Inside $20M-worth Tony Kanaan's TK Sim Racing Headquarters upgrade: "I'm never happy, always wanting to change"

Tony Kanaan's Sim Racing headquarters has undergone some significant changes. The 2013 Indy 500 winner, who inaugurated his Sim Racing Center in September 2023, shared an update on its current state.

Kanaan, who raced in IndyCar for 26 years before calling it a day in 2023, retired as a legend of the sport. During that period, he amassed a net worth of $20 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), registering 17 race wins, 79 podiums, 15 pole positions, and his only championship (2004).

The now-Deputy Team Principal of Arrow McLaren revealed the changes to his Sim Racing HQ on YouTube (0:20):

"For those who know me, you know that I'm never happy, always wanting to change. I know my life has gotten a lot busier lately. Because of my work on the team, as always, but we are always changing."

Kanaan took viewers through the place to show the new additions and the changes awaiting in the pipeline. He revealed a major rebuild to his simulator that he's working on in the background. The new simulator will arrive with a changed cockpit and an updated computer.

The wood veneer-paneled wall that separates the place into two halves was now adorned with neon lights. Some other additions include a limited-edition papaya-colored chair, two Lego Supercars on the side wall - a green Lamborghini and a Scarlet Red Ferrari, a single-person Lambo-themed gaming setup by Secret Lab, finer detailing on the Porsche and McLaren sims, a carbon table to work on and a small lounge with four Vyper chairs around a table.

Tony Kanaan is also creating a SimLab Tony Kanaan edition sim in Arrow McLaren's orange and black colors. Another big addition to the F1-car wall was a small replica of Lando Norris' MCL38 after his maiden F1 win at the 2024 Miami GP. A second replica of Norris' car was added to the first floor of the HQ.

The IndyCar legend also has an entire section on the first floor dedicated to Ayrton Senna, adorned by replicas of all of the late three-time F1 champ's cars.

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Tony Kanaan's inspiration behind creating a state-of-the-art Sim Racing Center

Tony Kanaan at the 106th Indianapolis 500 Practice - Source: Getty

In October 2023, Tony Kanaan gave viewers of Podium Life a YouTube tour of his sim HQ. He revealed how he began esports racing just before the COVID-19 pandemic along with the likes of Josef Newgarden and Robert Wickens. The driver who was against simulators suddenly fell in love with them.

Around the same time, in October 2023, Kanaan spoke about how he created all the simulators from scratch in another interview (via WISH-TV):

"I’m really proud of it, to be honest. I’ve always worked on my race cars, my go-karts and I’ve built everything that is here with three of my buddies. So, every single thing you see here apart from the cabinets, I built it… Every sim, every wire. So, I’m really proud to see it running."

He also spoke about the cabinet-lined wall, on which he kept every single trophy he won, apart from the Indy500-earned Borg-Warner trophy, which he treasured at home.

"My first-ever trophy in go-karts when I was eight years old is here. Some of my helmets are here. Every track that I had my big wins, it’s on the wall," he added.

Tony Kanaan is a loved figure in the IndyCar paddock. In 2025, he'll aim to propel Arrow McLaren to its first championship in the open-wheel series. Pato O'Ward, the team's best driver in 2024 finished in fifth place in the standings with three wins and a near-miss at the Ind 500.