Siegel ruled out for Iowa Race 2

Nolan Siegel’s hard hit on the 248th lap of Saturday’s Synk 275 IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway has led the Arrow McLaren team to load his car into the trailer and withdraw the No. 6 Chevy from today’s race after the Californian did not receive clearance from IndyCar Medical.

Siegel was due to start fifth, but the severity of the rearward impact was enough to punch a hole in the SAFER barrier with the gearbox and cause a red flag while repairs were made.

"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."

More IndyCar

IndyCar’s Boles focusing on the need to bring bumping drama back to Indy qualifying

Saturday qualifying at Indy delayed by rain

McLaughlin leads the Fast Friday field at Indy

Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan could only sympathize for the 20-year-old.

"I’ve been there, I know how Nolan feels not racing today,” he said. “It’s the worst feeling in the world. 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."

RACER can confirm the No. 6 was retrieved and Kanaan was fitted to the car Sunday morning. It was done as a pre-emptive measure to have the 2013 Indy 500 winner ready to substitute for Siegel as Arrow McLaren was lobbying the series to grant permission for Kanaan to take part in a special warm-up run ahead of starting the race in order to earn points towards the Leaders Circle championship.

Siegel's car sits 21st in the entrants' championship where only the top 22 are awarded $1 million Leaders Circle contracts at the end of the season. Starting, parking, and finishing last would add five points to the tally, but IndyCar denied the team's request and the No. 6 entry will not be taking part in the race.