Couple of quick things before we get into the episode. First off, this was shot live on site up in Tony's sim garage, so the audio quality isn't what we usually do. We use lav mics instead of our normal studio setup. We are up there. Check out our Instagram. We dropped a video racing with Tony.
It was incredible. Uh number two, if you could please leave an honest review of this podcast, it helped us grow. Spread the good word about the Hoosier State. Preferably if it was five stars, that would be awesome. But please leave a review right now. Help us grow.
And three, I hope to see you out in turn three of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. We have so many cool sponsors, Dadwater, we've got Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Moontown Brewing. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. We're really excited about this. Swing through. Someone could be walking away with $2,000.
We've got a huge prize wheel. Uh, it's going to be a really, really good time. All right, now let's get into this exclusive episode with Tony Kanan. From South Bin to Evansville and everywhere in between, this is Get In, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. DK man, I'm really excited for this.
Uh, obviously, you know, worldrenowned indie car driver. What is it? 2004 series champion, 2013 Indy500 champion, 2014 24-hour Daytona champion, uh, 15. 2015. Oh, almost got some committed to memory. I'm I'm bad at dates, too.
I I could have said yes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Um, so obviously an illustrious career in Indie car. I think the one thing that's interesting, especially the more drivers that I meet, is that like at when you retire, when you move on to different things, you could go live anywhere. You could be back in Miami, you could be in LA, where I came from, right?
Yeah. Um, so I think it's really cool that you have elected to call Indianapolis and Indiana, central Indiana home. Um, so a little bit I want to get into is is kind of like your tie of how you ended up in Indiana. Obviously there's a couple fun stories and the way that you've not just been an indie car driver, a celebrity that happens to live here, but an actual community member. Like I heard the story of you running the the Indie Mini like few times. Yeah.
A few times. Right. and being involved with other nonprofits, boards, things like that. Like actually being a member of a community and you know like I think one thing about Indiana is people like to make an impact like the the big community members here do. So I would love to know a little bit about your journey and how you've uh really become ingrained in the central Indiana culture. Well, it started it go back to I'm going to be 51 this year.
So 1984 um even before 82 I started watching races with my dad at home back in Brazil on TV. So basically our routine on every Sunday it was watch the F1 race the Formula 1 race in the morning because of the time difference and the Indie car races are we're only an hour difference from where I lived. Was Indie car big in Brazil in your family or everywhere or like was racing? pretty much racing is the second biggest sports after soccer, right? So really so we had Senna in Formula 1 and Emerson Fidi and Indie car and they're both winning a lot and in my country we're very passionate and then very um territorial about Brazilians doing well. So started watching races and and dad and I dad loved uh racing.
Never raced in his life and and then he start he took me to a couple Formula 1 races when they went to Brazil. And then we used to watch go-kart live go-kart races in the local go-kart track and interos which is one of the most famous uh tracks around the F1 circuit. And one day I asked my dad for a go-kart and um he gave it to me and then I started it. Right. So, um, why Indie? Um, start racing, start winning quite a bit in go-karts.
Where was the moment that you realized like it's I think I loved racing go-karts, you know, like for like a birthday party when I was 12, but like where did you realize that this is like a profession you could go pursue? So, my dad is such an expensive sport and and it's so defined that you like it's hard to make it, right? I mean, and and I'm a believing proof that I'll tell some people the story a little bit that anybody can make it if you put the effort in. No matter how much money or less money you have, you have to grind. But that said to me, we went to the go-kart track. I start testing for a year.
I didn't race for the first year. I was really I was seven and just getting prepared and getting to know the go-kart. So, at the end of that year, it was 84. Dad said to me, "Do you want to race?" I said, "Yes." So he said to me, "Well, if that's what you want to do, you need to commit to it."
And the commitment was basically, and you have thousands of examples of successful athletes that you just give up pretty much everything apart from school. So I had no life uh apart from going to school and every day at the go-kart track. So that commitment there. How old? I was eight. Eight years.
Yep. this is what I'm going to do. So basically it was school racing school working out for racing school eating healthy for racing school going to bed early no potties or obviously as 8 years old you don't do that but but no birthday parties like Saturday afternoon I had no weekends every weekend where the racetrack so that's where it started and then I had to be because I think in a way I mean I have four kids three boys and a girl They my oldest is 17 he contemplated in racing a while ago and when I gave him the same path he he he didn't want to do it which I'm fine with it so I said you know what that's what I want to do I committed to it and dad saw how serious I was so we started I won uh six championships in a row u back home but like six Brazilian go-kart champions Brazilian go-kart champions that's sick um but during the time that got uh extremely really sick. He got cancer. Um and unfortunately passed in 1988.
So I started in ' 85. How old? You were 11. I was 13. 13. Yeah.
So but the night he was he was ill for a while like cancer, you know, he was battling quite a bit and on and out of the hospital on and off. Um and I obviously kept racing. We we we had to go on with life. But the we had a race on a weekend and then race weekends is like Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But on a Thursday I came back from the track. I went home and my mom says hey um your dad want to talk to you but he was in the hospital.
He was sick but not like anything for me it was normal that he was always on and off. Um and I went to see him. It was a Thursday night. Um we sat down and then we start talking. He says hey how was your day? How was testing?
How's the go-kart? I said, now we're pretty fast. So, the race is looking good this weekend. Um, and I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come back from the racetrack. We'll talk about it.
So, before I leave, he said, "Hey, u, you know, if something ever happens to me, you got to promise me two things." I said, "Sure." Says, "You take care of your mom and dad, and one day you win the Indy500 for me." So, I said, "Yeah, Dad. Come on. Why are you talking about that?
You obviously you're 13. You don't process any of that." Yeah, I went home and uh woke up on Friday morning. My mother was home and told me that actually he he passed that night. So he was battling quite a bit. I think he in in my view I think he just chose to stop suffering to be honest.
Um and I had a race that week and um I told my mom I'm like look um this is the conversation I had. She goes yeah I mean before he went to bed she put it like that to me. She says he told me to remind you where you guys talk. So I Okay. So I went to the track that weekend I started on the pole won the race uh and and from then on obviously I started to grind and that's how my Indie 500 and Indianapolis story started which I didn't know if it was going to be what was going to happen. Right.
Well I do want to talk just briefly before we get into the next piece of it. Okay. Um so I uh I lost my mom to cancer when I was 19. Um, and I I there's this similar thread uh as I go around and talk to more people that have like gone and committed to a passion where they like understand especially when they lose a parent at a young age, they understand the the finite amount of time you're promised on earth. And like a lot of times like some of the most successful, wildly crazy people that I meet are driven by the fact that they've someone that they've loved or someone dear to them um has passed away early on and they're like this is precious. I have to go take advantage of this, you know.
