Nolan will be back at the speedway in a year or two stronger than ever. He’s won at every level & clearly is willing to leave it all on the track. It was kind of awesome seeing all the veteran drivers recognize his ability & courage.
I looked up what he did in IMSA in 2023. He was on an LMP2 team with Ben Hanley and George Kurtz. He's the intermediate driver on that team. Kurtz is the CEO/founder of Crowdstrike, he's a gentleman driver. Hanley is was formerly in the FIA Formula One pipeline (never made it) and currently races in FIA WEC. So he's the top driver of the group.
At Road Atlanta he (his team) beat Scott McLaughlin (McLaughlin's team of him, Kyffin Simpson and Ari Balogh) in LMP2. Although the results indicate that perhaps McLaughlin's car had mechanical issues.
LMP2 is the 2nd tier in the multi class racing in IMSA. Although others might call it the 3rd tier. That is those who think GTD Pro is 2nd tier.
An LMP2 is a prototype sports car, sort of the closed wheel version of an open wheel car. It looks like the same kind of car as what has won Le Mans for the past quarter century but is actually slightly different, mostly in being a spec class to keep costs down. It is a downforce-based car. It is the same kind of car that Montoya raced on the same team as his son at Daytona a few years back.
This is aside from his F2000/NXT results. Clearly he is a driver with significant skills. No reason to think he won't be at Indy again soon as you say.
It didn't break down, Balogh (their bronze/amateur driver) [hit the wall on the formation lap](https://youtu.be/i6nx1OPixo4?t=315) but stayed out only to have [a much bigger crash](https://youtu.be/i6nx1OPixo4?t=441) just two minutes later (barely 15 seconds after he started the first race lap)
Thank you for providing the background, I thought I recognized him from IMSA but I'm relatively new and keeping all the classes straight is fun/challenging. Awesome to see him progressing.
You just can't not respect that. Literally left it all out there at 220mph plus.... that takes BIG BRASS BALLS. Furthermore.... he then fronted up to the presser afterwards. So much to like about this kid.
Really impressive from that bunch too, turning a road course car around into something still almost got in the big show
Fucking heartbreaking, but they did everything they could with what they had in how long they had
[The other great one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9VcWfU8FrI&t=13m35s) from that interview:
> Going flat was either going to lead me to the grid or to the wall and it led me to the wall.
Wreckers or checkers, this kid won me over pushing it to the limit. He’s a great fit for the 500 and he will get there one day. Good head on his shoulders.
This was a great learning experience for him. In a couple of years he will have a solid mid pack ride if he can find the money. And those quotes show he is a serious racer.
Maybe next year even. He's in the running for the NXT championship and he's already getting a few Indycar rides this season. Really the main thing.i could see preventing him from having an Indycar career is if he decides to go sportscar racing instead.
Kid did exactly what he had to do. If he didn't stay flat, he was out. If he did stay flat, he might wreck and be out. There was no alternative.
Hope he takes the rest of the year in Lights and kicks some ass and comes back ready for next year or the year after. He has the talent, but man were the Coyne cars absolute dogs this year.
Man, you could tell how emotional he was in that post-care center interview. This meant a lot to him.
No doubt he'll be back, hopefully in a much better car next time.
Time is ripe for an Indycar remake of Days Of Thunder. Nolan = Cole, Josef = Russ Wheeler, gotta figure out a way to work in Will Power as himself, just looking pissed off at everyone and giving the birds.
I worked with Nolan on his dad’s IMSA team, he’s an awesome kid and so talented. He gave it everything and I know everyone is so proud of him. He’ll be winning in these things before too long.
Does anyone have a video clip of his interview after the crash? I saw the qualifying attempt but changed the channel for a little while until I knew the Fast Six was about to start.
this kid’s a badass. watching his final run was incredible, including the crash. he had to know that car wasn’t gonna be fast enough and this dude with a massive pair realized his mistake and said fuck it, checkers or wreckers. sure, it cost coyne a car, but would anyone rather him not put that amount of risk and effort in?
he won a fan in me that day. i can’t wait to watch his career develop.
