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IndyCar's Tony Kanaan sent a passionate message to his wife Lauren on Instagram after she dedicated a heartwarming Instagram post to him on his 50th birthday. It was a double celebration for the 2013 Indy 500 winner on Tuesday, whose birthday lines up with New Year's Eve.
In her post, Lauren shared a series of photos from the couple and their four children's vacation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She captioned the birthday post:
"Happy Birthday, love. 🥳 Every year with you is better and better. We love you so! ❤️ "
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In the comments section, Tony Kanaan gave an even sweeter reply to his wife of 11 years as he wrote:
"You are my rock, I couldn’t do anything without you in my life. I love you forever and beyond."
Kanaan has been very vocal about his love for Lauren, a former broadcast journalist who worked for FOX Sports, NBC Sports and Big Ten, and her contribution to his life. The now-McLaren deputy Team Principal received many birthday wishes, out of which, that of Dario Franchitti stood out. In an Instagram post, the four-time IndyCar champ wrote for Kanaan:
"Happy 50th birthday @tkanaan !! So happy you have finally stopped lying about your age 🕺🏻Looking through our old pictures two things are clear… we had a lot of fun (more to come) and man you sleep a lot!! Here is to another 50 years of nonsense and adventures ❤️❤️❤️ "
Kanaan's relationship with Franchitti dates back to 2014 when the Brazilian replaced the four-time champ at Chip Ganassi Racing after his life-threatening crash in 2013. A recovering Franchitti then mentored Kanaan through the season until his memorable first victory with the team at the season finale.
Tony Kanaan and his wife Lauren's proactive parenting methods
Tony Kanaan prides himself on his parenting. He has four children - Leo (16), Deco (9), Max (7) and Nina (6), of whom his oldest son is from his first marriage with Daniela Muniz Loiola. In 2019, the Brazilian driver revealed his and Lauren's parenting methods that set the best examples for their children to follow. He said (via IndyCar):
"You always try to set an example for them, how professional you are, how nice to people you are. They’re watching. People would be fooled if they think a 2-year-old isn’t watching their dad or mom, how they behave all the time when they’re around them. Lauren and I take extreme care to always set good examples so they will remember."
To date, Kanaan upholds one family tradition that his father set decades ago - that of the entire family having dinner together.
"One thing that dad did a lot was dinner, everybody has dinner together, everybody sits at the table together. I remember because we wouldn’t start having dinner until dad got home from work. He’d get home, everybody would sit at the table, we’d laugh and talk about the day, so that’s something I do," he added.
Tony Kanaan retired in 2023 after racing in the 107th Indy 500. 2024 was a successful season for Kanaan in his first year leading Arrow McLaren with star driver Pato O'Ward finishing fifth in the standings.