How much do you think that like I mean obviously it plays in a ton and the conversation you had with your dad. Have you noticed this kind of that similar% and honestly I think the way my dad the approach my dad took which obviously I realized that much later was I remember vivid that he was 41 right so every time I walk with him on the trips to the hospital and and at the time we're pretty we're not like billionaires but we're pretty wealthy for Brazil. So he was doing well with his business and so we're like mid to high class. Yeah. And um walk into the hospital he will always tell me take the time to have fun and enjoy your family because look at me. I'm not taking anything with me if something happens.
And I think that you know according to a lot of my friends I live today as intense and you can ask anybody that knows me. It's I live today and and today is going to happen everything today and then if I wake up tomorrow if it didn't happen yesterday it's going to happen today. So yeah 100%. And um I think that is something that I don't know if that is any because as you went through yourself losing a parent or anybody that is close to you is probably the worst thing that can ever happen to you. Um, and if you can take something positive about it, I think dad actually tried to tell me like, "Hey, don't do it like me." Because dad worked all the time.
I barely saw him. Uh, he used to come to my races, but during the week, yeah, I would he would get home, I would be in bed, he would leave home, I would be I was not awake yet, right? So, um, that gave me a little bit more balance. Yeah. I mean, and that's interesting coming from like like you talk about being eight and committing your life to racing, but also in the back of your head knowing that like, hey, if no matter what happens when you're 40, when you're 30, whatever, like having that balance, I mean, especially as you have four kids now, but I can still balance that with being a champion and giving everything to your profession and your craft, right? But but to me nives it's a fine line because I'm not here I'm not saying I lived probably the most selfish self-centered life because to be successful you you have to do that and with that comes with a big price right family kids anything you you don't have all the time and me saying that if you think oh no I I chose not to go to a race weekend to spend with my kids that's not what I'm saying but I think with the example of my dad I was able to understand that even though he wasn't that present, he was such a figure to me and set an example that sometimes you have parents, they're there, but they're not there.
You know what I mean? So, how important that is. So, to me, the the the price of not me feeling guilty. I wasn't I have four kids. Two of them I wasn't with my wife when they were born. I was racing and she wasn't she was went in labor by herself.
And I came back and met my kid. I didn't fly back. I you know like that is some people wow so rude or so selfish and but my dad set an example even though not being there all the time with my kids I think growing up they all I mean my youngest it's six but you set other examples of commitment how serious you're going to be and then you have to think about yourself but also take care of your family but also to me it was a a pretty good balance So I'm when I'm with them, I am with them because also that is not a lot of times and sometimes you see parents there but they're Yeah. Cuz the worst thing you can do is like be at a race thinking about your family or be with your family thinking about a race. I that's what I'm saying. That's that's when the fine line of the the top high-end athletes if you look it's a pattern like Tom Brad I mean Tom Brady says it is like coincidence.
Yeah. It's like you have to give up your life. Like if you want to match what he's done, you have to be willing to give up everything. And some people I respect, some people are not willing to do that. And and and my wife and my family are all on the same page. Yeah.
It was never a question. It was never a burden to say, "Hey, you're not going to be here." It is what it is. We live, breathe, and and and and live our lives. And and that's so came first. That starts at 13, right?
Like you're winning these go-kart championships. You just lost. So I was I lost my dad and then the promise was there. So that now that is pretty heavy, right? So you're like cuz he's I'm And was there a blueprint? Like did you know what you had to do to get there?
Well, but that because then obviously like I said, we're we're pretty good financially, but then a year later we lost everything. We had a family. My dad put his brother to take care of the business that we owned and it was a family trouble. was we I don't speak to my father's part of the family. They stole everything and and then so basically we lost. Only thing we had left was the apartment that my mom, my sister, and I lived.
So I had to quit school to go work on a go-kart track to help to support my family, make some money, but also have the equipment to go racing. So I never finished school. I um I stopped I was in eighth grade. Um eighth grade education, but I stopped at fifth, came back and I tried. So, but basically, yeah, I that's that's I only have up until 8th grade, which uh it's not a good example to my kids or any other kids, but it was not because I chose to. Yeah.
Um I used to take a public transportation, two of them, which granted in Brazil is not as sophisticated as is here, which still um we're, you know, it was two buses, an hour and a half to get to the racetrack every morning at 6:00 a. m. and two buses to come back. But so you grow up real quick there. Oh, I mean that was obviously I would say 14 because it took a year for the things to fall. Yeah.
And then my mom was 36 at the time. Never worked. So couldn't really find a job at 36 is what your resume. So found a job with a friend of mine that used to own a few nightclubs and bars and obviously the it's a it's a cash business and so she was in charge of the cashiers to it was somebody that my friend trust but my mother worked from 11:00 p. m. to 6:00 a.
m. So and my sister and I had to just grow up. And I know um a lot of times to really excel in racing like a lot of times you have to leave home and go race around other places. So that that that's what happened then. So when I was um 17 I so I raced go-karts one did a couple uh Brazilian series and race cars but at the end of 92 I um I was out of job. I didn't have a a race to car to race, but I was still teaching kids how to go-kart.
So, I was making a living out of working at the go-kart factory. I got an invitation um to go to Italy to do a test to race on a Formula 3 car, which is kind of a today probably close to a um an Indian kind of thing. A little bit kind of like a developmental series. It is. So, it's at the time was Formula 3, Formula 3000, Formula 1. Today is Formula 3, Formula 2, Formula 1, right?
Um, which still thinking about America, but the opportunity was there. So, I was at a go-kart track on a Friday afternoon. Um, got a phone call from Nelson PK, which it was a a very famous F1 driver and an Indie car driver. Back in the day, it was a phone call on a like a phone, a real phone line. Yeah. Yeah.
Line. And then I I was at the racetrack. I went up um to the racetrack and you have all these local shops that prepare go-karts near the track like here in India the race shops are here. So somebody came down says hey uh Nelson PK is on the phone which is like it's kind of like telling like hey Payton Manny is calling you like yeah right. So I go upstairs I I answer the phone now says hey I have a friend Italian team owner that wants a Brazilian race car driver because Brazilians are fast blah blah blah. I said, "Well, yeah, and while we got to go to Italy tonight," I'm like, "I don't have any money."
She said, "Well, figure out." So, I called a couple friends. They bought me a ticket. No way. I went home, told my mom, which you can imagine working all day long. My mom worked.
I said, "Mom, uh, I'm going to Italy tonight." She goes, "Yeah, yeah, all right. Stop joking." Said, "No, it's true, but I'll be back Monday morning." So, I went, flew all night, Friday night, landed in Rome Saturday morning, went straight to the track. That's the beauty of being young.
I could never jump in a race car after a 16- hour flight, right? Um did the test Saturday and Sunday was the fastest and um so on Sunday uh the team owner there said, "I want to hire you. Um I can give you a full season in my car, but I don't have money to pay you. So, you need to figure out how to live." I said, "Well, then I'm sorry. I got to go home.
I don't have any money." And he's like, "Well, let's figure something out." So, call a couple sponsors at the time. Um, you know, I had a couple guys that would give me a little bit of money to live. I moved to the race shop. I lived at the shop for 3 years.
