Canapino’s consistency and lack of mistakes is as impressive as his speed early in his IndyCar career. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Agustin Canapino was the biggest wildcard among IndyCar’s three full time rookie drivers this season, coming into the season with precious little open wheel experience.
The Argentinian had only been behind the wheel of an IndyCar a couple times before Ricardo Juncos tipped him for a demonstration run in their home country late last year, which was followed by an announcement that he would be filling the Juncos Hollinger team’s second entry for the 2023 season.
Canapino knew that his task would be a tough one, but so far is proving that his years of racing experience in stock cars in Argentina are a solid enough background to hold his own in open wheel racing.
The result of a lot of hard work behind the scenes, he has finished in the top half of the field in both races this year.
When Canapino was asked by Motorsportweek.com if he would categorize his IndyCar running so far as difficult or fun, he pivoted to saying that he still needs more experience to show his true potential.
“Both probably. Both,” said Canapino. “I am doing a big, big sacrifice because the change is really big. At the same time, I am really happy with this situation and this opportunity.
“I need more experience. I need more laps. I am still far from the mid-pack. This is my goal, the mid-pack. I’m still far, but I am working really hard to try to catch them.
“[This has been] was my first experience in open wheel cars. And IndyCar is the most competitive series in the world. Really good start for us.”
Though Canapino feels that he is still behind other mid-pack drivers, the results so far show that’s not necessarily the case.
He has finished 12th in both races this season, placing him 12th in the points overall, and has showed remarkable poise to stay out of trouble in two races that featured copious amounts of on track incidents.
Canapino held his own on the busy banking of Texas Motor Speedway. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Even more impressive given that the two races were run on vastly different types of tracks, and the only oval running he had done in his career came at a short test session one week ahead of the Texas race.
The other rookies this season, Sting Ray Robb and Benjamin Pedersen, have each failed to finish one of their races and sit considerably further down the order than Canapino.
At the very least, he is meeting his goal of running as many laps as possible by staying out of trouble right through the checkered flag.
The season is still young, and there is still plenty for the 33-year-old driver to learn, but early indications seem to point to him being quite the valuable asset for the JHR team.
Keyword: Canapino hitting early goals, leads rookie standings