It was a busy year for Arrow McLaren while they were sorting out their driver situation for the 2024 Indycar season but Nolan Siegel seems to be the choice that stuck.
Siegel’s an accomplished driver who’s previously raced in Indy Pro 2000 before moving up to Indy NXT as a full-time driver in 2023. In 2024 he was expected to continue racing in Indy NXT full-time and race for Dale Coyne Racing in IndyCar part-time. In June, he was the substitute for Agustín Canapino for the race at Road America after fans sent hateful messages towards Théo Pourchaire following an on-track incident at the Detroit Grand Prix.
Siegel’s Rookie Season has Been Anything Except for Boring
Joining Arrow McLaren
When the 2024 season began it was expected that David Malukas would be the driver of the No.6. Arrow McLaren. After sustaining an injury during the offseason, this was no longer the case and the team originally found a replacement in Callum Ilott.
However, Ilott’s time was cut short and followed by Théo Pourchaire making multiple race appearances for the team. It was widely believed that Pourchaire was going to be the driver of the No. 6 for the rest of the season. Ultimately the seat was offered to Siegel who drove for the remainder of the season.
Siegel debuted with Arrow McLaren for the 2024 IndyCar season at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, held at Laguna Seca. This gave the California native a chance to race in front of his home crowd. Siegel qualified 23 but managed to snag a P12 finish on race day. His teammate at the time, Alexander Rossi was on the podium finishing third while Pato O’Ward finished P8.
Indy 500 Qualifying
2024 was also Siegel’s first appearance during the Indy 500 weekend. While he was still racing for Dale Coyne at the time, Siegel took part in Indy 500 qualifying. Unfortunately, his Indy 500 debut was cut short after he didn’t qualify for the race.
During qualifying, he started off strong during lap one but lost control of the car after hitting the wall at the exit of turn one during lap two. As a result he crashed out of qualifying and didn’t make the cut for the qualifying grid. That weekend, the only other person representing Dale Coyne was part-time driver Katherine Legge who finished in 29.
First Top 10 Finish
IndyCar’s return from the Summer break was done in a very thrilling fashion. After taking about three weeks off, the season was welcomed back during the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. With a hectic start, including Colton Herta moving up six places on the opening lap. Early cautions lead to multiple retirements by lap 17.
After a series of pit stops, both Siegel and fellow rookie Linus Lundqvist lead the race momentarily. Although he didn’t hold onto first place the entire race, he finished the race P7. This was Nolan Siegel’s best finish in the 2024 IndyCar season.
Arrow McLaren teammate Alexander Rossi was P19 that weekend after contact with Josef Newgarden and Will Power. Meanwhile, Pato O’Ward finished P26 after retiring due to a mechanical issue.
Honourable Mention: Winning Le Mans
One of Siegel’s major accomplishments in 2024 happened outside of IndyCar. During his debut at the 24 Hours Of Le Mans, Siegel was paired with Oliver Jarvis and Bijoy Garg representing United Autosport. They were the winners of the LMP2 Class at Le Mans.
Gonna take a while for that one to sink in. Thank you Le Mans ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gGOceMZSH2
— Nolan Siegel (@nolan_siegel) June 17, 2024