I had a a mattress, a near mattress on my boss's office that uh the deal was every morning I would wake up and deflate, put it away, and I spend the whole day uh at the race shop. So, I had a you know, a way of living. Um and and we went racing. So uh that's how I started it. So I spent that was in '92. 93 end of 92.
So 93. Then I spent three 93. Yeah. Three years in Europe trying to make it to for still living in the shop. What was the cultural difference there from Brazil to Europe like Italy? Italy is Italians you know and we're Brazilians.
We talk with our hands. It was pretty similar. But I went there I spoke zero Italian, zero English, anything. So learned pretty quick because living in a race shop every day with people only speaking that language. So I speak fluent fluent Italian actually a lot better than English. Um and um yeah and that's how I learned.
I never really study. I've learned how no Dolingo back in. No no no. And obviously people make fun of you all as I was learning. You know you you mix things up. My kids are bilingual by birth.
So, uh, they don't think I really speak English. You can like and they speak with no accent both languages. But when you learn it as a at an older age, it's, um, it's not the same. But anyway, um, so at the end of 95, I um during 93, if people know about racing, Ayon Senna was a big deal in Brazil, was a race car driver Senna. uh he he actually died on a car accident, a Formula 1 accident in '94. This guy helped me throughout my career.
But then at the end of 95, during the 95 season, I was doing Formula 3 still trying to make it to Formula 1 and back home, the CEO of Philip Morris at the time, Malber was a huge sponsor in racing, right? So, but back in the day, um he knew my story and my story with my dad and about the Indy500. So they were Emerson was still here for the PY and and a bunch of Were you telling people you're like you're you're now on a career in racing. You've been doing it for three or four years. You're like my goal is to win the Indy500 because I promised my dad I was going to do that 100%. But like at the time I had no choice.
So I had was that the right path? No. what what I was doing in Europe to come here. But I had to make a living and then I have to start, you know, said, "Hey, we'll figure out." I love to tell the story to kids that think it's, "Oh, it's too difficult." Or, you know, somebody asked me the other day, "What was what was your plan B?"
I said, "It was plan A. It was never a plan B. You know, it was going to work." Well, and it's like I think if you look at it and analyze it and like a career coach would be like, "Oh, you want to win the 8500, you need to get to America." But there is some some benefit in just momentum in general like racing you know like you're taking the opportunity. The approach that I took was yes I got to go there but to go there somebody needs to know where where I'm at and just sitting at home saying this is what I want to do.
So if you keep racing and in a performance environment that like we are you win somewhere somebody will notice or not. So I said I need to keep racing and winning that's going to give me a better chance. It was never guaranteed. What was what was the next? So obviously the big break of getting a seat and like you're you're sleeping on I mean I'm I'm I'm obviously summarizing because we we would need 10 hours of a podcasting but um yeah I mean 3 years living in a b in a mattress on the floor I'm not bragging about it but it was not that fun you know and you know I was you want you want to go home 17 there were days 100% and there are days that you look around and says why am I doing this and I'm there sleeping on a race shop at night they the shop was in a remote area I was 17, couldn't drive, uh, didn't have a car, didn't have money to do anything. So, they would basically lock me in at 6:30.
I had a video game, but and and then they unlocked the shop at 7:00 a. m. And my friends back home are partying, girlfriends, and I'm like I was like a I don't know, whatever you want to call the loser at the time, but I had the goal. But yeah, of course, I wanted to go home, but every time I had that thought, I remember my promise, right? So yeah, it I always had a choice and I I will never forget that uh a friend of mine just told me says look, you got to your mind's going to play games with you, but think about this. The easiest thing to do is to go home.
Anybody can do that, right? And also think about your only 12 hours from home. If you really get fed up in 12 hours, you'll be home. And but it never obviously never did. So end of 95 somebody knew a CEO of Fib Morris knew my story and they are starting to help some Brazilian drivers to come to Indie car. He calls me and says so I had that is a part of the story that I'm going to have to tell.
I had an offer to race in touring cars basically the Audi's the Mercedes living in a race shop zero money I had a I lived I my salary from a sponsor was a thousand whatever Italian which is thousand bucks right now so I really didn't have to pay any bills so I was totally fine I got I was pretty successful in Italy I got a proposal from this the Audi went from the manufacturer to race and I got put an a contract in front of me for two years, $2 million, a house that would be mine, and an Audi RS6, which is one of my favorite cars ever. You guys can Google the car. I'm like, where do I sign? So, I I took the contract and and had to ask an opinion for to from a friend of mine. Same day I get a call from the CEO of Philip Morris which was a you know was my sponsor at the time but a close friend also and a mentor saying hey this is the deal we are going to Indie car to help some drivers go to Indie car.
The program is to do indie lights which is indie next for two years full pay on the team and then first year you learn ovals this second year when if you win we'll take you to Indie car great I'm in no but hold on we're going to test 10 drivers and we're going to pick two I said but so no there's no guarantee I said he said no I said but Richard his name was Richard said I have a $2 million contract in Audi and house it's like I'll never forget it says Um, welcome to the adult life. You're going to make tough decisions in your life. You can choose $2 million. So, I went to bed at that time. I mean, and I tell the story not that I and I said, "Dad, I mean, I need help. Obviously, I'm not looking for something.
Drop a glass or knock like none of that." I said, "Just give me if I wake up in the morning, give me the clarity somehow to make a decision because I mean, it didn't make any sense. It was nothing." and just a try and like and I woke up and and really not that a sign came a a light or nothing. I was just like, you know what, I have nothing right now. I have nothing.
My dream and my promise was there. So told the guy no the audi Yeah. never spoke to me again. Um cuz now you can say like hey just wait and see if I make this or not and then I'll come back. It's like No, no, no, no. I I I He says, "No, either you."
I said, "And he offered me more money when I went back." He says, "So," and then then actually that pissed me off at the time because I'm like, "You're Why do you didn't offer me that money before?" It was two and a half. Like he went up um spoke zero English, never been to America, so no, packed my bag, which is much simpler now. When you live in a shop and you had one bag, that's all I had. I'll leave the air mattress.
you have for your next they bought a plane ticket for me to go to Phoenix cuz we were testing there. I call a friend of mine Ruben Barello which race an indie car and Formula 1. I speak zero English. Can you give me like how do I say hello? Not hello but like where's the bathroom? I'm hungry.
So I wrote in a piece of paper took off from Milan straight to Phoenix. Landed in Phoenix and went. So, it was this test. 10 guys showed up. 10 Brazilians. Um, I was the fastest and the second fastest was a guy that you probably don't know him.
He's not that famous. Alio Castron. Um, maybe we've heard of him before. He's the other Brazilian. So, but he he was wait just he was second fastest that day. But, and I can brag about that all day long, but I have 185 and he has four and maybe going to five this year.
So, that's fair. But still, it's our podcast. Yeah. Yeah, the second. Well, he's an avid listener, too, so I'm sure he'll hear your I'll make sure he watch if he doesn't. Um, so that's how so landed in Phoenix did the test.
