INDY 500: 'Anybody counts us out, it's a big mistake' - Kanaan

Tony Kanaan says he was not surprised by the frenetic on-track activity during Carb Day, the final practice session for Sunday's Indy 500.

As many as 25 of the 33 cars were on track at once during the final 15 minutes of the session as teams took advantage of the final opportunity to experiment with setups before the race. Today's session was the first time since Monday that the cars have been on track, and Kanaan said that the gap in between had given rise to a long job list from the engineers.

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"This is the closest we get to the race, two days, and after being here for almost a month, the engineers come up with different plans every day," he said. "The more time you give them, the more they come up with stuff. And we had almost five days without being on track, so they go back to the shop and do simulations and come up with new stuff. So we had to test. And I think everybody is eager to feel how the car behaves in traffic. So it was a race out there today, that's for sure."

Kanaan, who will start Sunday's race from 18th on the grid, finished the day with the fastest time, and is optimistic that he and teammate Scott Dixon – who will line up one row ahead in P13 – are in good shape for the race.

"I'm happy with my car," he said. "Obviously I have to pass 17 people before I get really happy with my car. But, you know, after the struggle in qualifying, we really focused, me and Dixon, on the race and I think you can see both of us up there. You know, [if] anybody counts us out, it's a big mistake.

"But, it will be more exciting for the fans. I'm amazed how many people are here today. It's really ... I thought in 15 years I had seen it all here, and clearly I didn't. So I can't wait until Sunday.