Latest news with #ArrowMcLaren
Indianapolis Star
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Arrow McLaren prepping Linus Lundqvist as potential replacement for Nolan Siegel at Toronto
Arrow McLaren has signed ex-Chip Ganassi Racing driver Linus Lundqvist as a reserve driver for this weekend's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto street race, the team announced Monday. Practice begins Friday afternoon, but Nolan Siegel might not be cleared to return to the cockpit after suffering a minor concussion in a late-race crash Saturday at Iowa Speedway. Siegel was not cleared for Sunday's race by IndyCar medical officials that morning. Given the short break between the races and belief late Saturday that Siegel would be cleared, Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan opted not to run Siegel's No. 6 car Sunday. Doing so would've required requesting from IndyCar a special 15-minute shakedown session with a substitute driver on Saturday night, Kanaan said. And given the car repair time in the wake of Siegel's crash — one so hard that the SAFER barrier required repairs — the team principal didn't want the team scrambling with so much uncertainty. 'I missed it': Ex-Team Penske IndyCar leader relishing new chapter with Arrow McLaren Arrow McLaren briefly explored the possibility of Kanaan starting Sunday's race and parking immediately after the green flag, but IndyCar wouldn't approve such a move because Kanaan hadn't taken part in an on-track session during the weekend. An emergency on-track session wasn't available Sunday morning. Lundqvist was at Iowa Speedway on Sunday. The 26-year-old Swedish driver with 20 IndyCar starts will ready himself this week for what could amount to his first time inside an IndyCar cockpit since the 2024 season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. As Kanaan told select media Sunday morning ahead of that day's race, Lundqvist will be in the team's shop throughout this week as Siegel is put through a regimented recovery plan that includes light workouts, time on a racing simulator and evaluation by Ryan Harber, the team's head of human performance, health and wellness. Siegel will be reevaluated by IndyCar's medical team Thursday morning to determine his ability to drive in Toronto. How close was Tony Kanaan to driving?: Nolan Siegel's status, possible backup drivers for Toronto Lundqvist will be with the team all weekend and available should Siegel experience any discomfort in his return or if he isn't cleared. Lundqvist finished 13th in his lone start at Toronto a year ago. He finished 16th in points in his lone full-time IndyCar season in 2024 with five top-10s, a pair of podiums (Barber and World Wide Technology Raceway) and a pole (Road America), but he entered this season without a ride after CGR scaled back from five full-time cars to three as IndyCar launched its charter system that caps teams at three full-time entries guaranteed to start each race (minus the Indy 500).
Indianapolis Star
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
How close was Tony Kanaan to driving? Nolan Siegel's status, possible backup drivers for Toronto
NEWTON, Iowa — As he's claimed numerous times, Tony Kanaan has no desire to race again in IndyCar. And yet, the 50-year-old Arrow McLaren team principal, who spent parts of 26 seasons racing in the highest levels of American open-wheel racing, slipped into one of Pato O'Ward's spare fire suits, pulled the young Mexican driver's race seat out of the No. 5, placed it in the No. 6 and climbed in. The few minutes of contemplating coming out of retirement came after the team's 20-year-old driver Nolan Siegel was found to have suffered a 'mild concussion' from his severe one-car crash on Lap 248 Saturday afternoon in Race 1 of IndyCar's doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway. Siegel initially underwent concussion testing with IndyCar's medical team Saturday in the moments after his crash, and due to the severity indicated by the G forces measured the accelerometer in the drivers' earpieces, Siegel was required to be rechecked early Sunday morning in order to determine whether he'd be cleared to run at 1. At 9:30 a.m., the team learned their first-year full-time driver would not be allowed to race, and not long after, the team determined it would not run the No. 6 Chevy that Siegel had qualified fifth for the race. An hour before Sunday's green flag, Kanaan sat down with select reporters to explain why the team elected not to run the race, why neither Kanaan nor anyone else would start the car and the process the team will undergo in the coming days to have someone, Siegel or otherwise, ready to pilot the No. 6 machine come Friday's event-opening practice on the streets of Toronto. Kanaan said he went to bed expecting Siegel to be cleared, but given the tight timeline around the doubleheader weekend and the lengths the team had to go through just to ready the car for Sunday, and the risk of a new, last-minute driver crashing after starting last (27th) on the grid due to the driver change and the tight turnaround ahead of Toronto, the risks outweighed the rewards of starting a substitute driver. What Kanaan said he didn't immediately think of Saturday evening while solidifying his decision not to have anyone else but Siegel start Sunday's race was the team's Leaders Circle battle and the points impact the No. 6 would suffer by not starting Sunday's race if Siegel was not cleared. Drivers and cars that qualify for a race, but don't start, receive half points for the effort, meaning three points for finishing 27th instead of the minimum of five for pulling off pit lane and taking part in the parade laps. After crashing from seventh place