Agustín Canapino brings Argentina’s hopes to the Indianapolis 500

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INDIANAPOLIS — It’s hard to fathom the immense popularity of Indianapolis 500 driver Augustine Canapino in Argentina until you consider this: Five years ago, while racing in one of his country’s touring car series, he was voted the country’s best athlete.

Neither soccer superstar Lionel Messi nor tennis great Juan Martín del Potro.

The 33-year-old herd from Arrecifes, an inland city of about 25,000 that also produced Formula One drivers José Frilán González and Norberto Edgardo Fontana, has won more than 100 races and 15 titles in various national series. Canapino’s name is often in the news, his social media following is massive, and “Agustín” has become a buzzword for newborn babies.

“It’s not that I’m Messi, of course. Soccer is the most important sport in my country,” Canapino told The Associated Press on a quiet Tuesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he was participating in some of the traditional rookie events, including ducking under a 2,000-pound dairy cow, grabbing of a total and taking a jerk.

As fellow rookies RC Enerson and Sting Ray Robb discovered, milking a cow is harder than it sounds.

“But motoring”, continued Canapino, “it is very, very important in Argentina. We have a lot of fans, and yes, I have a lot of fans too. People have some tattoos with my name, and they name their children after me. It makes me very proud.”

Imagine how proud they would be if you win the Indy 500 on Sunday.

It will not be an easy task. Canapino drives for one of the smaller teams, Juncos Hollinger Racing, which had trouble finding speed last week. His teammate Callum Ilott even had to change chassis the day before qualifying because he felt “unsafe” in the car, although both drivers posted fast enough times on Saturday to avoid the stress of race day. the potholes.

However, simply making it to the 33-car field for “The Greatest Show in Racing” constitutes a win.

Canapino thought his career would start and end driving stock cars in Argentina, albeit with a foray into sport cars in the 24 Hours of Daytona. But late last year, the Argentine team’s owner, Ricardo Juncos, organized a show in Buenos Aires and called Canapino to see if he would be willing to handle the driving duties.

When Canapino did a few laps at the Autodromo de Buenos Aires in November, it was the first time an IndyCar had done so in Argentina since Al Unser won the Indy 300 at the Autodromo de Rafaela in 1971. Canapino then did laps at the Circuito de Termas of River Hondo, and he was fast enough in the show sessions that Juncos decided to give him a shot at a full-time career.

Canapino didn’t know a lick of English, but he knew he would need to be able to communicate with the team’s engineers. So, working with a tutor, watching movies, and with the help of an app on his phone, Canapino became fluency in about three months.

The learning curve has been just as fast inside the racing car, which will carry the colors of the Argentine soccer team on Sunday. Canapino was 12th in the season opener at St. Petersburg and 12th again in his oval debut at Texas.

But there have also been some difficult moments. At Long Beach, Ilott was exiting the pit lane in front of Canapino, forcing Helio Castroneves to make an aggressive move around both of them. Castroneves and Canapino ended up colliding, and many of the Argentine’s 115,000 followers on Twitter gutted his partner for obstructing the road and causing the shipwreck.

Canapino quickly issued a statement asking his fans to stop the vitriol.

His raucous support makes sense, though, when for many in Argentina there has been little to celebrate other than last year’s World Cup triumph. Political corruption has been rampant for generationsand the country is plunged into such an economic crisis that last week, the Central Bank of Argentina raised its key interest rate to a staggering 97% to avoid inflation.

“We have a lot of people out of work,” Canapino said. “People are hungry. The economy is a mess. So it’s very, very difficult to live there, unfortunately, because we have a really beautiful country. happy for what I’m doing here for them.”

Canapino is only the fourth driver from Argentina to qualify for the Indy 500 and the first since Raúl Riganti crashed in the 1940 race. Juan Manuel Fangio, the five-time Formula One champion considered by many to be Argentina’s best driver, he came to the 1958 race with great fanfare, but withdrew before qualifying when his car could not get up to speed.

Canapino had no problem with that. And for that, his fans at his house were able to celebrate.

“I think the only thing, the least we can do, is get some smiles out of people, because a lot of people are still suffering a lot, especially right now,” Canapino said. “We are in a decent position to start and it looks very good. My racing car looks good. First, we have to finish. Our goal is to finish in the best position possible.”

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