"I was going to meet Jon that day with Kyle Larson": Tony Kanaan on the passing of Jeff Gordon's close aide
Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan recently spoke about the tragic passing of Jon Edwards, longtime PR director of NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. Kanaan revealed how he was supposed to meet Edwards on the day he fell sick before passing away.
Edwards was the PR manager for Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon since his second year in NASCAR. He fell sick on the day Kanaan was to shoot an episode for Dale Earnhardt Jr's podcast with Kyle Larson to talk about the latter's second attempt at the "Double" and the 109th Indy 500 in May with Arrow McLaren. The episode was released on April 10, the same day Hendrick Motorsports confirmed Jon Edwards' death.
In a recent appearance on the Pit Pass Indy podcast hosted by IndyCar reporter Bruce Martin, Tony Kanaan explained the situation, saying [8:27 onwards]:
"We shot a podcast with Dale Jr the day that he (Edwards) was supposed to be there, and he fell sick. That was the day that he passed in his house. I was gonna meet Jon that day with Kyle."
Arrow McLaren gave a heartfelt tribute to Edwards with memorial decals on its three cars during IndyCar's Long Beach Grand Prix weekend. The team's newest driver, Christian Lundgaard, earned a podium at the landmark 50th edition of the race and dedicated it to Jon Edwards.
Tony Kanaan had a bet with Jon Edwards about Kyle Larson's second Indy 500 attempt
Kyle Larson's first attempt at the "Double" was spoiled by torrential weather. Rain delayed the start of the Indy 500 by four hours, which delayed his arrival at Charlotte for NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600. Weather played spoilsport at that race too, with the officials prematurely ending it before Larson could race even one lap.
Back then, Tony Kanaan was still in an advisory role at Arrow McLaren, with Gavin Ward occupying the Team Principal post. On a recent episode of the Pit Pass Indy podcast, Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, spoke about a bet he had with Jon Edwards regarding Larson's second attempt at the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing" this year.
"We had a bet that we were gonna kiss the bricks together because I like bets. It didn't happen last year, so I was hoping this year," he said [11:30 onwards].
Tony Kanaan became the deputy team principal of Arrow McLaren after the end of the 2024 IndyCar season following Gavin Ward's departure. The Zak Brown-led team promoted the 2004 IndyCar champion to team principal ahead of the 2025 season.
Under his leadership, the team secured a double podium at the inaugural Thermal Club Grand Prix, with Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard finishing 2-3. Lundgaard made it back-to-back podiums at Long Beach with a P3 finish.