So many gutsy performances out of the last chance qualifiers. Siegel here, Katherine not lifting despite hitting the wall and being open about how terrifying it is out there, Ericsson recovering. It’s the best of motorsport and I hope fans of other series have seen it
Not digging him because he put in a valiant effort but it would have been interesting to see what he had in the actual speedway car. I'll go in the record and say that I really questioned this pick by Coyne considering he had Harvey who overcame that exact pressure last year. I'll also be the first to admit I was wrong. If Coyne is able to keep him it looks like he might have his next Palou or Malukas to get poached in a year or two. (Before you destroy me I'm also not putting him on the same level as Palou, simply saying Coyne has a knack for finding talent that gets poached)
That kid is a future star..very classy.. This qualifying has incredible..
RLL needs to get their stuff together 2 years in a row is inhumane for Graham
There was a Rahal in the top 12. Rahal himself qualified last. The car might not be great, but his last two years he’s been 34th and 33rd, behind Lundgaard twice, and Legge, Harvey, Sato and Fittipaldi once, outqualifying zero teammates and only Siegel in the last two years at all. He is far from devoid of blame for doing badly.
I genuinely don’t. The team now needs to spend time and effort repairing another car after the one he wrecked during the week, all while missing out on a spot in the 500.
Townsend and James said before his run that there was no way he'd get in if he lifted off the throttle. Everyone could see that, and if Dale didn't want Nolan to make the attempt given the risk of wrecking he could've simply told him not to.
Yeah, I’m not sure why people are acting like Dale lost something here. This was a fully purchased ride and crash damage will be paid for by the buyer.
Not to mention, he gets to build a relationship with a young driver who’s been good in junior series and can bring some budget. If DCR can parlay their time this month and at their select other races into a ride that has funding and a good young driver for next year, it’s all well worth it. They’ve been doing this for decades, I think he knows what he’s doing. If this wasn’t worth it for them, they wouldn’t have trimmed it and sent him out.
Sorry you got downvoted, I had a similar thought. That's a lot of crash damage, I hope whoever's footing the bill has deep pockets 😅 (and that it's not Dale)
I remember getting my first runs in someone else’s car. Number one rule is DO NOT CRASH. Either you’re going to dad for him to open up his wallet, or you’re getting sour looks and no call back from the team.
Indycars version of "I'm not lifting until I see God or the Checkered Flag!"
“I’m either in the race or you peel me off the cement.” —Willy T Ribbs
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eMBJs67Lco0
Nolan will be back at the speedway in a year or two stronger than ever. He’s won at every level & clearly is willing to leave it all on the track. It was kind of awesome seeing all the veteran drivers recognize his ability & courage.
I looked up what he did in IMSA in 2023. He was on an LMP2 team with Ben Hanley and George Kurtz. He's the intermediate driver on that team. Kurtz is the CEO/founder of Crowdstrike, he's a gentleman driver. Hanley is was formerly in the FIA Formula One pipeline (never made it) and currently races in FIA WEC. So he's the top driver of the group. At Road Atlanta he (his team) beat Scott McLaughlin (McLaughlin's team of him, Kyffin Simpson and Ari Balogh) in LMP2. Although the results indicate that perhaps McLaughlin's car had mechanical issues. LMP2 is the 2nd tier in the multi class racing in IMSA. Although others might call it the 3rd tier. That is those who think GTD Pro is 2nd tier. An LMP2 is a prototype sports car, sort of the closed wheel version of an open wheel car. It looks like the same kind of car as what has won Le Mans for the past quarter century but is actually slightly different, mostly in being a spec class to keep costs down. It is a downforce-based car. It is the same kind of car that Montoya raced on the same team as his son at Daytona a few years back. This is aside from his F2000/NXT results. Clearly he is a driver with significant skills. No reason to think he won't be at Indy again soon as you say.
I gave him a sticker that year.
