Tony Kanaan has signed a multi-year contract to drive for AJ Foyt Racing in the IndyCar Series from 2018.
It had been known that the team was negotiating with the 2004 champion and 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner, once it became clear that Kanaan’s tenure at Chip Ganassi Racing was ending after four years.
Foyt said: “We’ve talked to Tony for the last couple of years and I’m just glad we were able to put something together because I know he wants to win as bad as we do.
“I think he still has two or three good years in him. He’s always been a hard charger and I like somebody who wants to charge hard.”
Kanaan added: “I just thought it was a great opportunity for me to build something where we can make history, and for me that’s what racing’s all about.
“Yes it is about the wins, but it’s also about the people you’re associated with.
“As a driver, you want to be on a team that works around you, that will build the stuff around you and for you, but also, if I can have a person like AJ to help me, even at this point of my career, it’s awesome. He’s a legend.”
Kanaan has brought with him highly respected race engineer Eric Cowdin, with whom he worked at Ganassi.
The fact that Kanaan will run the #14 car may indicate that its previous occupant Carlos Munoz, rather than Conor Daly, is the 2017 Foyt driver being let go.
However, a team insider indicated that there are others still in play for the #4 car, and that the team may change both its drivers for the second straight year.