Kanaan alive for a revived Indy car triple crown at Pocono

Tony Kanaan had to have known this particular question was coming.

As the only driver in Sunday's Pocono IndyCar 400 eligible to win the Fuzzy's Triple Crown - a challenge comprising three races on oval tracks sponsored by Fuzzy's throughout the Izod IndyCar Series season - Kanaan is also the sole driver capable of taking home the $1 million bonus for winning each of the three races.

"Why don't we say what it would mean to win the Triple Crown? Why do we need to say a million dollars?" Kanaan joked when asked about the potential cash prize after Thursday's practice session at Pocono Raceway. "A million dollars is always welcome, I have to say."

The Pocono IndyCar 400 is the second leg of the Fuzzy's Triple Crown. Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500 - the triple crown's first race - in May, and the challenge will conclude with the MAVTV 500 on Oct. 19 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

If any driver wins two of those races, he'll receive a $250,000 bonus.

Sunday's race at Pocono marks the first time the track will host an open-wheel race since 1989. Indy car racing previously had a triple crown of 500-mile races from 1971 to 1989, comprising the Indianapolis 500, the Pocono 500, and the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, in its first nine years.

Ontario closed in 1980 and was replaced by Michigan International Speedway, but Pocono's dropping off the CART-sanctioned Indy car schedule after the 1989 season ended the triple crown's run.

During that triple crown's existence, only one driver won all three races in a season: Al Unser in 1978, winning his third of four Indy 500 titles along the way.

"You think of all the years it ran and how few guys - how few guys - had a chance to go for it, it's not an easy task," said Brandon Igdalsky, president and CEO of Pocono Raceway. "Especially now with how the competition is nowadays, where anybody can really win on any weekend."

Kanaan got off to a solid start Thursday, trailing only Marco Andretti for the fastest time in practice sessions.

Last week, Kanaan arrived at Pocono Raceway for a practice to test the track. The Brazilian said he took his rental car out for a few laps around the three-turn oval dubbed the "Tricky Triangle" and felt confident in tackling a track he'd yet to race on.

It wasn't until Kanaan got behind the wheel of his Indy car that he realized the challenges the track offers.

"It took me a little while to learn the track," he said. "They don't call it the 'Tricky Triangle' for nothing."

Each of Pocono Raceway's turns is modeled after turns from a different racetrack. Turn 2, for example, has characteristics of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, utilizing nine-degree banking.

There are varying degrees of banking for each turn, which requires drivers to best prepare their cars for just one of those turns.

"You have to choose to have a car good in one of the corners and have to put up with the rest," Kanaan said. "That's what we're dealing with."

Pocono will also mark the 207th consecutive start of Kanaan's career, putting him within four of Jimmy Vasser's Indy car record.

But Kanaan views money he hasn't won yet and records yet to be broken in a similar light.

"Anything can happen," he said. "Let's not get too excited."

Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco.

What: Open-wheel racing returns to Pocono's 2.5-mile triangular course after a 23-year absence. The race is 160 laps for 400 miles.

Where: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa. Phone: 570-646-2300 or 1-800-722-3929.

When: Sunday, start time is 12:15 p.m.

TV/Radio: 6ABC, noon; IMS Radio Network affiliates (Sirius and XM 211), noon.

EndText