By David Morgan, Associate Editor
NEWTON, Iowa – Nolan Siegel will have to watch the second half of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader from the sidelines on Sunday after it was announced that he was not cleared to race following his crash in the closing laps of Saturday’s race.
With 28 laps to go in Race No. 1 of the Iowa doubleheader, Siegel’s No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet snapped around in Turn 4, making heavy contact with the outside wall, which necessitated a red flag for wall repair.
The 20-year-old was evaluated and released from the INDYCAR Medical Unit a short time after his crash, but upon further evaluation overnight, was not cleared to participate in Sunday’s race.
As a result, Arrow McLaren will not enter the No. 6 car in the event and the race will go on with 26 cars in the field instead of the expected 27. Siegel would have started in fifth place if he was cleared to race on Sunday.
“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.
“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.”
Team principal and former driver Tony Kanaan echoed Siegel’s comments, noting that the focus now is getting his driver cleared and ready for the next race on the calendar next weekend in Toronto.
“I’ve been there, I know how Nolan feels not racing today. It’s the worst feeling in the world,” said Kanaan.
“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.
“After today, we’ll have to make a contingency plan in case Nolan’s not cleared to race in Toronto, but today, this is the best for the team.”
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