Agustin Canapino: Representing Argentina on an international stage
When Agustin Canapino gets suited up and into the cockpit of his Chevrolet car, he’s got an entire nation behind him. Argentina might be home to the most underrated racing series in the world, Turismo Carretera. This is where Canapino cut his teeth as a young racer before coming to America, home of IndyCar and NASCAR.
By the time Agustin Canapino was done in Turismo Carretera, he won four championships, as well as titles in other racing series. Canapino is used to a touring car. The series in Argentina uses old body styles from the 70s, creating some very interesting stock cars.
The fans are some of the most passionate not just in motorsports, but all sports globally. Just look.
After all of his success in his home country, Canapino got the call from Ricardo Juncos, co-owner of Juncos Holinger Racing, a fellow Argentinian. The passion of the fans in Argentina flooded my Twitter page a couple of weeks ago. If you’ve ever seen video from those Greek pro basketball games, it is a lot like that – flags, flares, smoke grenades and more. So, I had to talk to Canapino about IndyCar, Turismo Carretera, and more.
This past weekend, Agustin Canapino returned to his old series and his home country. The series and country that produced the great Juan Manuel Fangio. The race was fun, he finished P12, but the energy from the fans was on another level. Now he returns to IndyCar for Gateway.
“Definitely, the weekend was pretty good honestly, the people there was insane,” the driver told me in a recent interview. “Insane a lot of people, many many fans there leaving the weekend in Buenos Aires my return and it was a really really good weekend for me.”
While there are a lot of fans and support, things aren’t always easy. Canapino took a huge risk by coming to the States and to IndyCar.
Learning how to ‘sacrifice’ for IndyCar dreams
This year we have seen international drivers come to America to race in different series. Most notably, Shane van Gisbergen came to NASCAR and won in his debut at Chicago. However, Agustin Canapino isn’t here for a part-time thing. He’s all in.
Right now, he’s second in the Rookie of the Year standings, better than anyone expected of him, including himself. Canapino feels if he was in equipment like Marcus Armstrong at Chip Ganassi, he might even be leading the standings.
In his oval debut at Texas, Canapino was impressive, finishing P12. He had a top-5 performance brewing during the second Iowa race, but hit the wall and saw his day go to waste. Agustin was clear, IndyCar takes complete dedication, and lots of “sacrifice.”
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“I suffered a lot, honestly, I did a big sacrifice because you have to have a really good physical condition to drive this car, this type of car, IndyCar, is the most demanding car in the world,” Canapino said. “So I have to do big, big work on my physical, I have to learn English because I didn’t speak English in my life.
“A lot of things to do for me this year and a big change of life because I was really comfortable in my country. I win many championships, I have all the fans there. … Because it is IndyCar and it is the first time ever I have a chance to show and to know what I can do in an international series.”
Of course, there is another Argentinian sports star in the States now…
Agustin Canapino, Lionel Messi put Argentina in the spotlight
In case you didn’t hear, there is this guy named Messi who is pretty good at the whole soccer thing. He’s now with Inter Miami in the MLS and things have been going great for the global superstar. So, does Agustin Canapino see similarities between himself and the GOAT?
Well, sort of.
“So, it’s different because Messi is the biggest sports player in the world and it’s not the same as motorsport because I have to drive a machine and he has his own body, his own legs, so it’s different, the sport is different.
“But I don’t know, I think America is growing a lot of motorsport things,” Canapino explained. “I think it’s a really good idea because if you do an international series like IndyCar or now the soccer league, I think it’s really good because you will have a lot of big fans around the world and I think it’s the way America is taking, so I think it’s a really good idea to grow the public, to grow the fans around the world.”
Heading into Gateway, Agustin Canapino is looking for his first top-10 finish of his IndyCar career. It is a goal he believes he is capable of achieving.