Saturday and dropping to finish 24th , a 20-point points reduction, the No. 6 car sat 21st in entrant points after Race 1, just one spot above the cutline of the top 22 charter-holding entrants that will be slotted in at the end of this season to receive the roughly $1.2 million payout from the series — deemed the Leaders Circle program. At that point, the No. 6 was 19 points clear of 22nd (the No. 45 of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and 40 points clear of the first car on the outside looking in (the No. 77 of Juncos Hollinger Racing). So Sunday morning, after having been made aware of that and learning that Siegel would not be cleared to race, Kanaan inquired to series race director Kyle Novak about the ability of setting up that emergency on-track session last minute, in order to give Kanaan the opportunity to start and park and earn the No. 6 the extra two points, points Kanaan hopes and believes won't be make-or-break in the team's pursuit to hold onto a Leaders Circle spot, but available points nonetheless. It was in those few minutes as Arrow McLaren waited to hear whether IndyCar would go one step further in making an exception for the unique circumstances that Kanaan entertained the idea of hoping into the cockpit of a racecar again on the grid and took the initial steps of preparing himself for such an endeavor. 'My stuff isn't even here; that's how badly I don't want to (race), but Pato's suit fits me, as well as his seat, so I put his seat in the car and sat in it just in case,' Kanaan said. 'We were pending (IndyCar's) decision and thought, 'Why wait and rush it? Let's just sit there and get started.'' 'A lot of salt to get rid of.' How will Pato O'Ward celebrate Synk 275 win? Gifting Josef Newgarden Kit-Kats But when Novak reaffirmed IndyCar's position that they had needed to know by Saturday night in order to schedule the session and that one was necessary for Kanaan or anyone other than Siegel to start the race, Arrow McLaren was fine living with how the process had taken place. 'Internally, I've said, 'I'm not even thinking about (not making the Leaders Circle) because we're not a team that shouldn't be in the top 22,' Kanaan said. 'Sometimes, IndyCar does something where 'This is the rule, but it's up to our discretion,' but I'll pick my battles. It's fine. I'm not here to create more chaos. 'Would it be cool for you guys to talk about me being on the grid and (Scott) Dixon making fun of me (for coming out of retirement again)? Sure, but really, I truly, truly love what I'm doing now. I always loved driving an Indy car, but I have no desire to go against these guys and get beat, cause I'll get mad.' According to the rule book, drivers who have not participated at any point in on-track activities during the weekend are not allowed to even take the green flag – a rule that came into play a year ago at Iowa Speedway as Jack Harvey was balancing a debilitating back injury between qualifying and Race 1, but Dale Coyne Racing was not allowed to have anyone else start Race 1. Kanaan said he only would've performed a start and park, meaning he'd take the green flag and immediately pull into pit lane and retire the car, as the only option instead of pursuing another driver. 'I don't disagree with the rules, and rules are rules,' Kanaan said. 'I didn't want to think Nolan wouldn't be in the car, and I didn't think I was going to field a car and run the whole race starting from dead last. 'And even if that wasn't me, to do what? And then if you do more damage, you have to turn (the car around for Toronto), so the decision was made to not run the car if Nolan wasn't going to run it. That was pretty much set in my mind.' As Siegel heads back to Indianapolis from a disappointing weekend at Iowa Speedway, his next 72 hours or so will include almost constant round-the-clock work, recovery efforts and evaluation that will ultimately determine whether he's back in the car Friday afternoon in Toronto. It's a moment where Siegel and Arrow McLaren will really lean on its head of human performance, health and wellness Ryan Harber, who for years and years had been Kanaan's physiologist and who the team hired in the offseason away from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. 'You feel that intensity.' Will IndyCar return to Iowa Speedway? Pivotal weekend may decide future '(Siegel) needs to rest. We need to keep an eye on if he's sleeping more. (He'll do) mild workouts, and we'll put him on the simulator,' Kanaan said. 'And then Thursday morning, he's going to get his evaluation to (possibly) be cleared.' Kanaan said the team doesn't yet have a backup driver lined up in case Siegel isn't cleared for Toronto, but he expects to have that settled by Monday and have said backup driver in the shop to begin the preparation process. Essentially, Arrow McLaren will ready both Siegel and his potential stand in this week so both possibilities are covered. Among the names mentioned include recent Indy 500 one-off drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Harvey, who is in his first year as pit reporter for Fox's IndyCar broadcasts, as well as 2024 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Linus Lundqvist, who raced last year for Chip Ganassi Racing and who achieved one pole and two podiums but whose ride was lost as the team scaled back from five full-time cars to three due to the series' launched charter system. Lundqvist has been in attendance at most IndyCar races this season, including this weekend, both to try and continue conversations and remain visible in hopes of future full-time opportunities coming together, while also remaining a possible stand in for an injured driver. Kanaan also name-dropped Theo Pourchaire, who