Kanaan to test de Ferran Dragon car, no ride deal

UPDATE "It's difficult to speculate on that," de Ferran told this week's AUTOSPORT magazine when asked about the chances of him signing Kanaan. "Tony is a free agent, a guy who's been at the top end of the grid for a long time, so he's an asset to any team. Given his experience, we were interested in his views on how we're developing our car so he kindly agreed to the test."

Tony Kanaan

Kanaan, who was set to fly to Brazil after the test to continue chasing sponsorship, added: "I'm still looking for a job. I don't know what else to do but racing, so this was a great opportunity that Gil gave me. There's not a lot to read into – it's not like we have a deal. If I can help him, then who knows? Even if I don't end up racing for him, I helped a friend and I spent a day on the track."

11/14/10 Tony Kanaan will move from one Florida race course to another next week when he tests a de Ferran Dragon Racing car at Sebring International.

Kanaan, who participated in the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship on Nov. 13, accepted team president and managing partner Gil de Ferran's invitation to get behind the wheel Nov. 15. After eight-plus seasons with Andretti Autosport, the 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion is a free agent.

"I'm still looking for a job," said Kanaan, who added he'll be heading to Brazil next week to talk to potential sponsors. "These two Ironman (he also competed Oct. 30 in Miami) competitions actually helped keep my mind away from the struggle that I'm going through. I think I would have gone crazy sitting at home and thinking about what's going to happen. I don't know what else to do but racing, so it's a great opportunity Gil has given to me.

"He asked if I wanted to test an IndyCar for him and I said 'Of course. I'm on vacation and I'm free to do that.' There's not a lot to read into. It's not like we have a deal or anything. It was more like 'Hey, I want to see how good my race car is or how bad my race car is.'

"If I can help him, who knows? Even if I don't wind up racing for him, I helped a friend and I spent a day on the racetrack. Any day on the racetrack is a good one."