They chose both of us. So you do get it, which that's insane. Like talk about like full circle moment. But by the way, we raced our entire lives together since I was eight. Oh, we had Were you like rivals or friends? Both.
We were best friends and we went from that all the way through 2007. We didn't speak for 3 years and now we're just two old people that cry about stuff that we've done, kids and we're really good friends. Good. So, we spent Christmas, New Year's together. No, no. The entire Alio wasn't from, let's say, Indie.
Alio was from, I don't know, um, Newcastle and he would to come race in S. Paulo all the time, right? And, uh, and so he stayed in my house. We no we did everything. That's wild that two guys like while you went to Italy what was he doing? He went to England and then we met in India lights.
That's pretty crazy. So I won a championship in India lights. So fast forward we get the job. Now we moved to Columbus, Ohio. Booming metropolis. Zero zero English.
I mean I spoke zero English. And at the time I'm like and I had he was the richer friend. He had a car and he lived on a two-bedroom apartment. Um, and and we're divided by a like the highway and we had the bridge. So, he lived in one side of the bridge. I live not under the bridge.
Guys would do that in Brazil, but not here. And my apartment was a one like just a onebedroom that you know the bed that goes up and down. And if I brought my bed down, I could not cross my apartment without jumping over jumping over the bed. And and the whole time you're like putting your bed down, you're like, I turned down $2. 5 million. No, no, no.
Hold on. I went from a mattress on the floor to a bed that you know and it was awesome because I never had to make my bed. I woke up, flipped up, it's done, right? So, don't do that, guys. Um, and we had a blast. I mean, I spoke zero English.
I made a fool of myself plenty of times with my mechanics. Was in the shop every day. Um, and then one time I asked one of my mechanics, I said, "Dude, I got to, you know, do I go to an English school, I I need to get better." It was like, so it was January, the championship started in March. Alio spoke English because he went to England. I spoke Italian.
My mechanics, the best way to learn English, you got to find a girlfriend, an American girlfriend. And at the time I'm like sure no car spoke zero English there was no internet to Walmart no internet you got to go out. I don't drink. You really needed Tinder and you needed Duolingo. Correct. Well well Tinder will do it cuz I mean the language it's just a detail but like it was none of that.
So anyway um actually I find a girlfriend and um in what's your pickup line? You walk, hi, me, Tony, you, race car driver. It was probably something like that. But the funniest part was we had a lot of time. I I was young and he spent time at the shop. But during the day, I really truly learned English watching back in the day CMT and with actually Gart Brooks was my best teacher because country music it's easy some kind of but I used to watch the videos with the subtitles on.
So, I'm a huge Gart Brooks fan and uh he was my free English uh teacher. He walks up to the girls says, "Blame it all in my roots." Yep. I showed up in boots. Yep. And I became a Brazilian cowboy, I guess.
But um yeah, that's how he started it. I won the championship in 97 and Indie Lights. For Indie Lights. Yep. Finished second the first year, won the championship in 97. Alio finished second.
We both moved to Indie Car in '98, but Indie car was split between cart and IRL at the time. It was the the year that was split. So I did not come to the IRL. So Cart, which is they both called Indie Car. It was so confusing. Thank god you're not remembering.
That means uh basically Indie Car kept the Indy500 and the other series kept nothing. Big news for my friends over at Hope Plumbing. Now Hope Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling. You heard that right. They are now your one-stop shop for home services. Offering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical.
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go to hook plumbing, heating, and cooling and start saving today. Now, let's get back into the show. So, from 98 to 2002, Mhm. I raced an Indie car, but never did the Indy500. So, I obviously uh lived in Miami and go ahead. Well, you say how how upset were you?
It's like, okay, I'm in Indie Car now. Like, I'm so close to my dream. And then it's like, and by the way, like you don't get to race in the Indy500, right? It's it's like but the story of my life, right? So, you go, you know what? Of course, that was gonna happen.
But at the time, I'm on a top series as well. I mean, Cart actually at the time was arguably still a little bit higher. Tony George had started the series, so we were were stronger, more famous, blah blah blah, but never nothing like the Indy500, but they had one race, our other races were pretty. And at that point like like did you know I like all the indie car drivers I've talked to it's like winning the Indy500 trumps everything. I know but for me I already told you the story that it started when I was 13. For me it was just the Indy500.
I if you had say I'll take everything away from you but I'll give you the 8500. I'll take your arm off please. Here take take you know. So for me it was everything. So but again you got to be racing to be able to have an opportunity. So at the end of 2000, no in 2002 I was still racing in cart but the team that I was racing was doing both series.
So during that time a little pause on that I promised that I was never going to walk into the speedway if I was not going to be in a race car. So drove by never step a foot in. You're I said I'm walking in to drive otherwise I'm not going to go visit. I I watch you on TV but physically I wanted to cross that tunnel because I was going to be in a race car. So it was kind of hard. I you know I didn't live here.
I lived that's why I moved from Columbus to Miami as a typical Brazilian. Uh the shop was in Columbus still. I got the opportunity, the invitation to do a one only IND500 in 2002 with my team. I was racing full-time, but the IND500, it was obviously a separate race and nobody booked anything, so I got the opportunity to do it. Drove in the best feeling of my life. My first race there, started fourth, I was leading with a 10-second lead.
Um, and a back marker blew an engine in turn three. They delay a little bit to call the yellow. I was the first car through the oil, exploded in the wall, and my day was over. And that's how my quest for the Indie 500 started. Went back to cart that year. At the end of 2002, Michael Andred bought the team that he owns.
He used to only he just sold it, but Andredddi racing, Andred, whatever they call invite me. and he was retiring the following year after the 8500 invite me to hire me to race for him and I was going to be his replacement now in Indie car. So now I was going to be fulltime doing the IND500. So in 2003 I became, you know, full-time IRL at the time. Mhm. And then we can talk about from 2003 to 2013.
This catches us up in Indiana. Yes. So well in Indie Car anyway. Yeah. which at the time my trips to Indie was very often the shop was here but I lived in Miami. Okay.
So, and that takes you through in 2004 you win the series with Michael. Yes. Take us through you win. So, spoiler alert 2004 you win Indie Car. I won the championship. I would say how did how did the Indy500 go?
So, here we go. So, I think that is more of a what the story is. Yeah. was very successful in the car. Started in 2003. Uh finished um 2003, finished third or I we need to look.
I don't know. 2003. It's going to be uh Jamie, what what did what did DA finish in the 2003 in the Indy500? Ind 2003 Racing for Michael. Strong team. First race of the year in Phoenix.
Start on the pole. uh won the race right away. Three races in is the Indy500. Um I was started pretty strong, finished third. Okay. You're getting there.
You're still And at this point, you're like in your 20s. Uh yeah, I'm going to be Do guys do the math. But yeah, that was 20. So you're still Okay. Yeah, we're we're heading in the right direction. No, no, no.
