Nolan Siegel replaces Agustin Canapino at IndyCar Road America after online abuse incident

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – In the latest twist in an ugly saga surrounding abuse and hate on social media, Agustin Canapino will “take some time off” from the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara-Chevrolet this weekend at Road America.

Indy NXT winner Nolan Siegel, who attempted to make the Indy 500 last month after making his IndyCar debut in the 2024 season opener, will make his second career start in place of Canapino.

In a statement, Juncos Hollinger Racing said: “The increase in online abuse and harassment as a result of this week’s events has created a very difficult experience for Canapino, the team and the entire IndyCar fan community, and the safety of Agustin and the rest of the competitors must come first. Abuse, hate and harassment in any form is damaging to this sport and we must put the mental and physical well-being of both our drivers and our competition first.”

The scenic race track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, is the venue for the annual stop in June.

“Online abuse is unacceptable and we need to make sure our drivers are prepared both mentally and physically when they get in the car,” said Brad Hollinger, co-owner of Juncos Hollinger Racing.

“We are saddened by the events that led to this scenario.”

The team’s statement made no reference to team co-owner Richardo Juncos.

During the IndyCar practice broadcast on Peacock, NBC Sports’ Georgia Henneberry reported that Canapino was at the track on Friday before the team put Siegel in the car.

NBCSports.com spoke exclusively with Juncos Hollinger crew chief David O’Neill about the decision to take Canapino out of the Chevrolet after Siegel completed his first practice session with the team at Road America on Friday afternoon.

“It happened pretty quickly,” O’Neill told NBCSports.com. “We take care of our employees. Agustin is an employee and we have been monitoring the situation since 3 p.m. Sunday in Detroit. We made our statement that we are not going to talk about it anymore. We did what we had to do. We expressed that we do not agree with the online abuse.”

“Of course there’s nothing you can do about it. For some reason it just got worse and started to affect Agustin.

“At that point we had to take a close look at the whole situation and understand how he was feeling, whether he was ready for a weekend like this and whether he could commit to it.

“As the week went on, the decision got closer and closer. Today at around 1 p.m. we made it. We spoke to him and said, ‘Given all the psychological abuse you’re suffering, we’re going to get you out of the car this weekend,’ which is what we did.”

O’Neill admitted that Canapino wanted to stay in the car at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, despite the international turmoil the Argentine driver faced.

“Like anybody else, he’s a racer and he wanted to race,” O’Neill said. “We also have to think about safety and whether he’s ready for it. Any mistake he makes out there, whether he made it or not, is a risk. That’s our job, we have to make decisions and we made an informed decision so we stuck to it.”

The decision came on a turbulent Friday during an already intense week for JHR, which became even more chaotic 20 minutes into Friday practice. Romain Grosjean, driving the team’s No. 77 car, crashed nose-first into the Turn 14 tire barrier. Grosjean was uninjured after the incident.

The decision to put Siegel in the other car came after an incident at the Detroit Grand Prix last Sunday. Arrow McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire, who was penalised after colliding with Canapino during the race, said he had received abuse and death threats from Canapino’s fans online.

Arrow McLaren and JHR both released statements condemning online hate. But on Thursday, Arrow McLaren severed its strategic alliance with JHR after Canapino was active on social media, posting that he too had been the victim of verbal abuse and liking several posts questioning whether Pourchaire had received threats.

“This decision follows actions taken on social media earlier this week in relation to an on-track incident,” Arrow McLaren said in a statement announcing the end of its JHR alliance. “As set out in the team’s social media community code, Arrow McLaren does not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination and strongly condemns online abuse directed at our team and our driver.”

IndyCar also released a statement on Thursday: “No one should be the victim of online abuse or threats. IndyCar has been in touch with both teams to discuss this matter and to ensure we understand where we stand. We all have a responsibility to create a welcoming atmosphere and strongly condemn clear violations of online conduct.”

In its statement on Friday, JHR said it is “working directly with IndyCar to create a better community for our fans, drivers and team members and together make IndyCar a welcoming sport for all.”

O’Neill told NBCSports.com that the end of the alliance between the two teams was a major setback for Juncos Hollinger.

“This is definitely a blow to us,” O’Neill said. “We just have to pull ourselves together and put it behind us. We value the alliance and have done a good job working together. It’s unfortunate that it’s over.”

“There are a few Chevy teams out there. We’re still reeling from last week. The most important thing is to stabilize the team. We have 60 or 70 guys here who rely on us to make good decisions.”

It is the third time in the last two seasons that Canapino has been involved in a situation of online driver abuse. Last year, his former teammate Callum Ilott was threatened after being involved in incidents involving Canapino in Long Beach and at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“You have no control over things on social media, especially when countries are involved,” O’Neill said. “It’s like a football match. If I support a team and you support a team and a penalty is given, whether you agree with it or not, and a goal is scored, the decision stands and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“We can’t control it. All we can do is stay there and understand it and keep the situation under control and try to control our people.”

Nolan Siegel prepares for his first practice with Juncos Hollinger Racing — Bruce Martin Photo

Siegel was immediately dispatched to action.

Just before Friday practice began, the crew worked feverishly to prepare the car’s seat and pedals for the new driver. Adjustments needed to be made and the Indy NXT driver was able to take to the track and complete 18 laps around the 4.014-mile, 14-turn course. His best lap was 137.488 mph.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was fastest at 140.063 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda, followed by Andretti Global’s Colton Herta at 139.955 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Santino Ferrucci was third at 139.804 mph in the No. 14 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing.

“I think the session went really well on the track,” said Siegel. “We had no problems getting what we wanted to get done. I made progress every outing. I was super conservative. Being thrown into it is not the easiest thing. It’s not an easy track to just go full throttle from the start either. This track is extremely hard-working and super fast, so I took my time getting up to speed. I think it went smoothly and now we have a good base to build on.”

“Now I feel like we can really get the weekend going. I can meet everyone as I only had about 15 minutes to prepare for it. It’s not an easy situation but I’m really happy to be here and looking forward to working with the team.”

O’Neill said Siegel was the best available driver in the paddock who could be ready for Friday’s practice in such a short time.

“It certainly helps and of course there are several drivers out there who are not here in the paddock,” said O’Neill. “We had half an hour to get everything together. He’s got experience. He’s a sensible young driver and he’s the future. We took the opportunity to put him in the car.”

“I think Nolan did great. He was right up there with the front. He’s not far off. His experience on the track, jumping out of another car, is completely different and the track literally has no grip here. It’s a feature and not a mistake and something he got used to pretty quickly. We need to support him this weekend, give him a good car and see what he can do with it.”

Because of Arrow McLaren’s connection to Canapino’s exit for Siegel, NBCSports.com attempted to speak with Pourchaire and Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward.

Arrow McLaren’s PR staff declined to make Pourchaire available, saying Ward was “overworked.”

Despite achieving a personal best in the IndyCar series, the British driver is being abused online by fans of his teammate at Juncos Hollinger Racing.