INDIANAPOLIS — Agustin Canapino and Juncos Hollinger Racing have mutually decided to part ways, ending a relationship between the IndyCar Series team and Argentine driver that turned controversial when he took a brief leave of absence in June following a third social media firestorm in a year.
The team announced the decision Wednesday with a social media post on X and its website, in which it commended Canapino for moving to open wheel racing and to the United States. JHR also thanked the driver for his time.
“Both Agustin and the team have worked tirelessly to learn, grow, and succeed throughout his time at JHR and we are extremely proud of what we have achieved together,” the team said.
Canapino stepped away from the team in June before a race at Road America in Wisconsin after disputing claims that rival driver Théo Pourchaire had received online death threats from Canapino fans over an on-track incident between the two. Arrow McLaren Racing wound up ending its technical and marketing relationship with JHR over the fiasco, with both parties decrying any form of abuse or discrimination.
JHR said then it didn’t believe Canapino was focused enough to race in the resulting fallout and replaced him with rookie Nolan Siegel.
Pourchaire had made contact with Canapino’s No. 78 Chevy on a late restart during the Detroit Grand Prix. Both drivers remained in the race, though the French driver received an avoidable contact penalty.
Pourchaire later wrote on social media that he had received death threats. Canapino said he had seen no such thing.
Another driver, former JHR teammate Callum Ilott, previously said that Canapino’s passionate fan base had made threatening comments at times last season. Ilott said he felt he never received support from the team over the online abuse and was released at the end of last season.
Canapino was 12th at Detroit, his best performance amid finishes of 15th or worse in 11 starts. His last race was a 26th-place finish last month on Toronto’s street course.
Source: www.espn.com