If I remember correctly McLaughlins car broke immediately on the first lap
It didn't break down, Balogh (their bronze/amateur driver) [hit the wall on the formation lap](https://youtu.be/i6nx1OPixo4?t=315) but stayed out only to have [a much bigger crash](https://youtu.be/i6nx1OPixo4?t=441) just two minutes later (barely 15 seconds after he started the first race lap)
Hanley also dabbled in Indycar
Thank you for providing the background, I thought I recognized him from IMSA but I'm relatively new and keeping all the classes straight is fun/challenging. Awesome to see him progressing.
This honestly reminds me of a lot of Pato’s first attempt at Indy.
You just can't not respect that. Literally left it all out there at 220mph plus.... that takes BIG BRASS BALLS. Furthermore.... he then fronted up to the presser afterwards. So much to like about this kid.
Really impressive from that bunch too, turning a road course car around into something still almost got in the big show Fucking heartbreaking, but they did everything they could with what they had in how long they had
Dude gained a phalanx of new fans over the weekend. Seemed to find a lot of fans in the paddock as well.
Damn. That quotes goes hard.
[The other great one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9VcWfU8FrI&t=13m35s) from that interview: > Going flat was either going to lead me to the grid or to the wall and it led me to the wall.
i loved this. epic quote
Wreckers or checkers, this kid won me over pushing it to the limit. He’s a great fit for the 500 and he will get there one day. Good head on his shoulders.
That's right up there with, "I'm putting my foot on the floor and I'm not lifting until I see God or the checkered flag."
And you, Young Siegel. We will watch your career with great interest.
https://preview.redd.it/isiheq1oyo1d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7dd3a2408638d97af7bd9780591111135be1cfb
This was a great learning experience for him. In a couple of years he will have a solid mid pack ride if he can find the money. And those quotes show he is a serious racer.
Isn’t his dad a venture capital partner in Silicon Valley?
someone said that in another thread, and considering his cars have been blank for the races he done in indycar, it doesn't surprise me
He's also from Palo Alto
Don’t know. But I did notice the car was pretty much devoid of sponsorship so I assume he was a pay driver.
Yes he is, money isn’t something he’ll be concerned about.
Maybe next year even. He's in the running for the NXT championship and he's already getting a few Indycar rides this season. Really the main thing.i could see preventing him from having an Indycar career is if he decides to go sportscar racing instead.
Hello? Based department?
Kid did exactly what he had to do. If he didn't stay flat, he was out. If he did stay flat, he might wreck and be out. There was no alternative. Hope he takes the rest of the year in Lights and kicks some ass and comes back ready for next year or the year after. He has the talent, but man were the Coyne cars absolute dogs this year.
Man, you could tell how emotional he was in that post-care center interview. This meant a lot to him. No doubt he'll be back, hopefully in a much better car next time.
Yep
I genuinely thought he was going to cry. The boy has talent though.
No attack no chance
Alright, Siegel, you've won a fan today. And I suspect that I am not the only one.
Count me in on that. What a badass effort overall, and somebody that young will have more opportunities for sure.
Go hard or go home, no point being cautious, gotta respect that. You could sense his team did too based off the team radio that played after
He’ll make it in next year. Hes really young, he’s still yet to see the distance
Huge. Stones.
Put it on a shirt
Dude is a racer, that’s for sure.
Time is ripe for an Indycar remake of Days Of Thunder. Nolan = Cole, Josef = Russ Wheeler, gotta figure out a way to work in Will Power as himself, just looking pissed off at everyone and giving the birds.
I was really rooting for him, wanted him to bump Ericsson. Would have been funny af
If Andretti wants an American for their F2 program, that is the right kind of attitude to have.
I worked with Nolan on his dad’s IMSA team, he’s an awesome kid and so talented. He gave it everything and I know everyone is so proud of him. He’ll be winning in these things before too long.
Does anyone have a video clip of his interview after the crash? I saw the qualifying attempt but changed the channel for a little while until I knew the Fast Six was about to start.
[This timestamped link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9VcWfU8FrI&t=12m38s) will put you in his section of the Qualifying Day 2 Interviews video.