made his IndyCar debut a year ago with Arrow McLaren at Long Beach in injury fill-in duty for David Malukas, and who then made five starts with the team through mid-June and had been announced as the driver of the No. 6 for each remaining race in 2024 after the Indy 500. Pourchaire was then unceremoniously cut to make room for the team to hire Siegel full-time, though the young Frenchman filled in for an injured Alexander Rossi last year at Toronto. Pourchaire is racing in ELMS in the LMP2 class while also serving as a test and development driver for Peugeot, and his calendar next weekend would appear to be open if called upon. History at Iowa: Myles Rowe becomes first Black driver to win IndyCar or NASCAR race at Iowa Speedway 'I'm going to sleep on it and think about what's the best fit, because it's also going to be a guy who's going to sit there all week and who then might not drive,' Kanaan said. Since the team will have to leave for Toronto on Thursday before knowing the results of Siegel's reevaluation, and because there's always a chance his symptoms flare up after getting back in the car, Kanaan said the team will bring that backup driver with them for the entirety of the Toronto race weekend. 'I don't want to go through what I did last year, staying up all night flying Pourchaire in from Europe,' said Kanaan, referring to the real-life planes, trains and automobiles episode he lived a year ago to secure a replacement for Rossi at Toronto. 'So we'll have a backup in place.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Arrow McLaren's Nolan Siegel not cleared to race in the IndyCar Farm to Finish 275
Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel will miss the second leg of the NTT IndyCar Series' Iowa Speedway doubleheader after his crash during Saturday's Synk 275. The Californian was checked by the IndyCar Medical Team and has not been cleared to compete in the Farm to Finish 275. Arrow McLaren has withdrawn the No. 6 Chevrolet from the race, leaving the field at 26 entries. Advertisement 'There's no place I'd rather be than out there driving today, especially from P5; one of my best starting positions of the season' Siegel said in a team statement. 'I know I'm in good hands with the INDYCAR Medical Team and thank them for the great care they provide us drivers. 'Most of all, I feel for the 6 car crew. They gave me a rocket this weekend and put in a ton of work last night with hopes we'd be racing today. They deserve to be out there fighting for podium, and we'll be back soon to do just that.' Siegel suffered a solo spin and backed into the wall at the exit of turn 4 during the final stages of Saturday's race, ending his day in 24th. '(The car) was a little weird from the time I left pit lane,' Siegel told FOX Sports afterward. 'I hadn't had a lot of oversteer up until then. And then, I don't know, I just lost it in the middle of (turns) 3 and 4. I was pushing hard. That's it. Not much more to it.' The Californian initially said he was fine and excited to race on Sunday. But wasn't cleared to compete on the morning of the race. Advertisement 'I've been there,' Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan said. 'I know how Nolan feels not racing today. It's the worst feeling in the world. The most important thing, though, is that he's fit to race, and unfortunately that's not the case today. It was a tough decision to park the car, but we've been through this before.' Kanaan stated that Arrow McLaren elected 'not to rush into switching drivers' after finding out Siegel was unavailable so close to the green flag. The team will make a contingency plan in case Siegel can't compete in next weekend's race in Toronto. Siegel is in the midst of his second season in IndyCar and first full year with Arrow McLaren. The 20-year-old has endured struggles, but entered Iowa after a season-best finish of fourth at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and had qualified eighth and fifth for this weekend's doubleheader. He currently sits 21st in the championship standings. Photos from IOWA - Race 2 Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Advertisement Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Will Power, Team Penske Will Power, Team Penske Penske Entertainment David Malukas, A. J. Foyt Enterprises David Malukas, A. J. Foyt Enterprises Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Penske Entertainment Devlin Defrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Devlin Defrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Penske Entertainment Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing Penske Entertainment Advertisement Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Devlin Defrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Devlin Defrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Penske Entertainment Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global Penske Entertainment Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren Penske Entertainment Santino Ferrucci, A. J. Foyt Enterprises Santino Ferrucci, A. J. Foyt Enterprises Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Advertisement Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Penske Entertainment Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Penske Entertainment Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Penske Entertainment Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing Penske Entertainment Advertisement Read Also: David Malukas braces for the 'toughest weekend' of 2025 at "chaotic" Iowa The winners and losers from IndyCar's 2025 Mid Ohio 200 race Pato O'Ward storms to IndyCar Iowa Speedway Race 1 win, denying Josef Newgarden To read more articles visit our website.