Now I'm in. Right. So 2003 finished third. 2004 win the championship, finished second. So 2005, wait, wait. I have to ask the question.
2004, would you would you flop the series for the 500? I I will flop the anything for the 500. You tell me whatever you wanted to tell me. Would And do you think that is um synonymous across like all drivers like most drivers? A 100%. Because obviously a championship is a huge accomplishment because you got to be consistent.
You got to be India. You have one shot Sunday. That's it. And it's like honestly winning a championship might mean you you're the better driver consistently all year round, but like you just want to be good that one day and win that thing. It's like that important. That's what I always said.
You know, I always came so close until I won, but but never close enough. And the championship, it's a big accomplishment, but I have zero doubts if you ask any race car driver. Yeah. They would not choose anything else, a championship or race apart from the 8500. You're like, "So, you get the trophy at the end of the year." You're like, "Cool.
Thanks. Got to go back and I mean, obviously, I was happy, but again, I never left the speedway ungrateful that what had happened that day." I was always like, "My day will come. All I need to do, like I did my entire life, I got to be there and I got to be close. It might happen and might not." So, for people that don't know, I won the 513.
We're talking about 2003. So, that was 10 in the 500s, right? 11 actually. So throughout that those 11 years I finished third, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, crashed the races, 200 laps. If you combined until I won the laps that I had led, it was more than 200 more than the entire race. Um I had my dramas huge crashes leading at rain, they restart the race, somebody passed me at rains again, they cancel.
So we should you name it. Um, so it got to a point that now Indie knows my story. Indie knows my passion for the Speedway. I've never had They know the story too of like from my dad. Now, now I'm becoming obviously you talk about it all the time and the fans I'm becoming a fan favorite because I was very well known for one of the best guys out there that have not won, which is not really a cool feeling. I don't know if you right.
So you try, you try and then disappointments and disappointments after disappointments. So my mentality, I'll keep trying, right? I was never hold anything against the racetrack. In the meantime, um, back to what I do for the community because that ties to the story. In 2009 during the month of May, we do a lot of uh community uh things for the community. I had you had you relocated to India?
Not yet. That's how the story starts, right? So being coming back and forth from Miami, Indie like made me feel like the most famous person on earth when I was here. Um, I was so grateful for the support every year from the fans at the speedway, the people around the city, like, man, you got to you're going to do it. Like, it was always an encouragement. Um, and I always tried to give it back when I was here to do something for the community.
I wasn't leaving here yet. During the month of May, we visit Riley. My dad obviously passed away with cancer. We visit some cancer kids there. We went there in the afternoons to play with the kids and talk about racing. give them a little bit of a a fun time, right?
I wasn't a dad yet. It's becoming a lot harder nowadays that you relate a lot uh seeing parents there. But anyway, um at the end of the day, I was at the racetrack. My mother when I was eight gave me this good luck charm saying to wear around my neck. This is going to protect you when you race. You know, moms are you got to race slow.
She always told me, "Mom, that doesn't work." So, I kept I had kept that my entire career. Obviously, I was eight. I has I had grown, so I couldn't wear around my neck anymore. I always had it on my pocket. The day of the speedway, we tested.
I had to rush to Riley to do the appearance at the end of the day. Took my driver's suit off. It was in my pocket. It was going to go to to wash. So, I took it out, put it on my jeans, rushed to the hospital to do the event for the kids. We did the event.
While I was leaving, one of the nurses says, "Tony, would you mind going to the first floor because some kids cannot even leave their rooms, get up?" So, I go up and in one of the rooms, it was this young girl laying down in a coma, actually, induced coma and the mother was right beside her. I walked in, I said hi to the mom. I saw some pictures of her. She was playing softball, had a stroke, um, and she was going to go to surgery the next day. So, they didn't, it was very unknown.
And then I'm talking to her. I have a habit of putting my hands in my pocket. So I was talking to her. I put my hands in my pocket and I felt the good luck charm. So I said to her, I said, "Look, I don't know if you believe in this or not, but I told the story. My mom have gave me this.
I actually I want to give it to you to protect your daughter. She's going to surgery tomorrow." She took it. Girl went to surgery. Very successful. Survived normal life.
It's 2009. We need to pause that. At the end of um at beginning of 2010, month of May, I walk into the speedway, somebody said to me, Tony, you have to do one of the interviews for the month, the opening day. Used to be the whole month, if you guys remember that. Now it's the whole month, but the whole month at the track. Um, I get to do an interview with this indie car reporter that worked for the series and we met.
She was a she is actually a female and we kind of fell in love and this is my She asked some good questions, huh? She was I was completely I'm not very shy to do interviews and I was completely and there is a picture out there maybe u we can give it to you to people can say the way we looked at each other without even knowing each other somebody took the picture that day just because I think you can tell and uh we've been together for 18 years but that's met my wife inside the speedway she is from Indiana so that's another tie there right but you're still bouncing back and forth between Miami and here yes and and I did that we didn't move here until before co okay I we now I'm dating my wife who was wasn't my wife yet her family is here we even more times come here on you know east where'd she grow up in Indiana Cambridge city which is for me for a Brazilian coming from a big city training for an Iron Man and I told her I needed to do the long a long run while we're visiting her parents she said I had to do three laps around the city it didn't sound good coming from Brazil and S Paulo It's I couldn't get a grip.
But yeah, obviously worked uh in Indie car and lived in India at the time. Um so we met, started dating. At the end of 2010, I was racing for Michael. I had a six-year contract with them with him. He fires me at the end of the year. Some sponsorship related, but I still had a contract, but he said I couldn't pay you.
So that was the last race of the year. I was out of job. at a job. Um, and then I'm like, man, like you know, you get mad, you feel sorry about yourself, you ask the universe, why me? And those kind of things that, you know, that's not typical me because um, so in December, I'm like, you know what? Uh, maybe that's it.
Like what what had been since winning the championship in 2004, had there been big moments, accolades? Have you been like in the mix but not quite there like No, for the 500 I was in the mix every year. Yeah, but I never I finished second, third, fourth, fifth, crash. I mean I was I led more than 200 laps. So I was there every it was not one race that I was not competitive. Yeah.
At Indie no matter what team I raced. So it was just at the time I was only with Michael and we were pretty strong there. I had I was on the pole in 2005. I almost didn't qualify in uh I think it's 2008. started that last led the race with 10 laps to go finish nine. So like but then it came to the point I was like maybe it's not it and I get fired and you feel bad you I'm mad and so my girlfriend my wife at the time you know my girlfriend at the time but it's my wife now says to me you know what you got to think about it but you want to she going to be a loser she's pretty hard on me she's going to be a loser and then when you're no longer here you going to confront your dad somewhere you explain to him why you're feeling you feel sorry for yourself and it pissed me off and I um I work a lot better when I'm mad.
So I said, you know what, fine. So I went back to Brazil to find some sponsorship to be able to come back to Indie car. All the good teams and November everybody that is good is already set like we're already planning a five year ahead now. Yeah. Right. So went back, found some money, came back to the states.
