A 19-year California native, Siegel was called up by Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) on Friday to substitute for Agustin Canapino in the team’s Chevrolet-powered No. 78 entry.
The Argentine driver, in his second season competing in North America’s premier open-wheel championship, took an abrupt “leave of absence” following a controversial week with actions on social media that included a statement which rejected claims that his supporters had threatened rivals.
Arrow McLaren's Theo Pourchaire attracted the anger of Canapino's fans on social media following a collision in last weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix.
Ultimately, the situation led to the termination of Arrow McLaren and JHR's strategic alliance on Thursday, which originally formed last October.
The decision to swap Canapino for Siegel came on Friday, sometime in the 90 minutes between the autograph session and the opening practice for the IndyCar Series. Siegel did log seven laps in the first practice session for Indy NXT before stepping out to get fitted for his Juncos seat.
Siegel, who previously made two IndyCar starts this year with Dale Coyne Racing, including the non-points exhibition at The Thermal Club, ended up pounding the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit for 18 laps, ending up 26th on the leaderboard.
On Saturday morning, the decision was made for Siegel to pull out of the Indy NXT round and put all his attention on the upcoming IndyCar chance. He currently sits third in the Indy NXT championship standings, trailing leader Jacob Abel by 44 points (221-177).
“After being offered a chance to compete in the NTT IndyCar Series this weekend at Road America, Nolan Siegel will no longer participate in this weekend’s Indy NXT by Firestone event,” a statement from HMD Motorsports read.
“HMD Motorsports fully supports Nolan in prioritizing his IndyCar efforts for this weekend and wishes him the best of luck in this opportunity.”
