and fellow Brazilian Hélio Castroneves, Kanaan got off to a slow start in Indy Lights. Though he was runner-up in his second start, it was his only finish better than seventh in the first five races. However, in the final seven races he went first, fifth, 19th, 24th, second, second and first. It was not enough to overcome the consistency of David Empringham, but it raised Kanaan to second in the championship.

Kanaan returned for a second Indy Lights season. His best result in the first five races was fifth, but a streak of seven consecutive podium results, including two victories meant a ninth in the season finale would seal Kanaan the championship by four points over his teammate Castroneves while Cristiano da Matta made it three Brazilians in the top three positions. 

With an Indy Lights championship, Tasman took Kanaan to IndyCar for the 1998 season. 

What did IndyCar look like when Kanaan started in the series?

Like many drivers we have done in this series, it was during the split. 

Somewhat the final highpoint for CART, the series had 19 races. It competed on four different continents. Eight of 19 races were on ovals including oval races on three different continents. 

His debut was at Homestead, qualifying 18th, the top rookie. Next to him on row nine was Bobby Rahal. Directly ahead of him was Bryan Herta. Greg Moore started on pole position, the first of Moore's career. Twenty-cars started that race. Of the 29 drivers, including Kanaan, seven hailed from Brazil. Only the United States produced more drivers (ten).

Kanaan's second race was at Motegi, his first street race was Long Beach and he raced at Nazareth and Rio de Janeiro all in the first two months of his career.

Due to the split, Kanaan's first Memorial Day weekend in a top flight series was at Gateway, but the race was on the Saturday as the Indianapolis 500 was held that Sunday. There were 28 starters in that Gateway race. Including Kanaan, there were four future Indianapolis 500 winners while two past Indianapolis 500 winners competed in that Gateway race. 

Less than 24 hours later, and about 240 miles away, 33 drivers representing seven countries took the green flag at the intersection of 16th and Georgetown. Only two past Indianapolis 500 winners were in that starting field. Including the eventual winner, there were only two future Indianapolis 500 winners competing that day. 

Milwaukee was the week after the Indianapolis 500, though a CART event. Other events of note during Kanaan's rookie season were Cleveland, Michigan, Vancouver and the series ran its first race on the streets of Houston. The season concluded with races at Surfers Paradise and Fontana, a season finale that took place on November 1. 

How does IndyCar look now?

Of the 19 races on the 1998 CART schedule, eight are on the 2024 IndyCar schedule. The only race from he 1998 Indy Racing League season that will still be on the schedule in 2024 is the Indianapolis 500. 

Long Beach is still in April and Indianapolis is still Memorial Day weekend. Portland has gone from middle of June to late August after being Labor Day weekend for a number of years after over a decade absent from the schedule. Mid-Ohio has shifted from August to Independence Day weekend. Laguna Seca will be in June after a spell in September after being off the schedule for nearly 15 years. 

Road America will technically be in springtime but in June. Gateway will be a night race in August. Toronto is the only international race on the calendar. Milwaukee returns in 2024 as a doubleheader race weekend on Labor Day weekend and will be two weeks before the season finale, a street race in Nashville to close out the summer.

Last season, the grid had 27 cars compete full-time and the grid should remain the same size in 2024. Among those drivers on the grid include Graham Rahal, son of Bobby Rahal, and Colton Herta, son of Bryan Herta.

In Kanaan's final start, the only other Brazilian in the race also made his IndyCar debut at Homestead on that March afternoon in 1998: Hélio Castroneves.

What did Kanaan do in-between?

Kanaan's career could almost be broken into three parts. 

In CART, Kanaan had spurts of speed driving for midpack teams. After his rookie season with Tasman, the team withdrew from CART despite Kanaan ending up ninth in the championship with a pair of podium finishes, and comfortably taking rookie of the year. He moved to Forsythe Racing for his sophomore season in a third car alongside Greg Moore and Patrick Carpentier. 

