During his four decades in motorsports, Michael Cannon climbed the ranks to become a highly-respected engineer in IndyCar. Cannon first got involved in racing in the early 1980s; born in Montreal, he went on to become a driver, mechanic and engineer. He raced Formula Fords before becoming an assistant engineer on Patrick Carpentier’s Player’s/Forsythe Racing car in 1998. He also co-founded Genoa Racing in Formula Atlantic in the 1990s, a team that helped Jimmy Vasser and Greg Ray advance to careers at the top level.

Cannon took on a lead engineer position with the Player’s/Forsythe team in 2000 and has held that role for various teams ever since. He’s worked with Herdez, Andretti, Ed Carpenter Racing, KV, Dale Coyne Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing during his career, while being mentored by engineers including Lee Dykstra, Bruce Ashmore and Tony Cicale.

Cannon’s first stint with Dale Coyne saw him work with several drivers between 2014 and 2019. He then became the lead engineer for Scott Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020, holding a key role on a team that won the IndyCar championship that season on the strength of four wins and seven podiums in 14 races. He spent two more seasons with Dixon, where they recorded three wins, nine podiums and a pair of top-four points finishes.

Cannon moved to AJ Foyt Racing in 2023 to be the head of their engineering department, with a focus on Indianapolis. His hiring helped attract driver Santino Ferrucci to the team, who started fourth and finished third in the 2023 Indianapolis 500 before a top-10 Indy 500 finish and improved year-end points result in 2024. Cannon most recently returned to Dale Coyne Racing in late May 2025 as engineer for driver Rinus VeeKay.