INDYCAR Driver Nolan Siegel Suffers Mild Concussion, Out For Sunday's Race At Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa — INDYCAR driver Nolan Siegel will miss the second race of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader weekend after suffering a mild concussion in a hard crash in the opener on Saturday.

Siegel was not cleared by the INDYCAR medical staff to race Sunday morning. The Arrow McLaren No. 6 car will not compete in the 275-lap event which airs at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

"He has a mild concussion. … [The doctors] looked at the accelerometer and all the data that they have and determined that he had a mild one, but they wanted him to recheck him [today]," Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan said. 

After he exited the medical center on Saturday, Siegel indicated he planned to race today despite the hard hit, which caused the race to be stopped briefly so the wall could be repaired.

"Yeah, it’s a big hit, but yeah, I’m fine, I think," Siegel said Saturday. "We’ll be good. I’m excited for tomorrow, starting fifth. It will be a good day. It was a good day today [until the wreck]."

But after being re-evaluated Sunday morning, Siegel was not cleared. No one else changes position as there will be no car on the inside of Row 3 for the start of the race.

"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 in a statement. "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 [my] 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."

Siegel said Saturday that the handling of his car changed late in the race. 

"It was a