Photo: Nolan Siegel talks about his day.

It is not very often that the star of qualifications weekend doesn’t make the race. But on Sunday, Nolan Siegel showed what a true racer is. After a serious crash on Friday which destroyed his car, the Dale Coyne team went to a backup car- one they use for road courses.

The speed was never there, but yesterday the car improved enough to where it could possibly compete in the Last Chance Qualifying. Thanks to a mistake by Marcus Ericsson on his first run, Siegel had a chance.

Ericsson bumped Siegel with less than three minutes to go, and the rookie then went on track to attempt to regain his position. After a first lap that was not good enough to make the field, Siegel crashed at the exit of turn 1 and will not race next Sunday.

When the week began, I had doubts about Siegel even being entered in the race, but I, along with many fans, came away from the track yesterday with nothing but respect for Siegel.

He told the media Sunday afternoon, “I was going to go home because I went flat and did everything I could do. I wasn’t going to go home
because I lifted, so here I am.”

“…we’ve had a difficult couple of days, and we pulled through it as a team. The maturity. We did everything we possibly could. I feel like we
maximized the runs today. Yeah, I mean, that’s all you can
do,” Siegel concluded.

Siegel will be back, and he will make the race, likely next year

If there is a Spirit of Indy Award, Nolan Siegel would be the 2024 recipient.

A Near Costly Mistake

Marcus Ericsson lifted at after crossing the line to complete his third lap on his qualifying run, resulting in a lap of 195 mph for lap 4. His first three laps would have easily put him in the field.

It appears he miscounted the laps. With the pressure he was facing, it is understandable that he was so focused on having a good run that the lap count was not on his mind.

Ericsson is in good company, however. Wilbur Shaw miscounted qualifying laps once and slowed on his final lap thinking he was done. Fortunately, his crew got him to not complete the last lap. Under the format then, once a car finished its run, there was no going again in the same car.

Rahal Struggles

RLL struggled for speed at IMS for the second year in a row. Christian Lundgaard is the fastest on the team in 28th. Pietro Fittipaldi starts 30th, and Graham Rahal brings up the rear of the field.

Rahal is the only starter to average les than 230 mph.

The team seemed to make progress last year after the 500, but it appears their speedway program is mired in the same spot as 2023. I hope the team can find an answer for next year. It is painful to see Graham struggling at IMS.

Legge Finds Speed

With all the buzz surrounding the other three cars trying to make the field yesterday, Katherine Legge almost quietly went out and posted the fastest speed in the Last Chance round.

Her average of 230.092 was her fastest time of the week. Between her effort and the wiork to get Siegel on the grid, the Dale coyne teamdeserves praise for their hard work.

The Starting Lineup