Siegel primed to claim second Juncos Hollinger seat for 2027 IndyCar season

Nolan Siegel is expected to continue his IndyCar Series journey with the Juncos Hollinger Racing team in 2027.

Multiple sources have told RACER the Californian will join Rinus VeeKay at the outfit owned by Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger, which is finalizing a transfer of ownership in which Juncos is selling his stake in the team he founded to Hollinger, who will assume complete control of the organization.

RACER understands the sale should be completed before the end of the year, and once the transaction is closed, Siegel's arrival, along with other changes – including its rebranding in Hollinger’s name alone with a new logo and new colors – will be confirmed. The team declined to comment when reached by RACER.

Siegel faced competition from former JHR driver Callum Ilott, former AJ Foyt Racing driver Caio Collet and others for the seat, but Hollinger and team principal Dave O’Neill are known to have chosen Siegel to replace Sting Ray Robb in the No. 77 Chevy. Siegel is viewed as a complementary piece to VeeKay, whose ongoing improvement and ability to assist with the No. 77's funding should serve as an overall upgrade.

The chance to drive for JHR, which produced its most competitive year to date after VeeKay placed 10th in the Drivers’ standings, offers a promising change of scenery for Siegel.

Following a run to third in the 2023 Indy NXT championship, Siegel went into 2024 with a full slate of NXT races at HMD Motorsports and a limited foray into IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing on the calendar.

Outings with Coyne at The Thermal Club and Long Beach opened Siegel’s IndyCar account, but the mood soured during a frustrating month of May when numerous attempts to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 were unsuccessful. He was meant to do a few more races with Coyne, but those plans changed at Road America where Siegel was drafted into JHR as a last-minute substitute for Agustin Canapino when the Argentinian – who was embroiled in another social media-related controversy – stepped away from the team prior to the start of opening practice.

Despite being tipped to remain in the JHR car after Road America, Siegel was signed by Arrow McLaren to drive its third entry, which led to the parking of 2023 Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire. Siegel took 12th at the next race in Laguna Seca on debut for the team.

The unexpected departure from NXT and elevation to one of IndyCar’s leading teams at the age of 19 – and with one full season of NXT experience – placed Siegel under a spotlight during his contract, which ran through 2026.

Positioned next to Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, and Christian Lundgaard as teammates during his two and a half years with Arrow McLaren, Siegel often struggled while learning in the No. 6 Chevy, but his fortunes changed last season when veteran race engineer Eric Cowdin was assigned to his car in June.

With the Indy 500-winning engineer on his timing stand and four decades of experience to draw from, Siegel’s growth accelerated, and he began finishing inside the top half of the field on a semi-regular basis. He also earned a career-best result of sixth at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C., and finished his Arrow McLaren tenure holding 20th in the standings.

Having demonstrated a particular aptitude for ovals, Siegel should supplement VeeKay, whose oval prowess was a major contributor to the Dutchman’s breakout performances in the No. 76 JHR Chevy. In 37 races to date, Siegel has produced six top-10 finishes and been solid at the Indy 500, where he crossed the finish line in 13th as a rookie and improved to take 10th at the Speedway last season.

With Siegel’s impending switch to JHR and AJ Foyt Racing’s recent confirmation of Josh Pierson, the IndyCar field is nearly complete. Coyne’s two-car program, which has F2 front runner Alex Dunne and reigning NXT champion Nikita Johnson on its short list of likely candidates to fill its seats, holds the final answers on how the grid will be set for the March 7 season-opener in St. Petersburg.