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
How close was Tony Kanaan to driving? Nolan Siegel's status, possible backup drivers for Toronto
NEWTON, Iowa — As he's claimed numerous times, Tony Kanaan has no desire to race again in IndyCar. And yet, the 50-year-old Arrow McLaren team principal, who spent parts of 26 seasons racing in the highest levels of American open-wheel racing, slipped into one of Pato O'Ward's spare fire suits, pulled the young Mexican driver's race seat out of the No. 5, placed it in the No. 6 and climbed in. The few minutes of contemplating coming out of retirement came after the team's 20-year-old driver Nolan Siegel was found to have suffered a 'mild concussion' from his severe one-car crash on Lap 248 Saturday afternoon in Race 1 of IndyCar's doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway. Siegel initially underwent concussion testing with IndyCar's medical team Saturday in the moments after his crash, and due to the severity indicated by the G forces measured the accelerometer in the drivers' earpieces, Siegel was required to be rechecked early Sunday morning in order to determine whether he'd be cleared to run at 1. At 9:30 a.m., the team learned their first-year full-time driver would not be allowed to race, and not long after, the team determined it would not run the No. 6 Chevy that Siegel had qualified fifth for the race. An hour before Sunday's green flag, Kanaan sat down with select reporters to explain why the team elected not to run the race, why neither Kanaan nor anyone else would start the car and the process the team will undergo in the coming days to have someone, Siegel or otherwise, ready to pilot the No. 6 machine come Friday's event-opening practice on the streets of Toronto. Kanaan said he went to bed expecting Siegel to be cleared, but given the tight timeline around the doubleheader weekend and the lengths the team had to go through just to ready the car for Sunday, and the risk of a new, last-minute driver crashing after starting last (27th) on the grid due to the driver change and the tight turnaround ahead of Toronto, the risks outweighed the rewards of starting a substitute driver. What Kanaan said he didn't immediately think of Saturday evening while solidifying his decision not to have anyone else but Siegel start Sunday's race was the team's Leaders Circle battle and the points impact the No. 6 would suffer by not starting Sunday's race if Siegel was not cleared. Drivers and cars that qualify for a race, but don't start, receive half points for the effort, meaning three points for finishing 27th instead of the minimum of five for pulling off pit lane and taking part in the parade laps. After crashing from seventh place Saturday and dropping to finish 24th , a 20-point points reduction, the No. 6 car sat 21st in entrant points after Race 1, just one spot above the cutline of the top 22 charter-holding entrants that will be slotted in at the end of this season to receive the roughly $1.2 million payout from the series — deemed the Leaders Circle program. At that point, the No. 6 was 19 points clear of 22nd (the No. 45 of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and 40 points clear of the first car on the outside looking in (the No. 77 of Juncos Hollinger Racing). So Sunday morning, after having been made aware of that and learning that Siegel would not be cleared to race, Kanaan inquired to series race director Kyle Novak about the ability of setting up that emergency on-track session last minute, in order to give Kanaan the opportunity to start and park and earn the No. 6 the extra two points, points Kanaan hopes and believes won't be make-or-break in the team's pursuit to hold onto a Leaders Circle spot, but available points nonetheless. It was in those few minutes as Arrow McLaren waited to hear whether IndyCar would go one step further in making an exception for the unique circumstances that Kanaan entertained the idea of hoping into the cockpit of a racecar again on the grid and took the initial steps of preparing himself for such an endeavor. 'My stuff isn't even here; that's how badly I don't want to (race), but Pato's suit fits me, as well as his seat, so I put his seat in the car and sat in it just in case,' Kanaan said. 'We were pending (IndyCar's) decision and thought, 'Why wait and rush it? Let's just sit there and get started.'' 'A lot of salt to get rid of.' How will Pato O'Ward celebrate Synk 275 win? Gifting Josef Newgarden Kit-Kats But when Novak reaffirmed IndyCar's position that they had needed to know by Saturday night in order to schedule the session and that one was necessary for Kanaan or anyone other than Siegel to start the race, Arrow McLaren was fine living with how the process had taken place. 'Internally, I've said, 'I'm not even thinking about (not making the Leaders Circle) because we're not a team that shouldn't be in the top 22,' Kanaan said. 