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Motorsport

How Nolan Siegel is planning his 2025 Indy 500 redemption arc with Arrow McLaren

Nolan Siegel Arrow McLaren Arrow McLaren IndyCar Tony Kanaan Kyle Larson Indy (Facility) Indy 500 JR Hildebrand

Despite not having taken part in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," not many drivers can claim to have made their mark on the Indianapolis 500 — but Nolan Siegel did.

In 2024, driving for #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, the then 19-year-old tried to qualify for the Indy 500 but fell short in spectacular fashion. The way he failed resonated throughout the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, literally and metaphorically.

Sitting in 34th place in the final minutes of qualifying last year, Siegel was pushing hard through Turn 1 on the second lap of his final attempt, clipping the wall at corner exit. The car went spinning, and slammed the barriers at Turn 2.

“I was going to go home because I went flat and did everything I could. I wasn’t going to go home because I lifted,” he said at the time. This statement did not go unnoticed in the IndyCar paddock.

The 20-year-old from Palo Alto, California, reflects on a new year, now with the Arrow McLaren team, his belief that he will only improve, what he has learned from working with Tony Kanaan, JR Hildebrand, the ever-impressive Kyle Larson — and his determination to make a very different mark on the Indy 500 this time around.

Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

What do you make of the season so far driving for Arrow McLaren?

"I think we've had a strong start to the season in a lot of ways. We've had some bad luck, but I think the last couple weekends, Barber especially, I feel like we were able to show the pace that we've kind of had all year. So it was nice to actually get a result out of that.

"It still wasn't everything that we were looking for, but I think the pace has been there and it's just a new group of people on the #6 car. Pretty much everyone is different and they're people that aren't new to IndyCar, but it's a new group that is learning how to work together. I think that every weekend, we've gotten better as a group, and I think we'll continue to do that as we work together for longer."

Of course, you did ten races with the team last season, but there were some changes for 2025, as you mentioned, such as Kate Gundlach becoming your race engineer. Do you feel 100% settled with the organization?

"I think we'll continue to get better with time, but Kate has done a really, really good job. Again, she's not new to IndyCar by any means. She worked with Pato [O'Ward] for a long time. She's worked in the IndyCar paddock for a long time, but she's new to the race engineer role. And she has done a great job stepping up to that role. She's been a great leader for the team. And I think that that's kind of the biggest difference for her is the fact that ... I think her and I are kind of the leaders of our group and she's done a really good job with that. So, I'm very, very happy with the opportunity that I have to work with Kate. And, and I think that given how good a job she's done in her first four races as a race engineer, I think by the end of the season, she's going to be phenomenal."

Despite the changes for this season, in 2024, you raced for three different teams at a very young age. How much do you value this stability now with a big team like Arrow McLaren?

"Yeah, it makes a big difference. Last year was extremely challenging, driving for a bunch of different teams. And again, like we talk about how it's going to take time for our group to get better working together and then for the results to follow. And last year, I was never in one place for long enough to really get to that point. So having the opportunity to work with the same people week in and week out, and just knowing where I am every weekend -- it's good for me, it allows us all to build together and, yeah, it makes a huge difference."

Do you expect things to change when we reach the second part of the season when you'll be racing in places you've already visited as an IndyCar driver before?

"Yeah, I think so. I think it's gonna be easier to kind of be on pace right away, where when I go to new places like (the) Indy GP, Barber, St. Pete -- places that I hadn't been in the IndyCar, it still takes the first few runs of practice one to kind of get used to the IndyCar on that track. I think when we take that away, it's going to be a step forward and we're just going to start the weekend in a better spot and start the weekend further ahead of where we have been. So, I'm excited to get back to places I've raced. And I think again, like the group's going to keep getting better. I'm going to keep getting better, I'm going to be more comfortable at places I I've been before and I think we're just going to keep going up from here."

Heading into the Indy 500, it's been just one day of practice, plus the Open Test. How do you feel about running in the oval at IMS so far?

"I feel good so far. It's, hard to know how fast you really are, at the open test, obviously, and then even here on the first day, everyone's doing different things. Our plan for the first day was to make sure that I was comfortable, everything was going well. I think we have a good race car. We have good balance out front by myself. So that was kind of what we focused on. And the car is really, really comfortable to drive right now. So, I feel good and I feel like we're in a good spot to start finding some speed and making it less comfortable. As much as I hate to do that, it's kind of what you have to do. No, I think we're in a good spot to start with that."

To go a little bit deeper on that, in this first couple of days, is the focus more in the race setup, qualifying or do you kind of work for both situations at the same time?

"Early on, I think it's both situations at the same time. As different as qualifying and the race are at the Speedway, I think if you have a good car, you have a car that has a nice balance, it's going to have a good balance, whether you're in traffic (or) by yourself if you're doing a qualifying run. The first step is to get the car to a happy window. I think if you're not happy and comfortable, there's no use in working on a specific qualifying car or race car. So, a good car is a good car. And the goal is just to get to a point where going from race trim to qualifying trim are like really fine, small changes, and we're not looking for any big chunks anymore. So that's, that's been the focus for, for the beginning of the month."

Can you identify any specific areas where you feel you need to improve the most? Is it the car's overall balance or the use of the hybrid?

