Indy Racing League officials changed their mind and decided to penalize Tony Kanaan for disobeying race control instructions at the end of last weekend’s IndyCar Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
IRL president Brian Barnhart said Kanaan, who was leading the Gainsco Indy 300, will be held out of the first 30 minutes of today’s practice for not pulling out of the racing line prior to the restart with three laps to go.
Barnhart, who is in charge of all on-track activities, said he shared his disappointment with Kanaan.
“We were pretty upset with him,” said Barnhart, who initially said he wouldn’t penalize the Brazilian.
Kanaan denies being told to relinquish the position. He knew there would be congestion behind him, but he felt he gave enough room for others to pass him cleanly on either side. As soon as it was clear the race would remain green for that lap, he said he got out of the way.
“I followed my team orders and stayed out to see what would happen,” he said. “If the IRL had wanted to pull me in, they had plenty of time to do so (under caution).
“What if the race restarts and somebody crashes (in the back of the pack)? There’s a yellow flag and I probably finish (higher). Points toward the championship are really important.”
Kanaan finished eighth. Paul Tracy is proceeding as if he no longer works for Gerald Forsythe.
Tracy said that because Forsythe has not met terms of their multiyear contract, he is pursuing other options to continue driving race cars.
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