'Sometimes, IndyCar does something where 'This is the rule, but it's up to our discretion,' but I'll pick my battles. It's fine. I'm not here to create more chaos. 'Would it be cool for you guys to talk about me being on the grid and (Scott) Dixon making fun of me (for coming out of retirement again)? Sure, but really, I truly, truly love what I'm doing now. I always loved driving an Indy car, but I have no desire to go against these guys and get beat, cause I'll get mad.' According to the rule book, drivers who have not participated at any point in on-track activities during the weekend are not allowed to even take the green flag – a rule that came into play a year ago at Iowa Speedway as Jack Harvey was balancing a debilitating back injury between qualifying and Race 1, but Dale Coyne Racing was not allowed to have anyone else start Race 1. Kanaan said he only would've performed a start and park, meaning he'd take the green flag and immediately pull into pit lane and retire the car, as the only option instead of pursuing another driver. 'I don't disagree with the rules, and rules are rules,' Kanaan said. 'I didn't want to think Nolan wouldn't be in the car, and I didn't think I was going to field a car and run the whole race starting from dead last. 'And even if that wasn't me, to do what? And then if you do more damage, you have to turn (the car around for Toronto), so the decision was made to not run the car if Nolan wasn't going to run it. That was pretty much set in my mind.' As Siegel heads back to Indianapolis from a disappointing weekend at Iowa Speedway, his next 72 hours or so will include almost constant round-the-clock work, recovery efforts and evaluation that will ultimately determine whether he's back in the car Friday afternoon in Toronto. It's a moment where Siegel and Arrow McLaren will really lean on its head of human performance, health and wellness Ryan Harber, who for years and years had been Kanaan's physiologist and who the team hired in the offseason away from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. 'You feel that intensity.' Will IndyCar return to Iowa Speedway? Pivotal weekend may decide future '(Siegel) needs to rest. We need to keep an eye on if he's sleeping more. (He'll do) mild workouts, and we'll put him on the simulator,' Kanaan said. 'And then Thursday morning, he's going to get his evaluation to (possibly) be cleared.' Kanaan said the team doesn't yet have a backup driver lined up in case Siegel isn't cleared for Toronto, but he expects to have that settled by Monday and have said backup driver in the shop to begin the preparation process. Essentially, Arrow McLaren will ready both Siegel and his potential stand in this week so both possibilities are covered. Among the names mentioned include recent Indy 500 one-off drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Harvey, who is in his first year as pit reporter for Fox's IndyCar broadcasts, as well as 2024 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Linus Lundqvist, who raced last year for Chip Ganassi Racing and who achieved one pole and two podiums but whose ride was lost as the team scaled back from five full-time cars to three due to the series' launched charter system. Lundqvist has been in attendance at most IndyCar races this season, including this weekend, both to try and continue conversations and remain visible in hopes of future full-time opportunities coming together, while also remaining a possible stand in for an injured driver. Kanaan also name-dropped Theo Pourchaire, who made his IndyCar debut a year ago with Arrow McLaren at Long Beach in injury fill-in duty for David Malukas, and who then made five starts with the team through mid-June and had been announced as the driver of the No. 6 for each remaining race in 2024 after the Indy 500. Pourchaire was then unceremoniously cut to make room for the team to hire Siegel full-time, though the young Frenchman filled in for an injured Alexander Rossi last year at Toronto. Pourchaire is racing in ELMS in the LMP2 class while also serving as a test and development driver for Peugeot, and his calendar next weekend would appear to be open if called upon. History at Iowa: Myles Rowe becomes first Black driver to win IndyCar or NASCAR race at Iowa Speedway 'I'm going to sleep on it and think about what's the best fit, because it's also going to be a guy who's going to sit there all week and who then might not drive,' Kanaan said. Since the team will have to leave for Toronto on Thursday before knowing the results of Siegel's reevaluation, and because there's always a chance his symptoms flare up after getting back in the car, Kanaan said the team will bring that backup driver with them for the entirety of the Toronto race weekend. 'I don't want to go through what I did last year, staying up all night flying Pourchaire in from Europe,' said Kanaan, referring to the real-life planes, trains and automobiles episode he lived a year ago to secure a replacement for Rossi at Toronto. 'So we'll have a backup in place.'
