The 2024 motorsports season pulled Nolan Siegel in almost every direction.
The young driver competed in 12 IndyCar races, 10 starting for Arrow McLaren, one for Juncos Hollinger Racing and one for Dale Coyne Racing. He competed in five races in the Indy NXT Series, winning one and earning three podiums. He also competed in the IMSA Series' 24 Hours of Daytona, and was part of the winning team in the LMP2 category at the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours alongside Oliver Jarvis and Bijoy Garg.
It's been a busy season for Siegel, but it's been quite busy as the young driver often doesn't know where he will be from week to week.
Next year promises to be something different, as Siegel said on Tuesday ahead of the 2025 IndyCar season. Siegel will earn a full-time seat at Arrow McLaren next year and is looking forward to his first full season in IndyCar.
That might make it a “simple” season.
“Yeah, last year, I mean, I was going to the racetrack all year, and I didn't know if I was going to race the next weekend, or what I'd be driving, or if anything new was going to happen.” There were a lot of things to think about besides driving the car,” Siegel told the media. SB Nationduring IndyCar's Content Day on Tuesday.
“It has brought a lot of challenges that we won't have this year. So it's been about figuring out what I have, what I'm doing and finding my next weekend ride, whether it's IndyCar or WEC. I think it's really nice to be able to focus on driving a race car instead of focusing on finding a ride in or IMSA, Indy NXT.
“In some ways, there's a lot less going on. It sounds strange to say that considering it's my first full season in IndyCar and my first full season with Arrow McLaren, but it's actually… It's much simpler than last year.”
But it also meant that the offseason was preparing him for a big step up in motorsport. Siegel addressed that preparation Tuesday.
“I put a big focus on preparing physically for my first full season in IndyCar. I gained about 15 pounds and I don't think that was an issue last year, but physically “I feel like I'm in a better position to drive in IndyCar than I was before,” Siegel began. .
“We have reviewed almost every race of the season at this point from a strategy standpoint to get a deeper understanding of IndyCar strategy and IndyCar rules. I think it was a challenge for me to think of strategy in the car because I didn't know what that actually meant for the race.
“So I think as you drive the race car, you understand that better and can be more involved in the strategy,” Siegel continued. “It's difficult, isn't it? There aren't that many tests, so it's hard to really focus on driving-specific things, but there's a lot of other work to be done.”
As for what IndyCar's first full season will look like, Siegel thinks it will include Sunday's celebration.
“The goal is to get on the podium and win the race,” Siegel said. “It’s super competitive. It’s an incredibly competitive race series and it’s never easy and not every weekend goes smoothly, but we have a strong race car and we have to take advantage of the weekends. I think I'll be in the position I want. If I play, I'll have a chance to go forward and celebrate on Sunday.”
