Tony Kanaan is the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner, past champion and a fan favorite on the IZOD IndyCar circuit. Hes searching for sponsorship to try and stay with the series hes been with for a decade and loves. But what if another team from another discipline offered him a paying ride where all he had to bring was his helmet, talent and personality? RACER has learned that Joe Gibbs Racing has made the popular Brazilian an offer to run Nationwide in 2014, with a chance to move to Sprint Cup for one of NASCARs best operations. Kanaan was reportedly on his way to Brazil and couldnt be reached for comment and J.D. Gibbs didnt return a phone call, but a source close to the Gibbs team revealed that T.K. had spent most of Tuesday at the Gibbs shop in Charlotte. Kanaan has talked with Chip Ganassi about his fourth seat, Michael Andretti if free agent James Hinchcliffe departs, Bryan Hertas second car and continues to be a candidate to stay at KV Racing, where hes been the past three seasons. But, in a story on RACER.com three weeks ago, Kanaan was understandably miffed that every team hes talked to about a job needs him to bring money.( Racer )(9-6-2013) UPDATE: Reports that popular Brazilian IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan is considering an offer to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series in 2014 may be premature at best. Yes, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner visited the Joe Gibbs Racing shop in Huntersville, N.C., and met with team principals earlier this week. But according to JGR spokesperson Chris Helein, thats as far as it went. ‘There is no deal’ Helein told the NASCAR Wire Service in an e-mail response to a request for comment. ‘Just had an initial meeting. Nothing even being formally discussed.”(NASCAR Wire Service)
