RINGLEADER OF THE PACK

As the pole-sitter for Sunday’s 89th Indianapolis 500, Tony Kanaan was invited to New York a day ahead of the 32 other qualifiers who got together Monday for a photo shoot in Times Square. So what did his three Andretti Green Racing teammates do?

They went with him.

Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta, Dan Wheldon and Kanaan form what has become one of the most successful -- and unusual -- teams in racing. Put together three years ago by Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree, it has dominated the Indy Racing League.

“We went shopping, had dinner and hung out together, just the way we do at the racetrack,” Kanaan said. “That’s the way we do things. We have a great organization between the four of us drivers, four good friends.”

Kanaan, 30, won the IRL championship last year and completed all 3,305 laps of competition in 16 races, eight of which were won by Andretti-Green drivers.

That dominance has carried over to this year. Wheldon has won three of four races and leads in points, with Kanaan second and Herta fourth.

“A race driver is always hoping for the perfect combination and I feel like that’s what we’ve got with the four of us this year,” said Wheldon, at 26 the team’s youngest member and its only bachelor. “We’re friends who work together and race each other hard and that’s a unique relationship in motorsports.”

If there is a ringleader, it is the always upbeat Kanaan, who seems to be perpetually smiling.

“I always try to be happy,” he said. “Obviously, I can’t be happy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but I’m very fortunate in my life to have good friends. I have a good family, I have a good wife, good people working for me and I do what I love. It’s very simple. I’m a happy guy.”

Kanaan, who won the pole with a 10-mile speed average of 227.566 mph, won’t be in the fastest car, but says he will be at a big advantage starting from the front row. Kenny Brack, the 1999 winner coming back after a near-fatal crash in 2003, is fastest with a 227.598 but will start 23rd because he qualified a week later as a substitute driver for the injured 2004 winner, Buddy Rice.

“To start in front is a big deal,” Kanaan said. “You are out there with clean air, setting up the pace and going into Turn 1 without anybody in front of you. We all know that it’s a long race and it can’t be won on the first lap, but it is an advantage to be in front of trouble if it happens.”

The first row of Kanaan, Sam Hornish Jr. and Scott Sharp is the first since 1991 made up of all former Indy car champions. Hornish won in 2001 and 2002, Sharp in 1996.

In 1991 it was Rick Mears, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.

Danica Patrick may be the popular favorite, Brack the sentimental choice and Sebastien Bourdais the Champ Car champion, but Kanaan says he sees his teammates as his biggest challengers. The others are starting well back, Franchitti sixth, Wheldon 16th and Herta 18th.

“You know, right now they get all my data, I get all their data, we put it together and we’ll find out what we need,” Kanaan said. “I mean, they are going to chase me all the time because I’m there in front. But they are going to be up there.”

Following the natural progression of the 500 and the team, Kanaan says this year’s 500 should be his to win. He was third in 2003 and second last year.

“You know, I think this might be the year,” he said. “Each time I have come here, I think it might be the year. But this time I think there’s more than finishing third, then second and then the win.

“I mean, I have had the pleasure of giving [the team] its first pole position, its first win, its first championship and its first Indianapolis pole. So, the list is getting shorter. Hopefully, we get the big one and then we go and try to do it again.”

Michael Andretti, who personally plucked Kanaan from Mo Nunn’s team in September 2002 to drive for the newly formed AGR team, never won an Indianapolis pole or a race in 14 tries. He says this may be his year too, as an owner.

“Winning the pole here is something that’s very difficult to do,” Andretti said. “I could never do it, but Tony has done it. Now we have one big goal, and that is to win the race. You know we did everything but win it last year.”

Kanaan, Wheldon and Herta finished second, third and fourth behind Rice in last year’s rain-shortened race.

Fitness is a fetish for the 5-foot-5, 147-pound Kanaan, a triathlete. Most drivers, when they come to Indianapolis, bring golf clubs or fishing gear to use on their days off. Kanaan brings a bicycle, running shoes and a swimsuit.

“In a long race, like 500 miles, people get tired,” he said. “I don’t and I think that gives me an extra advantage. Being as fit as I can also keeps me more focused. The more physically fit you are, the more it helps you mentally. You can think better.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Indianapolis 500

Tony Kanaan won the pole position for Sunday’s 89th Indianapolis 500 with a 10-mile speed average of 227.566 mph:

KANAAN’S 2005 FINISHES

* Homestead-Miami...3rd

* Phoenix...3rd

* Streets of St. Petersburg...2nd

* Twin Ring Motegi...6th

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IRL INDYCAR SERIES STANDINGS

*--* Driver Pts. Wins 1. Dan Wheldon 184 3 2. Tony Kanaan 138 0 3. Sam Hornish Jr. 131 1 4. Bryan Herta 104 0 5. Helio Castroneves 101 0 6. Scott Sharp 99 0 7. Darren Manning 98 0 8. Vitor Meira 96 0 9. Dario Franchitti 95 0 10. Patrick Carpentier 89 0

*--*

The first row of Kanaan, Sam Hornish Jr. and Scott Sharp is the first since 1991 made up of former Indy car champions:

ROW 1 FOR SUNDAY’S RACE

1. Tony Kanaan: 227.566 mph

2. Sam Hornish Jr.: 227.273 mph

3. Scott Sharp: 227.126 mph