There was no good teams or like established teams left. Um, talked to Jud Faron, which is a good friend of mine, had passed away unfortunately, but we didn't have enough money to race for his team. Jimmy Vasser, which was a a race car driver, good friend of mine, had a team and we struck a deal a week before the St. Pete race. miss all the testing everything we went through that year finished fourth at the 500 with the smallest team in India and that's like a big thing where I don't know what the total number is but usually the top couple teams win the 500 and win the series like correct there's a few so bringing like in a smaller team to do well to get top four like that's hard to do so yeah really hard and then then I'm not saying you know I was better than anybody else but I was good at that track and it was a good combination. The team was small but we had good people.
So that was 2011. So at the end of 2011, the last race of the year was Las Vegas. My alltime my best friend Dan Weldon dies. It took a big toll on me. And I remember sitting in pane balling and I said, "F this. I'm not going to do this ever again."
Here comes my wife says, "I understand you're grieving. I I understand your your suffering now. You can quit, but then when you're no longer here, you're going to have to talk to your dad and then Dan is going to make fun of you because you're a chicken." Like, Jesus, why why are you going to say that, right? So, she sounds like a a keeper. Well, I I I uh that's 18 years.
I I you know I used to say I joke with her a lot because you know you say good things happen to good people. I I said I don't know what I did right to deserve her but I don't know what she did wrong to deserve me but that's on her. Uh, soon as she finished talking about that, my all-time engineer, my engineer, Eric Cen, good friend of mine, engineer me Indy Lights, we won the championship, engineer me in 2004. I won the championship through all my 500s, but when I got fired, he was still there. We were no longer working together in 2011. He was a Pensky, comes to me and says, "This is BS."
I And we're both like commiserating. And I said, "You know what? If we're going to do this, we're going to just do this together and have fun. If we're not going to be this is too risky, too. You know, you're contemplating. So, the end of 2011, I go to G I go to Eric, which is at Penske.
Our shop was probably not bigger than this. And we had 10 10 guys. And I took him out of Pensky to come work for a one car team, very unstable, and three more guys that work with me and Andre. And I said, "We're going to do this, but we're going to have fun." So, found some funding for 2012 for the whole year, but we are underfunded. Finish start third at Ind are you like when you finish third, are you happy or are you like I'm not happy, but like are you No, never.
You're just you're pissed. I was grateful that I was always there, but it's like come on, right? Never held it against anything against the track. The crowd was always supporting. But it's like I remember the most annoying question this month was, "Do you think this is your year?" No, not really.
I just wanted to participate again, you know, make Yeah. So, I was I was running out of bronze medals. You know, I need to get a few more of those. At the end of 2012, the sponsors that tried to help me for two years, you know, you say, "Man, I I got fired." They're like, "Sorry, TK. We can't keep doing this.
It's too expensive." So I go to Jimmy and say, "Jimmy, what do we do, man?" My boss at the time and with Eric, my engineer, they go, "Well, the race to win is the 500. We don't have money to do the entire year. How about this?" We had 4 million bucks, I think.
Let's spend the money up until Indie. And if we don't win Indie, we all go home. We'll close the doors. So we bought a new car in December 201 12 and prepped that car the entire winter prep. I mean you put the side pots and you level like it's it takes a lot. It's an art.
It's not just you buy a car and you filled millimeters like it was four races before Indie and the championship. So I had two cars but the Indie car was getting prepped in the other car. So I could not crash my primary car because I could not use I did not want to use Yeah. my Indie car, my other car. So we managed that come to Indie the whole month and that year because I knew now nobody knew this but we did. Technically was going was going to be my last one, right?
Because we knew we didn't have money to continue. So I I took a different approach. I said, "I can't put that pressure, but if it's going to be my last one, I'm going to enjoy things that I didn't in the past." It took a big toll on me the whole month. I was always focused. I was never rude to my fans or but I wasn't 100% present and enjoying other things that came around the so I enjoyed the parade.
I enjoyed all the visit every single appearance. I like I want to take it in because if I don't get to do this again at least I went from being miserable focused the whole time for all these years and then I enjoyed. We put the car on the track. We work on the race car the whole month. We are not even in the top 10 a single day but always working for the race because the race is different than qualifying. So the car wasn't one lap fast but it was really fast in the long run.
We qualify 12. Nobody's talking about us. The news is always like, "Oh, people are fast." Tony Kanan was just not there. Um, Saturday parade, we do the parade. I go back to my bus.
My uh PR at the time, my personal relationship comes to my bus with an envelope. Says, "Hey, uh, somebody dropped this off for you. I um it's you can open it. Okay. So, I open an envelope. It's a letter.
Dear Tony, this is Andrea. You probably don't remember me. The girl that I had the surgery and it was on and on. I got to think about it because every time I tell the story, it gets tough. But she says, "I've been looking." It's the girl.
Yeah, it's the girl. Four years later, right? Three three and a half years later. um been watching in your quest for the Indy500 and how hard it has been. Um I'm doing really well. I got married.
Uh blah blah blah. Here's your uh good luck charm back. Put it in your pocket. This is the year. So this is the year. Put it in my pocket.
If you guys ever watch the the the end of the race uh in the podium, that's what I do. I pulled it out and and that thing became the most wanted. good luck charm and life people go. We got thousands of letters and and that became even like a not a problem but like I we had to decide. So anyway, got that won the race. Um okay, wait.
Let's won the race. Like we might need to double click into that a little bit. Yeah. So it goes yellow. Five laps to go. Where are you sitting at?
Second. Been here before. It's like plenty of times. So then I go, it's going to go green. Two laps to go. So Jim is in the radio with me, my boss, saying, "TK, it was a very uh um like it it was the most passes the the fastest Indy500 until then, most passes for the lead."
So Jimmy's like, "You don't want to lead on the start because you're going to get passed on the last lap and you might don't win the race." I go in the said, "Jimmy, I don't care. It's going to be all or nothing. I'm going either this car is coming back with without four wheels or not. We restarted it. I passed for the lead into turn one, which I was going to be exposed in turn three, but I said if it's probably something's going to happen.
The rules were different at the time. Now, if it goes yellow on the last lap, they red flag and restarted. Before then, it was yellow. It's yellow. I go through turn two, yellow. They finish the race, I win.
So, if I had waited it, I was going to be second again. and your boss is in the your ear saying hold on a and you're like nope do it now. So you make that pass. Yellow goes come out of turn two green pass the car in one. By the time I got into turn two, Dar Frankiti, one of my best friends crashed into turn one back on the field. Yellow when I crossed there was the Wi-Fi and it's yellow.
It's the end the next lap. You can't you can't actually clean. We you're doing laps. It's counting. So yeah. So, so you crossed the finish line.
So, I crossed finish line. If you ever see a picture, I'm pointing straight up. Yep. Saying, "Hey, I did it. I did it. I did it."
Obviously, I was crying like maniac. Everybody else was crying. I remember that. It will never forget um coming into the pits. The entire pit lane was actually standing in and they know the story. Everybody knew.
