Nolan Siegel will make a last-minute step up to the IndyCar Series for this weekend’s race at Road America, replacing Agustín Canapino at Juncos Hollinger Racing.

By Feeder Series

It was initially confirmed to Feeder Series that American driver Siegel, 19, will still compete in this weekend’s Indy Nxt round at Road America for HMD Motorsports. He is currently third in the standings, 44 points behind championship leader Jacob Abel. An update on Saturday from HMD, however, confirmed that Siegel would be replaced by Kiko Porto for the Indy Nxt race weekend.

The news, confirmed Friday afternoon by JHR, comes amid a firestorm of social media controversy that began in the aftermath of Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix.

Argentinian driver Canapino, 34, was hit by McLaren rookie Théo Pourchaire at a race restart on lap 60 of 100, which caused him to lose two positions. Pourchaire finished the race 10th, while Canapino finished 12th.

In the wake of the incident, several individuals sent death threats via social media to Pourchaire, the reigning Formula 2 champion and a reserve driver for Sauber in Formula 1. McLaren issued a statement jointly with JHR on Monday condemning the abuse, which Pourchaire quoted with a message of his own.

Canapino and JHR issued statements of their own on Tuesday rejecting the abuse, though Canapino said he had “not seen a single death threat directed at those who claim to have received them”.

This response and Canapino’s personal social media activity generated further controversy among IndyCar circles.

Two days later, McLaren terminated its commercial alliance with JHR, announced in October 2023, citing “actions that occurred earlier this week on social media”.

In their announcement of Siegel on Friday, JHR wrote, “The growth of online abuse and harassment resulting from the events of this week have led to a very difficult experience for Agustin, the team and the entire INDYCAR fan base, and the safety of Agustin and the rest of the competitors has to be considered first and foremost.

“Abuse, hatred, and harassment in any form is a detriment to this sport, and we must prioritize the mental and physical wellbeing of both our drivers and our competition.”

Canapino and JHR had previously come under fire after the 2023 IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca in September. A clash between Canapino and then-teammate Callum Ilott during the race led abusive messages to be sent the British driver’s way. Ilott subsequently split from JHR in late October and has since entered three IndyCar races this year for McLaren.

Siegel is contesting a partial IndyCar campaign for rival team Dale Coyne Racing this year. He finished 20th on his debut at Long Beach in April before failing to qualify for last month’s Indianapolis 500.

When asked by Feeder Series about Siegel’s last-minute race appearance for JHR, HMD Motorsports general manager Mike Maurini wrote on Friday afternoon, “It is good for Nolan. He gains some additional IndyCar experience, and it may translate some further information and speed to NXT later this weekend. While the opportunity is awesome for him, the circumstances that led to this are terrible. Hopefully, he can make the best of the situation.”

Siegel withdrew from the Road America Indy Nxt weekend ahead of the second practice session. He had placed 10th in the first practice. Porto was confirmed to be taking his seat an hour later.

The 20-year-old Brazilian was the 2023 USF Pro 2000 runner-up for DEForce Racing. He had made three Indy Nxt starts on road courses in the second half of 2023 with Cape Motorsports but did not find a ride this year. He has instead been racing for Ansa Motorsports in the 2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season and leads the standings with three wins from four races.

In their statement issued Saturday morning confirming Siegel’s withdrawal, HMD wrote that the team “fully supports Nolan in prioritizing his INDYCAR efforts for this weekend and wishes him the best of luck in this opportunity.”

Additional reporting by Jeroen Demmendaal

Editor’s note, 8 June 2024, 20:26 CEST: This article was updated with the news and associated statements confirming that Nolan Siegel would not race after all in this weekend’s Indy Nxt round and would be replaced by Kiko Porto.

Header photo credit: Joe Skibinski / Penske Entertainment