20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
He broke both wrists, then 'kicked everyone's a--.' How Nolan Siegel became rising star
INDIANAPOLIS — Nolan Siegel sat in an ambulance with two broken wrists after his kart sandwiched between drivers and flipped over during a practice heat at SKUSA SuperNats in Las Vegas. There were no tears in the 11-year-old's eyes, just a broad smile.
That same attitude and resilience would be required nine years later.
Siegel's car hit the wall and flipped over on Fast Friday in 2024, leaving him with a backup vehicle heading into qualifying weekend for the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Qualifying produced the same fate: another crash. Siegel learned from the accidents and, with the 109th rendition of the Indy 500 race approaching, the 20-year-old is determined to redeem himself.
'This year it's way more exciting because instead of the goal being to qualify for the race, the goal is to win the race and that's a way better position to be in,' Siegel told IndyStar. 'Rather than dread going back on track after last year, I'm really excited to be competitive this year.'
Siegel said his experience last year taught him how to stay positive in unfortunate situations. His biggest challenge was staying motivated during a time when he felt like 'every day there was something tough to work through.'
Before Siegel ran the qualifying race, he told his father, Mark Siegel, that he would crash because of the car's poor downforce, and he did, causing him to miss last year's 500. Mark said it was for his son to accumulate experience and he believes the crashes helped Siegel's confidence.
'That crash was very character-building,' Mark said, seated in his son's infield trailer. 'He went out in the backup car after the initial crash and said, 'I know this thing is slow, but I'm going to give it 100% no matter what.' Having gone through the worst day in his racing life, that goes in the experience bank and it's something where if you can get through that, you can get through anything.'
A month after the qualifying-day crash, Siegel responded with a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2023 Indy NXT Firestone Rookie of the Year signed a multi-year deal with Arrow McLaren three days after his victory in France, joining a team consisting of drivers Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard.
Siegel compared the group to a 'family that travels together.' He said the trio combines their different experiences to make their cars faster and help one another discern the best ways to build each other up. After practice Thursday, O'Ward likened Siegel's incident to when he crashed during an Indy 500 practice session in 2019.
'I told him after he got bumped, you're lucky you actually got bumped because it's miserable to drive out here with a car that sucks. I would much rather not be in the race than have to do the 200 laps with a car that is miserable,' O'ward said. 'This year, he's with a team that gives him room to showcase what he's got in speed. He's in good hands in that regard.'
Arrow McLaren elevated O'Ward's previous performance engineer Kate Gundlach to Siegel's race engineer. Eric Hestekin was promoted to Siegel's performance engineer over the offseason as well. Former Indy 500 Rookie of the Year JR Hildebrand joined Arrow McLaren mid-May as a driver advisor. Hildebrand believes Siegel put last year's crash 'behind him' and called the California native 'cerebral,' praising him for his ability to receive feedback.
'That's such a big part of being able to be successful here. It's a complicated thing that we're doing, so the other side of that is if you've got the bandwidth to consume more information, that allows us to work through the program a little bit more quickly,' Hildebrand said. 'I've been really impressed with just his ability to take things. You see the outcome of that on track.'
Siegel met Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan after his crash in May 2024. Kanaan praised the team for how they support Siegel and the former Indianapolis 500 champion said he chose Siegel with the goal to develop him.
'I think he's going to bring us some podiums for sure,' Kanaan told IndyStar. 'Having such a young kid that wants to learn so much, telling him your little tricks and then seeing him say, 'Wow that's how you did it,' … it's been rewarding for me. It reminds me how (Alex) Zanardi did it for me.
'We met here last year under very different circumstances so seeing him grow and make it to almost all Q2s and him having a decent month makes me feel confident that I'm able to pass through my experience to him. Now that he's here, he wants more. He closed the gap fast but that last bit is going to take experience which I can't buy or explain for him.'
Winning was part of Kanaan's racing experience. It's also been part of Siegel's.
On Annette's office desk in her Palo Alto home rests an 8.5 by 11 picture of an elated Siegel holding a trophy half the size of his body. For his 14th birthday, Annette and Mark Siegel let their son participate in the RoK Sonoma Series.
'He just kicked everyone's ass,' Annette told IndyStar. 'That for me is the moment when I went, 'OK, I think this is it.''
In the picture, a broad Siegel smile — similar to the one when he broke both wrists. Annette said mothers called him 'easy rider' when he was in grade school because of his tranquil demeanor. Through trial and triumph, the 20-year-old doesn't change.
'He keeps an incredibly cool head through it all,' said Siegel's sister, Sophia. 'The thing that I admire most about Nolan is that he's had a tough break, but also has had a lot of success. Success is a kind of thing that could give a kid a big ego and he has so much humility.'
As for his perseverance over the last 12 months, his big sister takes credit.
'I would like to think that my tough love as a kid has instilled in him a sense of resilience and fortitude against hardship that has helped him today,' Sophia said.
Sophia, 23, participated in the 2024 Fédération Equestre Internationale World Cup finals. She said Siegel attempted to ride a horse three times when he was younger, but fell each time. He settled for hijacking Sophia's pink toy convertible car.
'We had a Thomas the Train that would go around the little tracks and Nolan loved that,' Sophia said. 'He was always into anything with an engine and a motor, which is kind of funny to think about.'
Siegel's brown labradoodle, Otis, rests his body on a couch. Across from Otis, Sophia's black Icelandic sheepdog, Baila, lies down on the floor underneath the table where Mark and Annette sit in Siegel's blue-and-white RV. Relaxed dogs, laughter and smiles dominate the atmosphere on Fast Friday morning as parents discuss their son's journey on a small patch of land on a lot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
For a brief moment at the end of their conversation with IndyStar, the smiles and laughter dissipated.
Mark's eyes started to water as he shared what about his son, now a young man, makes him proud.
'The character, the grit, the persistence,' he said. 'I get emotional just talking about it. What more do you want from a kid?'
Before her husband could utter another word, Annette interjected.
The smiles returned.