We're all race fans. Obviously, only one guy wins at the end. I say all the time at the end of this month you have 32 people really pissed and one person really happy. That's the way it works. But people appreciate it. So the fans was unbelievable.
I'll never forget the the parade that I did after the race on the pace car. The fans stayed and it was huge. So yeah. And uh like what was the um the like I mean you don't have to share if you don't want to but the conversation that you have like you cross the finish line you achieved this goal. How old are you at the time when you win? 38 38 25 years.
Is that my math? 15 15 years. No 25 years. 25 years. 25 years from when you're 13 and you make this promise to your dad. um like that like that internal conversation that you have of like I finally did this.
I mean obviously you relax as far as like I let it go right I cry like a baby. Actually on the last lap I had to concentrate cuz I was crying so much and cleaning I can't can you imagine I crashed now. Did you think on the yellow flag you know what I mean? Like so yeah, it was a you know it's it's probably hard to explain the feeling and I don't mind explaining it but it was like honestly I was like okay I'm done. Life life is I'm going to leave life but if life ends tomorrow did it. Yeah.
And I I said and I actually said it in my mind but I said it to him. I said okay now we're done. Let me uh not that I wasn't living. I I don't want people to think that was a burden, but like it was like, you know what? My promise is done. Mom is good, sister's good, done that.
Maybe can I choose what to do now? Yeah. Which uh tells you a lot about I retired another 10 years later. So, yeah. Right. I chose just a glutton for punishment.
Yeah. It was the excuse that my dad was putting the pressure on me, but I I love what I do. Yeah. I mean, so anyway, that that went then I then the team got the money, we raced. So anyway, that's Yeah. Okay.
One final question about that and then I want to talk about Indie and then we're going to continue to move on through our day. Fun. Um you've done two Iron Man, two like full two Iron Man. Yeah. And I think there's this thing uh like the postiron man blues where it's like you spend all this time building up for this 17 hour 14 hour like I think that the top like 10 hour race whatever however long it takes you 12 12 hour race for me good for you you know I'll tell a story later but they have the podiums from age groupers as you know by time it was good for top five on 70 to 74 so if I keep the same time I'll finish podium event. You just got that's why I keep saying I'll be a Boston qualifier when I'm retired.
I'll just got to stay the same. Um, but like there's this thing the postir Iron Man Blues. Did you have the the post Indianapolis 500 blues of like Oh, every year. But like the year that felt Well, the year you win like you win and you achieve your goal and it's like now what do I do? Well, my first thing I I tell the story all the I woke up Monday morning, you do the picture at the racetrack and out of the blue I was like, is it now that everybody cheered for me for so many years, they were so supportive, but now I won. I said, is it if I come back next year, they just going to boo me, cheer for someone else?
That was my worry. Yeah. So, but at the time like not that week it gets so busy and I was trying to enjoy every moment and this and that. But yeah, it got to a point that now what do I do? It was actually uh I want to do it again. That was that was never a question.
Yeah, I debated retiring be- because we were didn't have any money to continue, but that changed that week and then I'm like, well, I'll go until the end of the year and but then at the end of that year, I got hired by Chip Ganassie, which is now I'm back. Yeah. Now it's like I went from a very little team back to and then you go, you can't, you know, I'm not going to say no. I mean, they keep asking me to drive an indie car until then and I pretend that I want to say no, but I'm always saying yes, let's go. Uh anyway, the Iron Man. Yes, it was the same feeling but different because I'm I mean, you know, when you're high-end athlete and you do something you you dominate a sport, it's very uh stupid of us thinking we can do anything else as good and I'm terrible, but you know, is the is the mindset, right?
And my Iron Man, my post Iron Man was actually more of a I don't want people to take this wrong, but the feeling of accomplishment because it was only me. You know this, you done like I wasn't depending on a crew on a race car that was going to fail, somebody was going to crash into me if I I it was all me, the training that I've done. So it was a different feeling of rewarding. Yeah. Right. And the crash was like I will never do this again and I ended up doing it.
But yeah, it's one of those things I even in the middle of the race like why am I here? I don't need, you know what I mean? But and one thing that I tell people all the time, they ask me why I did Iron Man's and I've never told that why I was driving because I didn't want to tell people what I did it to train my mind. It wasn't You don't need to be an iron man to drive an Indie car. There is plenty of things you got to do and you can do to be physically fit. But on a three-hour race in Indie car, when you like go through the struggles that I've been in Indie, that is such a long race.
You fall to the back, you got to fight back to the front. It's on your head. Yeah. And nothing better than battle with your head physically for 12 hours. So 3 hours became nothing. I love that.
It's just like a lot of these like famous endurance athletes talk about just like enjoying suffering. like you just like suffer so much that there's nothing that can be thrown at you during a race or during your job or during whatever that can like you know there is not a better feeling than when you think about giving up because you're struggling some pain and you push hard and that goes away. I don't know if I can describe it if you haven't felt it but all right well let's talk as we wrap up Indie. So, you moved here just before I get married with my wife. Obviously, her family's here. Uh, I moved here in 2019.
2019. You call this home? Uh, yeah. And like from Miami to Indie, were you excited or like h this is just like like what was your feelings towards Indianapolis? Well, I mean Indie was a choice for mo many reasons, but the number one was I want to raise my kids here. Not in Miami.
No offense to Miami. Miami is a worldwide, but it's a I didn't like the environment. Um, and here people are polite. I remember the first year that I moved full-time here going in to get grab coffee and you know, you open the door, somebody says good morning. And you look is that, oh, it was for me. Like in Miami, people don't and and it's you're maybe at first you're like, oh, it's probably because they know who I am.
But then you realize no, you say it's just open the door for you and they thank you. And then so it was because of the kids and then but I was always like I said involved with Riley and I was very involved with the community and then we're finding a way Lauren and I to give it back to the community and I got involved being on the children's museum board. We still do a lot of the stuff I drove um Santa plenty of years to that. Riley is still a thing. My kids go to public schools. uh we use the system uh trying to take a little bit of that stigma that we you know I hear a lot about it um they love it.
I think it was a good you know my kids are pretty priv privileged for the life that I have but I didn't want them to take that for granted. So you know we we're not better than anybody else. I'm just very fortunate that I do something really cool. Yeah. So and Indie became home. So, the biggest difference for me that I will never get past is uh winters here.
It's I uh you know, I'm from Brazil and then Miami, but I know knowing many of people that was they were born and raised here. Nobody likes it. My kids love it. I just I become extremely um miserable because I can't work out outside. But, you know, on and on I I But then May comes around and you're like there's no better place to be. It's like, well, I always say it's like you learn to appreciate like you appreciate the first snow and then by like the 50th snow, you're like, "No, I'm done with this."
No, but you know what? Yes. But for me, it's actually I've learned how to appreciate summers now, too. Because before I live in a in Brazil or Miami is always sunny. It's always summer. Then you really don't enjoy.
