Tony Kanaan enters his third season as Team Principal with Arrow McLaren after helping guide the team through its most successful era since returning to full-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. In his role, Kanaan oversees all of the competition team, including driver development, race execution, competitive performance and strategic direction across the Indianapolis-based organization.
The 2026 season marked another significant step forward for Arrow McLaren, with Kanaan helping direct a campaign that saw the team record five victories, 10 podiums and third- and fourth-place championship finishes.
Kanaan joined Arrow McLaren in 2023 to compete in the Indianapolis 500, the final race of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES driving career. Following his transition from the cockpit to team leadership, he served in several key roles, including Special Advisor and Sporting Director, before being named Team Principal into the 2025 season.
Born in Salvador, Brazil, in 1974 and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Kanaan is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished drivers in INDYCAR SERIES history. Kanaan moved to the United States at the end of 1995 to compete the following season in the Indy Lights Series. Tony finished the 1996 season in second place and was crowned Indy Lights Champion in 1997. In 1998, he graduated to the CART/Champ Car Series and soon established himself as one of the fiercest competitors in the series, earning the 2004 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship and victory at the Indianapolis 500 in 2013.
Across 26 seasons of INDYCAR competition, Kanaan made 389 starts - the fourth-most in series history, while producing 17 victories, 79 podium finishes and more than 4,000 laps led. He also holds the INDYCAR SERIES record for consecutive starts, making 318 straight race appearances across the 2001-2020 seasons. In 2004, Tony was the first driver in INDYCAR history to complete every possible lap of a race season, logging 3,305 laps, a record that stood for 18 years.
A fan favorite throughout his career, Kanaan remains one of the sport's most recognizable personalities and maintains one of the largest social media followings in the paddock.
Away from racing, Tony enjoys traveling, working out, racing simulators and spending time at home with his wife, Lauren, and their four children. He is a dedicated runner and cyclist who has competed in several triathlons, half-Ironman and Ironman competitions, finishing most recently the 2022 Kona Ironman under his previous time. In 2018, Tony moved from Miami to his now adopted hometown of Indianapolis.