"Yeah, I think. So the hybrid usage is going to be very different in qualifying and in the race. In qualifying, ideally you're flat out for four laps. So you don't really have any time to regen. So I think that's going to be interesting seeing what different teams come up with there. We're not exactly sure what's going to be best, but from a balance standpoint, I think the hybrid has added quite a bit of understeer through the center of the corner, so we've been trying to work that out without sacrificing rear stability on entry. And that's kind of the challenge for us right now. So we're going to continue kind of trying to get rid of that mid-corner understeer, but I would much rather have a car that is too understeery all the time and we're trying to work that out, than the other way around. So again, we're in a fine spot and I do feel like right now it's just really small changes and fine tuning, and we're not looking for anything huge."

Last year, things didn't go as you wanted, but do you value having that experience now? I mean, what about all those laps you did here? How useful is that now?

"After last year, yes, it was extremely difficult, but I learned so much from that. And I think, now this year coming in, having had that experience, I am so much better off than I would have been coming here having never driven before. So I'm really glad that I did that last year yes, it was terrible in the moment, but I think it made me a much better driver and it certainly made me a better driver at the Speedway. So I feel like I've had many years worth of experience already, given all of the different situations that I was kind of put in here last year. It was terrible, but I learned a huge amount from it. So, definitely glad that I have that experience now.

Last year you had Tony Kanaan kind of helping you to get to Indy 500. Now, he is your team principal. How is that relationship? Can you take advantage of his experience not only for the Indy 500, where is more focused on Kyle Larson, but also for other races?

"Yeah, definitely. He's working a lot with Kyle this month, as well, but no, it's been awesome having Tony on my stand and he has so much experience and IndyCar is different from other race series in a lot of ways. And I think there are a lot of kind of IndyCar specific things to work on, for me and having someone like Tony is huge. I don't think I would be able to learn as quickly as I have without him. I don't think we would have made as much progress as we have without him, and it's great. He's helped me a lot, mainly, I feel like with kind of navigating a bigger team, that's been the big change for me coming to Arrow McLaren as it's just a big group of people and being able to work with all of those people effectively and such a big group of engineers is challenging and something new for me. He's done it before at other big teams and he's helped me kind of navigate those challenges."

While Kanaan is working closely with Larson for the 500, you're working with JR Hildebrand in Indy. He's a very experienced driver. Could you give an example of something specific he told you or how he helped you?

"JR has a huge amount of experience and has always been really good at the Speedway. So having that experience kind of on my stand is huge and it's super helpful for me. He's helped me a lot with kind of how I can affect the balance of the car with my driving and with the tools. And you know, when maybe I'm not happy with the balance, how I can use what I have to help the car, whether that's driving it differently and taking a different line to try and minimize understeer or minimize oversteer. Whatever it may be, using the tools and using different combinations of the tools. There's a lot that you can do as a driver to help the balance of the car, especially in race running.

"So, instead of me just going and doing a bunch of laps and having to figure it out by myself, having that, you know, kind of help is, is huge for me. JR has also been, I think, a good addition to the stand in that we have a lot of new people. It's Kate's first time engineering a car at the 500. I have a performance engineer as well that's relatively new to the role. He was not a performance engineer at the 500 last year. And so he's helping us all work together and helping us all kind of grow together because I think we all have a lot to learn. So having someone that can help us learn quickly as a group is, is very helpful."

Besides your regular teammates Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard, you have Larson, who has been receiving a lot of attention from the media and fans these days. He doesn't have much experience in the 500, but many consider him a generational talent in our sport. Has he impressed you in any way, either on or off the track?

"I haven't gotten to spend a ton of time with Kyle yet, but every interaction I've had with him has been amazing. He's a really, really nice guy. Like you said, he is definitely a generational talent and he has a lot of media attention and is a pretty famous guy as you know, Pato or any, you know, it's not the first time that we've had a well-known driver, but he's extremely down to earth, willing to help and just a fun guy to talk to. So, really, really enjoy spending time with Kyle and I'm enjoying working with him.

"I think what's impressed me the most is just his ability to make the car do what he wants it to do. And he's new to IndyCar, but you listen to him talk and it's like, did you use the tools? And he's like, 'no, not really. I just kind of worked on my driving and figured it out'. And no matter what you give him, he goes fast. Like he doesn't really care if it's perfect, he doesn't care if he's not using the tools correctly or whatever. Like he just drives the car fast all the time, and I think that's pretty impressive, especially at a place like this, where everything is kind of focused on making the car how you want it. He's kind of just not fazed by it and goes and drives the car fast, no matter what he's given."

As you said, it was terrible for you that you couldn't qualify for the race last year, but you earned respect throughout the paddock for how you tried to enter the Indy 500. You left quite an impression. What kind of mark would you like to leave this time?

"That's an interesting one. I think after last year, I'd like to kind of show that I can come back after last year and be competitive and be like, I'm not here to just qualify and finish the race. We're here to compete. And I think if we have a car to win, then the goal is to be competing for a win. So yeah, I'd like to show people that after last year, it didn't affect me all that much and I can come back and use the experience that I gained and, and be competitive at the Indy 500."