Now, when the pool's open, you go to the pool. I had a pool 365 days a year when I was. So, um, no, I mean, look, I I love the city. I will do everything to defend and make this city more famous. Look, look. I mean, we are pretty cool.
Talk about sports. Look the record of anything. I mean, yeah. I mean, we're sitting here and it's like Pacers win two games in Cleveland, you know, it's like and you talk about, you know, Payton Manning, the Colts, I mean, successful at their own times. It doesn't matter. I mean, that is always Ind is booming all the time.
You try to get a hotel during the year, go why there is a convention of some sort. There's a game of the firefighters are in town. I mean, it's it's crazy. So, I love that and and I will do anything for the city and and I'll live here until I I'm no longer here, but even that the other day I thought that is that maybe matters a lot, but people ask me, Laura and I talk about if you're no longer here, what's going to happen, right? And I think uh as a family, we talk about it all the time, especially what I did for a living. So my uh in my will I have that I don't first I don't want a people to be really sad.
If I go I go it's just but I want to potty not the day off maybe it's not appropriate but also I want to be cremated and I want to be put at the speedways which I asked Roger if that is so if anybody wants to visit Tony Cananan when I'm no longer here just drive into the speedway. I'll be I'll be around. That's legendary. That's in your will. It is. And she better do it.
Otherwise, I'll come back and hunt her. You're to hear one day, many, many, many years from now. Um, I hope so. Well, as a as a guy who's been everywhere, you know, from South America to Italy to the United States to Miami to Columbus to India, what is something the world needs to know about Indiana? I think we're the coolest city in the world. To be honest, we have the biggest single day event as the Indy500.
has been around for more than 100 years. Um, this is a any race car driver on earth wanted to do this or maybe would think about it or think it's too dangerous to do it and that's why this is what it is. But also as a city, yeah, you can't debate every every every city, every town, every country have their hurdles and positive. But like on and on like when people complain about traffic here, I need to take them somewhere else that is no like but it's the airport it's awesome and you sports, right? You talk about nowadays because I I do have four kids that are very like it's all driven by tablets, phones and sports. So you're inviting people to sports, the Nettorium.
I mean, you you name it. Lucas Oil. So what do they need to know? I don't know if I want to advertise that much cuz we're pretty cool. We don't want more people here. Just come visit.
But we're gatekeeping Indiana now, right? Come on. Um Well, so funny you said that. Uh when you're talking about spots, there's a lot of we we we uncover a lot of hidden gems around Indiana. Uh and one of them being well, one of them we're going to learn from you, right? But we want to know what's a spot that doesn't get nearly as much love that should.
So what's your hidden gem in Indiana? Um I would say honestly I'm not sure that is we we're pretty balanced. I mean you know you talk about the monon trail you can cross like if you want to work out on a on a you can cross. Have you done Have you done the whole one yet? Oh plenty of time training for the iron man. I went all the way to Sheridan.
I don't even know. I don't think I even say that with my broken English. But I mean, honestly, I I'm not sure I would pick something that I don't think we give enough attention. The thing is when you're going against Lucas Oil and then the Indy500 maybe. I mean, I would say soccer. Actually, if you talk about Indie 11 and how the division is and how soccer has been growing, my country soccer is soccer, right?
And I remember when I first came to America, it was more of a a ladies game than guys. And it's been growing quite a bit. In Brazil, it was the opposite. Now it's pretty equal. So, I would love to have a soccer stadium here. And I think that's what we're missing to be honest.
Yeah. Um I think the team I I mean, my kids all play because of Brazil and they're all proud of it. We won, you know, five World Cups. So, I would pick I would say not a place, but maybe making a place as a city. everything else. I'm not trying to brag or like be like, "Ah, I'm being too nice."
I I love everything about this city and and I think we've been growing growing and growing. Is Is there a spot like if you're going out on the town or you're going for a cup of coffee or you're enjoying a nice meal, what's a spot people need to hit up? Look, um, man, there are so many and and I I'll pick obviously, but I always try to to pick the small businesses and the people because it's easy to go. We're going to go to I don't know, Prime 47 or, you know, at there is two spots that I would go, which is in Brat Ripple. Oh, one is um there's this Brazilian Mexican, but it's owned by a Brazilian and and I think he's Mexican, too. But for Nandos, it calls Nandos.
I know you're laughing because you probably been there. Yeah. And my my studio is like right in Broad. And then my favorite Mexican place is Laapia, which is also if you go guys, not fancy, you're going to eat in a paper basket. You're going to eat chips away before your dinner. You're not going to eat your dinner.
But I love those. You'll get out of there and it'll be like $7. 40 and you'll be like very satisfied. Correct. And then you go there and it's not fancy but you get the treatment. The owner is there all the time and it's packed.
The patio out there. Correct. So those are two great spots. All right. When you see TK on public at Lafia do chill out like just be cool. This is a spot.
And then go to ice cream and you go to bricks. And obviously uh the owner there is a good friend of ours that gives my kids too much sugar. But it's classic. I love it. I love it. Um, if you were out there, if there were people that see this, maybe they're Indie Car fans, maybe they're Brazilian, maybe just for wherever they are in the world, what's the sales pitch for Indiana?
Wow, that's easy. We're fun. We have every single sport event. We're polite and um, we're cool. So, it's just really I mean, it's just like, yeah, cool. Why you just I'm going to keep the mystery so you guys can All right.
Show up. Cool. TK, appreciate you. Uh, thank you for sharing your story. It's an I mean, an incredible journey from go-karts and adversity in your personal life to traveling across the world and sleeping on an air mattress to then I mean coming and seeing success and more adversity and finally I mean uh fulfilling a promise to your father. I think that is incredible.
And I think that there's something powerful about um someone's word like when you give someone your word and the and a 25 year journey. Some people can't go 25 days and keep their word but to go keep your word of like I'm going to give everything I have to fulfill this that's special. And I think that is the story that I want to tell when I tell my story is not a sad story. It's not a a brag or I want a people to feel. I think is the example that you leave behind. And I'm mean that when I'm home with my kids, your word means everything.
We don't need to sign a piece of paper. If I tell we're doing this, even if it's not more convenient to me later on, you got to do it. And I tell my kids that all the time. And I think uh you know, this is what I take. But to be to be fair, um I own a lot to to to Indianapolis. I think is uh you know it was my word but it was because of this place I became who I am.
We're uh we're lucky to have you as a Hoosier by choice. I always love it's like I a lot of people are Hoosiers by birth or Hoosiers by their parents choice but you get to choose wherever you want to live in the world and you choose to live in well I chose that but also I need to thank the Hoosiers to actually accept to adopt me because that doesn't you know if they didn't probably wouldn't enjoy my life as much. Well I love it. I appreciate it and I think it's time for me to maybe run some laps around you on the sim. Yeah. And that Well, we can't try that, but I'm retired so I have an excuse.
There you go. Right. Thank you for listening to this episode of Get In. If you like what you heard, make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations atwater.
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