Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Kanaan’s focus still on winning with IRL title in sight

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004 | 10:19 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Tony Kanaan needs only to finish fourth or better Sunday at California Speedway to clinch his first Indy Racing League championship, but he will be racing for the win on the 2-mile oval in Fontana.

Sort of.

"I'm going for the victory," Kanaan said before adding a qualifier. "But, obviously, I'm not that stupid to throw it away just because I see the situation of winning the race. If I feel I have the car to do it, I will.

"If you watch the last four races, the people, they keep talking about the championship but I keep racing for the win; I keep racing for the finish. But obviously, in the back of my mind, I always try to evaluate how good is my car and how much I need to save the car to win or if I don't have a car to win to finish wherever position I feel I have the car to do it. That's the way I'm racing right now."

Kanaan, who has not finished worse than fifth since the season opener and has three victories, holds a 75-point lead over Andretti Green Racing teammate Dan Wheldon with two races remaining.

Although he is one quarter of Michael Andretti's four-car operation, Kanaan said he doesn't expect "team orders" to come into play Sunday to help him clinch the championship.

"One thing nobody can say is we're having team orders because I could have won the championship right after Nazareth if they had called Dan in Pikes Peak and Nazareth to let me finish ahead of him -- which didn't happen," Kanaan said. "The last race (at Chicagoland Speedway), I could have finished second. (The team) could have called Bryan (Herta) and asked Bryan to let me by. Didn't happen."

And that's just the way Kanaan said he wants it.

"In my mind, to be honest with you, I want to win in a fair situation," he added. "I don't want anybody to give it to me; I want to get it because I'm capable to get it. I know I am. I know my team is.

"This point, I really think I'm in a very comfortable position in comparison to Dan because I have everything he has and he has everything I have. It's just going to be a matter who gets it right. Actually, he needs to catch up a lot more than I do."

Kanaan said battling one of his teammates for the championship hasn't been awkward because all four drivers get along and work together so well.

"I would say we've been working as close as we did before," Kanaan said of Wheldon. "There is nothing to keep us to telling each other things. The friendship, it's the best it's ever been. We spend a lot of time together. So it's going to be a matter of what he can do to catch me and what can I do to run away from him."

For Kanaan, Sunday's race will rekindle memories of the 1997 Indy Lights campaign, when he entered the final race of the season at California Speedway with a 12-point lead over then-teammate Helio Castroneves and emerged with a four-point lead and the series championship.

"I remember walking into Fontana in '97 ... on Sunday morning (and saying), 'I won't get out of here today without a championship in my hand.'

"It's a special place. For sure, it's a deja vu, thinking what I had with Helio. Hopefully, (this year) won't be as painful. I blew a tire, had to come in and make a pit stop, which is not very common in Indy Lights because we didn't make stops. Hopefully, it will be easier."

The Supermodifieds will compete in a 40-lap main event, scheduled to begin at approximately 8:50 p.m. Also on the racing card Saturday night will be IMCA Modifieds, ASA Speed Trucks and Thunder Roadsters.

Spectator gates open at 6 p.m., qualifying will start at 6:15 and racing is scheduled to begin at 7:15. Admission is $15 for adults and $4 for children ages 6-12.