Kanaan held his own in the organization, and placing himself at the right spot at the right time to win his first race at Michigan after Max Papis ran out of fuel, and Kanaan was just ahead of a charging Juan Pablo Montoya at the checkered flag. The victory and 11th in the championship was not enough to keep him at Forsythe, and for the third time in three years, Kanaan switched teams. 

He went to Mo Nunn Racing and it was the first bit of stability in Kanaan's career. There were good days, but victory was out of grasp over his three seasons. Mo Nunn was the man to bring Kanaan to Indianapolis for the first time, and he led as a rookie before being caught in some oil dropped on the track and sending Kanaan into the barrier. 

After years of promise, Kanaan finally caught a break when Michael Andretti and Kim Green purchased Team Green and moved to the Indy Racing League.

Phase two of Kanaan's career saw him switch series, focus on oval racing, and establish himself as one of the best in the series. His first full season in the IRL saw him win for the first time in nearly four years, and he was third in his second Indianapolis 500 appearance. This laid the foundation for one of the most historic seasons in IndyCar history. 

In 2004, Kanaan completed every lap in the season, the first driver in IndyCar history to complete every lap. On top of that history, he won three races, scored 15 top five finishes and his worst result was eighth on his way to taking a dominant championship. 

For the next four seasons, Kanaan was always in the championship battle, regularly winning races and showing great speed at every track. His greatest competition came from within. In 2005, Andretti Green teammate Dan Wheldon ran the show and there was daylight between Wheldon and Kanaan in second of the championship. In 2007, Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 after Kanaan lost the lead when the race was restarted after a rain delay only to be called early due to another storm. Franchitti led the championship from there forward, but Kanaan stayed in the mix and had a shot at a second title in the finale. 

After Franchitti left, Andretti Green faced greater struggles as Kanaan became the most experienced driver while surrounded with youth in Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick and Hideki Mutoh. The team dipped and Kanaan flirted with moving to Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2009 season. The Brazilian remained loyal to Andretti, however, Kanaan went winless that season for the first time since 2002. 

Under new branding, and with Ryan Hunter-Reay as teammate, Kanaan lifted Andretti Autosport back to the top step of the podium in 2010, and he won at Iowa. However, financial issues forced Kanaan out of the team he helped make a powerhouse. 

Thus began the third phase of Tony Kanaan's career.

It looked like it would begin at de Ferran Dragon Racing, a team co-owned by Gil de Ferran, Jay Penske and Steve Luczo. However, late funding issues saw the program close up shop and about a month prior to the 2011 season opener, Kanaan was without a ride. 

Too good of a talent to be out for long, KV Racing, with increased sponsorship from Lotus, picked up Kanaan a week prior to the first race at St. Petersburg. With no time for testing, Kanaan hopped in and finished third in the season opener. Ending up fifth in the championship, Kanaan locked down a ride for multiple years. 

Kanaan continued to show his pace, though victories were not coming at the same rate as in prior seasons. There were a few close calls, he was third at Indianapolis in 2012 and was on the podium at Milwaukee and Iowa later that season. 

Of all the Indianapolis 500s for Kanaan to win, he of course won the most frantic event we had ever seen. The race where the number of lead changes shot up to 68 after never breaking 40 in the prior 96 editions of the famed event, and Kanaan won it with a daring pass on a restart moments before the caution came out for an accident with three laps remaining. 

When Dario Franchitti suffered his career-ending accident at Houston, Chip Ganassi Racing came calling a second time, and there was no denying Ganassi on this occasion. Kanaan moved to the red #10 Target entry over five years after it was first offered. Kanaan had six podium finishes that season, his most since 2008, and it culminated with victory in the Fontana season finale. 

While being a top ten championship driver, Kanaan could not match the output of Scott Dixon at Ganassi. He would not win again in his next three seasons with Ganassi and he was shuffled out at the end of the 2017 season, leading Kanaan to move to A.J. Foyt Racing for 2018. Kanaan went through his worst results since 2000. In two seasons, his lone top five finish was a third at Gateway in 2019 after catching a caution before his final pit stop.

