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Tony Kanaan has ironically competed in four Indy 500s since announcing his initial “Last Lap” tour back in 2020, with last year’s being the only one in which he did not compete after giving fans a heartfelt goodbye in 2023.
But the fifth edition of the “Last Lap” tour could very well happen in 2025, depending on the weather at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 25.
Last year, Kyle Larson drove in the Indy 500 for Arrow McLaren through a partnership with his NASCAR Cup Series team, Hendrick Motorsports, and opted to remain at Indy when the race was delayed due to rain, thus causing him to miss the start of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Even had the Coca-Cola 600 not been shortened due to rain itself, and thus Larson had actually been able to turn laps after arriving at Charlotte following his 18th place finish at Indy, he had already given up the ability to score points, and he needed to be granted a playoff waiver to remain playoff eligible, even after two earlier wins had supposedly locked him into the postseason.
To avoid such drama, two things have happened since. First of all, NASCAR’s playoff waiver rules have gotten much stricter, with any driver who misses a regular season race for a non-medical reason now ineligible to score any playoff points (plus the loss of any previously earned playoff points), and secondly, Larson has made the Coca-Cola 600 his priority.
It has been nearly 50 years since rain significantly impacted back-to-back editions of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, but each year is its own independent event. In other words, we no longer need two in a row to make it two in a row.
And if it does become two in a row, Larson will need a backup driver.
That decision has brought Kanaan, who now serves as Arrow McLaren’s team principal out of retirement, as he is officially Larson’s backup this year after last year’s drama.
