Power compares Canapino controversy to previous Montoya incident

Power tried to remain positive in his assessment, pointing out the cultural differences and how emotionally charged the reaction of fans in this part of the world can be.

“They’re pretty passionate about the sport and their guys in the sport,” Power said. “Any of the guys that come here and do well is a big deal for them. For example, it would be great if this country won the Indy 500 like Agustin did. That would probably be like a holiday. That’s pretty cool.”

Power knows, to some extent, what it’s like to be cheered on by a passionate fan base. He recalled the 2015 season finale at Sonoma Raceway, where he and former teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who entered the weekend with a 34-point lead in the championship, collided mid-race. The result cost Montoya the title, as he lost in a tiebreaker to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, the race winner.

“It was the same with Montoya,” Power recalled.

“I had an incident with him once and got some interesting social media posts. But different cultures react differently to their sports heroes. I love that we have a very multinational show. That’s why it’s a cool show.”

And how was the problem solved?

“Everything was fine,” Power said. “We actually had dinner together that night and tweeted it and everyone was like, ‘Oh, OK. They’re friends.'”

Agustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

Canapino and Arrow McLaren rookie Theo Pourchaire collided at the Detroit Grand Prix last weekend, leading to the Argentine’s fans bombarding him with abusive comments on social media.

Although Arrow McLaren and JHR condemned the 20-year-old Frenchman’s abuse in a joint statement, Canapino later denied allegations that his supporters had threatened rivals in a statement.

The situation led to the termination of the strategic alliance between Arrow McLaren and JHR on Thursday, which was originally formed last October. In addition, Canapino took a “vacation” for this weekend’s race at Road America. His team cited mental health issues as the reason for this and asked Indy NXT regular Nolan Siegel to step in as a replacement.

This was the third incident of this kind in which a competitor had incurred the wrath of fans, following an incident involving Canapino, who was targeting his former teammate Callum Ilott, who had two collisions last year at Long Beach and Laguna Seca.

In a recent media interview, prior to Canapino’s withdrawal from the weekend, Power was asked by Motorsport.com if he would drive differently against a driver such as Canapino, bearing in mind the constant negative consequences of a potential incident.

“I’ve only heard a little bit about the setbacks, but it sounds similar to the Ilott thing,” said Power, the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion.

The 43-year-old Australian then repeated the question to himself, adding a comment that made him laugh.

“If you were in Argentina, you certainly wouldn’t want to take him out if we had a race there,” he said.

Then Power came back and added: “You want to have a clean race against everyone, but mistakes happen.”