After two turbulent seasons, Kanaan stepped back from full-time competition, running only the ovals for Foyt in 2020. In 2021, as Jimmie Johnson joined the series to run the road and street courses for Ganassi, Kanaan returned to the team to run the ovals. This led to a third at Indianapolis as a one-off entry in 2022. One final Indianapolis opportunity came this year with McLaren, ending up 16th after being stuck in the middle of the field throughout all of practice and qualifying.

What impression did Kanaan leave on IndyCar?

Without a doubt the most beloved IndyCar driver of the 21st century, Kanaan has a level of admiration few in IndyCar history few have ever received. It will always remain curious how a boy from Salvador, Brazil became the darling of Speedway, Indiana, especially during a period when another Brazilian was winning the race with regular frequency while Kanaan could not quite conquer the famed race. 

However, the perseverance is likely what enamored everyone with Kanaan. We knew he was talented. We knew the skill was there. We didn't need a victory from Kanaan to prove his skill level, but we all wanted him to win to fairly be recognized in the annals of history. 

Beyond being a driver, Kanaan's personality was affectionate, making it easier to love the driver. Quick to a joke or a prank, Kanaan showed himself as a character everyone wished they could hangout with, and all the other drivers loved him. He had the respect of his peers, and it translated beyond the paddock to the fanbase. 

Kanaan became a fixture on the grid, someone we could always count on being there. Even through the uncertain points in his career, Kanaan found a way on the grid. When the de Ferran Dragon Racing deal fell apart over the winter of 2010 and 2011, it felt inevitable somebody would hire Kanaan. He was too good to be left behind. 

Sure enough, KV Racing stepped up and fielded Kanaan. That wonderfully rash move after the collapse of a deal led to Kanaan's Indianapolis 500 victory. For a driver who had so much heartbreak, his greatest moment of joy stems from a near-unfathomable moment when it looked like he would be out of IndyCar altogether and all too soon. 

Kanaan's longevity cannot be overstated. He debuted in 1998. His final start likely came in 2023. He didn't miss a race from June 2001 until July 2020. He shattered the record for most consecutive starts, reaching 318 consecutive starts, 107 more than Jimmy Vasser's previous record. Of course, Scott Dixon has since broken the mark Kanaan set, but Kanaan raised the bar further than anyone had thought was practical. 

There is a complexity to Kanaan's career as it spanned the split and reunification, and his career's peaks and valleys correspond with the political make up of American open-wheel racing. 

In 93 CART starts, he won once with six podium finishes and 16 top five finishes, 13th most during that five-season span, though he had an average finish of 11.9. 

From 2003 to 2007, Kanaan started 80 races and he won 12 times, second only to Wheldon. His 36 podium finishes were the most in that timeframe while his 55 top five finishes were 11 more than Wheldon in second. Kanaan's average finish was 5.7875. 

In the final 12 full seasons of his career, he won four times in 203 starts. He had 36 podium finishes, tied for fifth most during that span, but he is tied with Dario Franchitti, who only ran in half of those seasons. Kanaan's average finish over those 203 races was 10.8522.

The other sharp contrast in Kanaan's career is he won 17 races. Fifteen of those victories were on ovals. His two road/street course victories came at Sonoma in 2005 and Belle Isle 2007, prior to reunification. After reunification, he only finished in the championship top five twice, 2008 and 2011, both prior to the introduction of the DW12 chassis. 

Undoubtedly a talented driver, Kanaan's record once everyone was racing together and in a chassis where he didn't have a five-year head start compared to some of the competition does change the perspective of his career. Still an admirable career that anyone would take, he was not the same dominant driver once the balance of tracks tipped into more road and street events and the competition intensified. 

On-track success aside, there isn't a driver that is more cherished in modern IndyCar than Kanaan, and not many drivers have cherished the fanbase more than Kanaan. Always embracing the supporters, Kanaan was a welcoming ambassador for IndyCar, and found a way to connect with many. 

Though his driving career is over, Kanaan will remain around, having found a role as sporting director for McLaren. His presence will continue for years to come, and it does not appear Kanaan is going anywhere anytime soon. We will all be better off with him around.