Watch Tony Kanaan Pass Three-Wide In Grass At 220 MPH

Tony Kanaan, an IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, is retiring after this year's 500. His career is not done yet, though, and his final race already has an all-time highlight before halfway.

Kanaan came up on Scott McLaughlin and Takuma Sato in traffic, with Sato's car struggling on power and McLaughlin waiting patiently to make his move. Tony Kanaan, with no interest in patience, saw the inside runoff on the exit of turn 2 open and moved all the way off track to get clear of McLaughlin without losing momentum. Typically, a driver would see this runoff coming to an end and lift, getting back on track and waiting for another opportunity to pass both drivers in front; Tony Kanaan is not typical.

Kanaan kept his foot down, getting onto the grass at around 220 MPH. With the car visibly moving around on the dirt, Kanaan patiently found his way back onto the racing surface without giving McLaughlin the position on track. He held his line into turn 2, taking the position on exit. the retiring McLaren driver managed to do all of that without damaging the car, despite putting all four slick tires on the dirt, in an open wheel car, at full speed, on an oval.

The race is still ongoing, but, after an aggressive restart following a caution for a crash immediately after this incident, Kanaan moved into the top ten. McLaughlin sits in 15th at the halfway point of the legendary race.

You Might Also Like

• You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox

• Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners

• The Man Who Signs Every Car