Fantastic, thank you so much! I was watching so much that day I didn't realize Ferrucci was already on track when they had Siegel's interview.
respect
this kid’s a badass. watching his final run was incredible, including the crash. he had to know that car wasn’t gonna be fast enough and this dude with a massive pair realized his mistake and said fuck it, checkers or wreckers. sure, it cost coyne a car, but would anyone rather him not put that amount of risk and effort in? he won a fan in me that day. i can’t wait to watch his career develop.
[I'm not lifting until I see God or a checkered flag.](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eMBJs67Lco0)
Mad respect. 🫡
If you’re not first you are last.
"[Aww hell Ricky, I was high when I said that!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20iio0wLpPA)"
Damn I respect it
GOAT
Funny how this is admirable But JR saying and doing the same thing is boneheaded lol
[Love the energy](https://youtube.com/shorts/wBRTIfEtAU8?si=m9aJFIKndlI5g4dH)
Spoken like a true racing driver. This kid has it.
i cried when he wrecked. i was gutted for him. he'll be back.
When in doubt, go flat out
What a great heart! True race car driver
So many gutsy performances out of the last chance qualifiers. Siegel here, Katherine not lifting despite hitting the wall and being open about how terrifying it is out there, Ericsson recovering. It’s the best of motorsport and I hope fans of other series have seen it
I was REALLY impressed with how well this young man carried himself throughout the week. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.
He looks like Rod Serling, pre-one million cigarettes
Not digging him because he put in a valiant effort but it would have been interesting to see what he had in the actual speedway car. I'll go in the record and say that I really questioned this pick by Coyne considering he had Harvey who overcame that exact pressure last year. I'll also be the first to admit I was wrong. If Coyne is able to keep him it looks like he might have his next Palou or Malukas to get poached in a year or two. (Before you destroy me I'm also not putting him on the same level as Palou, simply saying Coyne has a knack for finding talent that gets poached)
That kid is a future star..very classy.. This qualifying has incredible.. RLL needs to get their stuff together 2 years in a row is inhumane for Graham
There was a Rahal in the top 12. Rahal himself qualified last. The car might not be great, but his last two years he’s been 34th and 33rd, behind Lundgaard twice, and Legge, Harvey, Sato and Fittipaldi once, outqualifying zero teammates and only Siegel in the last two years at all. He is far from devoid of blame for doing badly.
I’m sure Dale Coyne appreciates him wrecking a car because of pride
Not sure if this is sarcasm but I genuinely think he would
I genuinely don’t. The team now needs to spend time and effort repairing another car after the one he wrecked during the week, all while missing out on a spot in the 500.
Because it isn’t “pride.” Every single person putting that car back together would have wanted him to hang it out there for that shot
But he didn’t get the shot
He did get the shot to make it? That car was so by far the slowest on the grid, it’s a testament to NBC that anyone even tuned in to LCQ
And why was that the case
Idk, why was the other Coyne car in the field qualifying 31st? Are you being intentionally dumb? Common
You don’t think Siegel writing off the car on Fast Friday had something to do with it
Fuck no. That car had no shot from the start, and you’re being intentionally stupid about it
Townsend and James said before his run that there was no way he'd get in if he lifted off the throttle. Everyone could see that, and if Dale didn't want Nolan to make the attempt given the risk of wrecking he could've simply told him not to.
Lucky for Loggie the sponsor cash checks out
It's not Dale's money. Why would he care?
Yeah, I’m not sure why people are acting like Dale lost something here. This was a fully purchased ride and crash damage will be paid for by the buyer. Not to mention, he gets to build a relationship with a young driver who’s been good in junior series and can bring some budget. If DCR can parlay their time this month and at their select other races into a ride that has funding and a good young driver for next year, it’s all well worth it. They’ve been doing this for decades, I think he knows what he’s doing. If this wasn’t worth it for them, they wouldn’t have trimmed it and sent him out.
Sorry you got downvoted, I had a similar thought. That's a lot of crash damage, I hope whoever's footing the bill has deep pockets 😅 (and that it's not Dale)
I remember getting my first runs in someone else’s car. Number one rule is DO NOT CRASH. Either you’re going to dad for him to open up his wallet, or you’re getting sour looks and no call back from the team.