"The IndyCar community is great": Arrow McLaren rookie Nolan Siegel recalls aftermath of Indy 500 crash

Nolan Siegel is a relatively new driver in the IndyCar scene, having made his debut last year. However, he had a torrid weekend at the Indy 500 last time around as he crashed multiple times during the weekend, a race that every driver aspires to win. While he was dejected with the weekend itself, the 20-year-old revealed how the IndyCar community helped him get through the tough phase as support poured in from fans for the young rookie.

The California-born driver finished third in the IndyNXT championship in 2023 but remained in the series for another shot at the title in 2024. However, witnessing his growth, Dale Coyne Racing announced that the young driver will make his debut in the series.

Though his initial outings did not support his case for a full-time drive in the series, he went on to the Indy 500 weekend hoping to move away some speculations. Despite his high expectations, Nolan Siegel endured two crashes during the weekend, ruling him out of the race as he was unable to make the cut.

While he thought people would batter him for his subpar performance, Siegel was appreciated by the IndyCar community and expressed his gratitude towards the fanbase, as he said:

"Yeah, it was a tough experience, right? Like that was one of the hardest weeks of my life for sure, but yeah, I mean in the moment you know it's the Indy 500, you have no choice but to try, right? So, no I definitely didn't expect the response and it was really nice to [see that]." (0:49 onwards)

"The IndyCar Community is great and and it was just very very nice to receive the support that I received after that and certainly unexpected, but something good did come out of it; I learned a huge amount, and I can't wait to go back," he added.

Nolan Siegel signed with Arrow McLaren and drives for the English team in the 2025 season.

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Nolan Siegel is disappointed with the start of his 2025 season

Nolan Siegel at the NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

The 20-year-old's start to the season has been not up to par in comparison to his teammates. He was taken out on lap 1 at the season opener in St. Petersburg and finished an uneventful 19th in Thermal Club.

Sharing his disappointment, Nolan Siegel said (via McLaren):

"That was extremely frustrating. I think we had good race pace, but we ended up on the wrong strategy. We did one more stop than everyone else and couldn't make up that time again. I'm frustrated and disappointed, and I don't think that's what this group deserves."

On the other hand, the next race weekend at Long Beach has also not been a great hunting ground for the 20-year-old. He finished 20th last year and will be hoping to get in his first top-10 result of the year at the track.