Cannon joins PREMA as head of engineering

Michael Cannon has joined PREMA Racing in the newly created position of "head of engineering."

A.J. Foyt Racing’s former technical director left the team in early November and after meeting with prospective NTT IndyCar Series teams, he’s taken a full-time role with the Italian squad ahead of its debut IndyCar season.

After helping to turn Foyt’s team into a front-running organization, Cannon’s acquisition is an important one for the Indianapolis-based team owned and run by Rene Rosin and his partner Angelina Ertsou. Cannon will oversee the engineering efforts for drivers Callum Ilott and rookie Robert Shwartzman.

Prior to Foyt, Cannon’s stint at Chip Ganassi Racing as Scott Dixon’s race engineer produced the 2020 championship -- Dixon’s sixth -- and earned consecutive Indianapolis 500 pole positions with the New Zealander.

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Between stops at larger teams like Ganassi, Andretti Global and the former Player’s Forsythe Racing, Cannon has had a penchant for working with smaller outfits like HVM Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing during its formative days, Dale Coyne Racing and Foyt -- all teams that were accustomed to running behind the bigger programs -- where his influence would have a greater impact.

The trend continues at PREMA, which starts its IndyCar journey in March. Cannon’s presence should accelerate the team’s competitiveness beyond previous expectations.