Fox News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
INDYCAR Driver Nolan Siegel Suffers Mild Concussion, Out For Sunday's Race At Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa — INDYCAR driver Nolan Siegel will miss the second race of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader weekend after suffering a mild concussion in a hard crash in the opener on Saturday. Siegel was not cleared by the INDYCAR medical staff to race Sunday morning. The Arrow McLaren No. 6 car will not compete in the 275-lap event which airs at 1 p.m. ET on FOX. "He has a mild concussion. … [The doctors] looked at the accelerometer and all the data that they have and determined that he had a mild one, but they wanted him to recheck him [today]," Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan said. After he exited the medical center on Saturday, Siegel indicated he planned to race today despite the hard hit, which caused the race to be stopped briefly so the wall could be repaired. "Yeah, it's a big hit, but yeah, I'm fine, I think," Siegel said Saturday. "We'll be good. I'm excited for tomorrow, starting fifth. It will be a good day. It was a good day today [until the wreck]." But after being re-evaluated Sunday morning, Siegel was not cleared. No one else changes position as there will be no car on the inside of Row 3 for the start of the race. "There's no place I'd rather be than out there driving today, especially from P5, one of my best starting positions of the season," Siegel said in a statement. "I know I'm in good hands with the INDYCAR medical team and thank them for the great care they provide us drivers. "Most of all, I feel for [my] crew. They gave me a rocket this weekend and put in a ton of work last night with hopes we'd be racing today. They deserve to be out there fighting for podium, and we'll be back soon to do just that." Siegel said Saturday that the handling of his car changed late in the race. "It was a little weird from the time I left pit lane and hadn't had a lot of oversteer up until then," Siegel said. "And then I just lost it in the middle of [turns] 3 and 4. I was pushing hard. ... There's not much more to it." While Siegel was hopeful to race today, Kanaan said he was told after the race Saturday by INDYCAR that it needed to know that night if there would be a substitute driver because it would need to schedule a short practice session for that driver. Kanaan was still thinking at that time Siegel would be cleared. "In my opinion, I really didn't believe that Nolan was not going to get cleared," Kanaan said. Kanaan had hoped that INDYCAR might bend the rule and allow him (Kanaan) to start-and-park the car for the five entrant points, which could be pivotal as the No. 6 car is on the bubble to be top-22 in owner points and the bonus money that goes with it. INDYCAR wouldn't allow that, and Siegel, who is 21st in the series standings, will earn three points instead of the typical five for a 27th-place finish since he is not starting the race. Siegel will work with doctors this week and be re-evaluated Thursday to determine his status for next week's race at Toronto. Kanaan will decide on a substitute/standby driver likely early this week since that driver will have to travel to Toronto – and that Kanaan himself won't be an option. "I've been there, I know how Nolan feels not racing today," Kanaan said in a statement earlier Sunday. "It's the worst feeling in the world. The most important thing, though, is that he's fit to race, and unfortunately that's not the case today. "It was a tough decision to park the car, but we've been through this before. We just found out this morning he's not cleared, and we decided the best thing for the team is to not rush into switching drivers this weekend. It's too much of a shuffle and unnecessary stress when we're right back to racing in Toronto in a week." Last year, the team used a couple of substitute drivers when David Malukas broke his wrist mountain biking prior to the season. One of those substitute drivers, Theo Pourchaire, could be an option to be the substitute/standby driver for Siegel. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
