The colors of the Argentine flag will be present on the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet driven by rookie Augustin Canapino in the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Canapino will carry the blue and white colors of his home country, with a design based on the World Cup, which Argentina won for the third time in 2022. This strategic action will take place between the Argentine Football Association and Juncos Hollinger Racing and also will count with the collaboration of Visit Argentina, the international tourism promotion brand of Inportur.
"It is a great honor and a great pride to represent the World Champions in the oldest and most important motor racing competition on the planet,” Canapino said. “For me, it is a dream come true twice over, to participate in the ‘500’ as well as to represent our national team, which brings so much joy to the Argentineans. It will be my first time in this race and although our goal is to qualify and finish the race, we will do every lap with all the desire to finish in the best possible position.
“Many thanks to AFA and all of Juncos Hollinger Racing for allowing me to be living this great dream."
Canapino is one of the most successful drivers in Argentine motor racing, one of the three drivers with the most titles in his country’s history. He was awarded the Olimpia de Oro (the highest award granted by sports journalism, previously won by soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona and tennis player Juan Martín Del Potro), the second driver to receive it since 1954.
“Generating actions such as the ones we are celebrating today highlight the union between Argentines through sport,” said Claudio Tapia, president of the AFA. “To be able to unite two great passions such as soccer and motor racing in a foreign territory is a demonstration of teamwork. The AFA is proud to support an Argentine driver in the iconic Indy 500 race and wishes the best to Agustin Canapino and the Juncos Hollinger Racing team.”
Said Ricardo Juncos, JHR president and co-owner: "As an Argentinean, I am proud to have the colors of my country and the Argentinean Football Association with us for this edition of the Indy 500 race. To be able to bring together the two greatest passions of Argentines, together with the AFA and Agustín Canapino, in the most important and oldest event in the history of world motorsport, the ‘500,’ is a dream come true. I believe it will undoubtedly be a historic event for the sport in our country, which beyond any result will remain in everyone's memory.”
The partnership also is designed to promote tourism to Argentina.
"To make this presentation possible for us to continue making our country visible in the world, we have been doing it since the first INDYCAR competition, promoting the tourist benefits of Argentina in the United States,” said Ricardo Sosa, executive secretary of Inprotur. “Now, with the car with the Argentine colors, it will be a great impact in the category, the passion of soccer and motor racing come together, something that in Argentina generates a great feeling, and this is what we are taking abroad. Besides, we must add the clothing of Agustín Canapino and the rest of the mechanics, which will follow the guidelines of the clothing of the Argentinean national soccer team.”