McLaughlin’s Argentinian ride a false dawn…for now!

Scott McLaughlin caused a stir of hope in Argentina when he publicly asked if anyone could find him a drive in the Turismo Carretera series.

His IndyCar buddy, Agustin Canapino from Argentina, then pushed the matter along, causing a stir in his homeland. 

The Argentinian racer who is in his first IndyCar season with Juncos Hollinger Racing is a four time champion of the Turismo Carretera series, a stock car series that has been in operation since 1937, of which Juan Manuel Fangio was one of its first champions.

Scotty Mac caused a stir of excitement in Argentina when he expressed interest in the Turismo Carretera series

The cars look and sound fantastic with their 60’s and 70’s style bodywork (some facts at the bottom), and the rounds are often heavily attended with plenty of close racing. Scotty Mac tweeted (or X’ed, or whatever) the question: “Guys, are there any other cars that need a driver?”

The question sent Argentinian race fans into a frenzy, as Canapino responded that he’d “See what we can do”.

This set the wheels into motion, as Canapino actively sought a seat for McLaughlin for an August drive in the capital of Buenos Aires at the Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez.

The old school shells on the Turismo Carretera stock cars look pretty good

The Penske IndyCar driver and three-time Supercars champion was overwhelmed with the response he was getting from Argentina.

“I’m telling you, I’ve never used Google Translate so much in my life as I did after this tweet but the Argentinian fans are amazing, lots of love.”

Unfortunately for the South American fans, August is a hectic month in IndyCar, with three race meetings at Nashville, Indianapolis, and Illinois. 

The four-time IndyCar race winner was then obliged to pour water on the idea, but left the door ajar.

“I know my tweet had some buzz the other day about a potential race in Argentina! I would love to do a race there in the near future. 

“My friend Agustin Canapino, unfortunately I will have to say no to this opportunity. I would obviously love to come during the off-season but I have a lot to do to end the year.

The races at a Turismo Carretera round usually have a round 50 cars on track

“I want to do what is necessary for my team in IndyCar, a race in August does not suit me just now. But if there is still an opportunity to come at the end of the year, I would be delighted!”

The IndyCar season ends on September 10, whilst the Turismo Carretera runs through until December, with five race meetings still to come after the North American series is over.

The Argentinian touring car series runs throughout the year from February to December, with 15 rounds that travel from Santa Fe in the north, down to Patagonia’s south.

There are five models of Turismo Carretera car, with Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Torino, and Toyota all represented

There’s five old school manufacturer models, including Ford (Falcon), Chevrolet (SS), Dodge (Polara or R/T), Torino (1970’s Argentinian make), and Toyota (Camry), with 49 listed teams that all compete at the majority of the rounds.

The engines are straight-6’s with overhead valves and Weber 48 IDA carbs, and produce around 380HP, revving to 9500 rpm.

There’s four tiers of category:

A) TC (Top Level)
B) TC Pista
C) TC Mouras
D) TC Mouras Pista

The Turismo Carretera is currently in its 81st season, and holds the record for being the longest continual race series anywhere in the world.

Formula 1 great Juan Manual Fangio won the 1940 and 1941 touring car championsip in Argentina in this chevrolet

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