Things tend to happen fast while going 190 mph around World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in the NTT IndyCar Series, but for Nolan Siegel, he might have been too fast to go to the button to vent frustrations at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
Siegel sounded off over the radio over being penalized with a pass-through penalty following throwing a block on leader Scott McLaughlin while battling to stay on the lead lap.
Using every inch of the racetrack 😲@smclaughlin93 narrowly makes his way around @nolan_siegel on the backstretch. pic.twitter.com/KutOHxqMfa
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 16, 2025
“That’s bulls***,” said Siegel vehemently over the radio. “F***ing bulls***! Absolutely not!”
Getting caught up with on-boards. Siegel's on-board audio after penalty 👀 #IndyCar #Bommarito500 pic.twitter.com/9sOrJLW0FC
— Matt Archuleta (@indy44) June 17, 2025
This isn’t the first time the two have acquainted themselves on the race track this season. In fact, just go back to last week.
Siegel’s frustrations stem originally from the previous race at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, where McLaughlin punted Siegel on the restart, launching the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and ending their day.
This sparked online dialogue between McLaughlin and Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kannan, who candidly reminded the Penske driver of his own team’s follies from the Indianapolis 500 that led to the mass exodus of senior Penske leadership.
Now, Siegel has acted in part two of a seemingly budding rivalry between the two teams, but this time, unlike what Siegel said on the radio, the evidence shows Siegel is in the wrong. Forcing McLaughlin below the apron halfway down the backstretch was never going to make IndyCar race control happy.
According to the rulebook, use of profane or disparaging language directed at IndyCar can lead to additional penalties if a driver is showing improper conduct. Disagreeing with a call and cursing about it is certainly a gray area, and one IndyCar itself never truly acted on in the race
Does Siegel have the right to be upset at the call and challenge it? Absolutely! It’s a free country and you can speak what you want, albeit with foul language. It would be smarter to stay calm about the matter rather than going on blast for all to hear later, but all Siegel was, for the call by IndyCar, was highly upset.
Unfortunately, this is where Siegel crossed the line.
“Tell Penske to go f*** emselves,” he exclaimed.
That’s overstepping it a bit. Or a lot. Flat out saying that on the radio is wild, to say the least.
If anything, it reveals that Siegel might be under much more stress than we think. Remember, an equally young David Malukas was supposed to be in that ride, and instead, he’s fighting for wins on ovals with AJ Foyt Racing and being unofficially touted as the next man up for Team Penske.
Now, per the letter of the law, Siegel didn’t break a rule by saying what he said about Team Penske, but for this incident, it doesn’t make sense why Siegel would get so worked up over something he caused.
He clearly blocked McLaughlin. That’s on Siegel, not IndyCar or Team Penske. But in the heat of the moment, that’s what Siegel did.
It put McLaren in a difficult spot and they put out their own statement about the matter to keep Siegel accountable for his actions.
From Arrow McLaren: “we hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism, respect and sportsmanship—on and off the track. The language expressed over our radio during this past race weekend does not reflect who we are as a team.
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) June 18, 2025
We do not condone that behavior. We’ve… https://t.co/up6uLlLOnS
McLaren did the right thing by addressing the issue with Siegel and not pretending this didn’t happen at all. That has to be commended, but it’s clear that Siegel needs to learn when to pick and choose his battles on track and through the radio going forward.
Although Siegel went a bit too far, by no means should there be a crackdown on each and every single thing that’s said over the radio in IndyCar. We don’t want IndyCar race control to turn into the FIA by handing out fines to drivers for what they say.
The emotion poured into the IndyCar Series is exactly what Formula 1 has been missing, and having drivers who are that passionate on the radio is a healthy and positive thing for the sport’s popularity and growth.
Siegel and McLaren handled the situation well with an apology by the team and Siegel himself on his Instagram story, and unlike F1 and the FIA meddling in the fine details of what drivers say, IndyCar stayed out of this. Kudos to them for that.
Siegel took a step back, and that’s good. Plus, fans can still look forward to the next time he and McLaughlin run close on track at the Xpel Grand Prix of Road America. However, McLaughlin confirmed ahead of Road America that Siegel has taken the initiative to apologize to him directly.
If anything, this experience is just part of growing in the sport, and hopefully, it will make him both a better driver and person because of it.
While IndyCar fans wait for the next chapter between McLaughlin and Siegel, Kannan or whoever at Arrow McLaren, a lesson no doubt was learned by the driver of the No. 6 team at St. Louis.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing