AGR re-signs Kanaan through 2013

And you wonder why Tony is smiling?

Andretti Green Racing (AGR) announced today it has reached a long-term agreement with Team 7-Eleven driver Tony Kanaan that will keep the 2004 IndyCar Series champion with the team through 2013.

Andretti Green and Kanaan reached an agreement Thursday night after working throughout the 2008 season to craft a long-term deal.

Kanaan has been with Andretti Green since its inception at the start of the 2003 season, and in that time, he has been to victory lane 13 times in 94 starts including last season's Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Kanaan owns a series-record 63 top-five finishes and has led 62 races for a total of 2,487 laps over the past six seasons. His races led and laps led rank third and fourth all-time, respectively, in IndyCar Series competition.

Kanaan also owns one American Le Mans Series win with AGR, which came at the 2007 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring when he co-drove the XM Acura with Bryan Herta and Dario Franchitti.

The 33-year old Brazilian enters this weekend's race at Kentucky ranked fourth in the IndyCar Series championship standings, 118 points behind leader Scott Dixon. Kanaan has only finished out of the fop four in the final point standings once during his time at Andretti Green.

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
"I'm very happy and relieved to have a deal in place that will keep me with Andretti Green for a long time. We've been very good together since the start of 2003 and I believe we can continue to be good for many more years. Team 7-Eleven and AGR is where I belong and I'm looking forward to another five good years."

Michael Andretti, co-owner, Andretti Green Racing:
"Tony is a very important part of our race team and we've worked very hard to make sure we could stay together for a long time. His accomplishments with Andretti Green are unmatched and he pushes our whole team to be better every time we come to the racetrack. That's a guy you want on your team."

Kim Green, co-owner, Andretti Green Racing:
"This is an announcement we've been looking forward to making for quite some time and we're very excited that day is here. Together, Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing have been a pretty good combination and we've very happy to keep that in place for five more years."

Kevin Savoree, co-owner, Andretti Green Racing:
"We're very excited to have this agreement in place and are excited about our future with Tony Kanaan at Andretti Green. Tony's been such a big part of the Andretti Green family and it's a great feeling to know that he'll play a big role in our future."