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| Photo Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar |
For all race drivers, there is a desire to conquer the clock. Although it may seem to be an accomplishable goal to spare some movement on a stopwatch, certain elements in time no one can stop. For this reason, many of us want to achieve goals so early in our life. For NTT IndyCar Series driver Colton Herta, his entrance into full time competition in the tour resulted in him becoming the youngest-ever race driver as he took the checkered flag at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Six years removed from a first taste of victory, the driver of the Honda-powered #26 Andretti Global Dallara is a steady veteran behind the wheel while only 24 years of age.
At the age of 18, the IndyCar career of Colton Herta started in the 2018 season finale at Sonoma Raceway. Although he finished 20th in the Harding Racing #88 car, many saw potential on the driver who finished runner-up in the Indy Lights championship to Pato O’Ward. The young American racer entered the early phase of open wheel competition with some pedigree behind his name. Colton’s father Bryan Herta is a 1993 Indy Lights champion, winner of Indy Racing League and CART Championship Series races as well as a team owner for two Indianapolis 500.
With expectations high, when the second generation driver took the win in the 2019 Indy Classic there was an unmistakable sense of near instant validation for driver and his early supporters. “At the time, it was such a shock to me,” said Herta reflecting on the 2019 victory. At the time 18 years and “It definitely means a lot to be the youngest winner is something that I hold close to myself and it is super important.”
Now in his sixth season, the time that has passed saw Colton Herta visiting victory lane six more times. Looking back to his initial IndyCar win, Herta admits “I don’t think that I really understood what that meant. You know, the more time you spend in the series, the more you realize how hard it is to win these races.” Adding credence to this point, last year was the first in his career in the major open wheel racing series not to include a win.
Describing his overall 2024 season as “somewhat successful”, Herta expresses pleasure with the speed of his cars while also expressing regrets about the results in some races. The likely source of those regrets would have been the Month of May festivities at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Crashing out of the Indianapolis 500 late, Colton Herta’s previous event, the Sonsio Grand Prix held on the historic motorsport complex’s road course, had the American starting from a 24th place qualifying position after his #26 Andretti Global car ran out of fuel during a time trial session. Equipped with a fast racing machine, Herta and crew salvaged a 7th place result. “The cars have been really fast and that is the most important thing”. His 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season includes three podium finishes and has two pole awards.
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| Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/Car FYI Canada |
Aside from piloting some of the fastest open wheel cars in a regular basis, Colton Herta competition has also included outings in sports car racing. “I think as a race fan growing up, I just loved racing. Particularly IndyCar racing but I love watching all racing Formula 1, sports cars, NASCAR, short course stuff, I just love all the stuff on four wheels.” In his select opportunities competing in the Weather SportsCar Championship part of International Motor Sport Association (IMSA), Herta found himself tasting glory at the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Collecting two class wins in the Daytona endurance race, he was part of the Acura ARX-06 GTP car that took overall victory at the 2024 Sebring event. These successful sports car runs had Herta aligning with competent drivers including Augusto Farfus, Louis Delatraz, fellow IndyCar competitor Pato O’Ward and Canadian Devlin DeFrancesco. “Whenever I get the chance to get out of my comfort zone in IndyCar and drive something else it is a privilege and it’s been really cool to be with some of the teams had, and had some success on that side. It’s just something special you get to do outside of IndyCar,” said Colton Herta.
Preparing to take to the Canadian streets for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, Colton Herta resides in sixth place as the 2024 drivers’ championship has shown ultra-consistence from leaders. Finishing second and third in the past two events on the streets of Toronto, Herta and his #26 Andretti Global car has sights set on the first win of the season. “We’ve been very close to wins there. I’ve stood on every step of the podium except for the top step.” said Herta. While neither Colton or his father never held a trophy for the big race in Toronto, Brian Herta did win on the circuit twice in the Indy Lights Series.
“The Streets of Toronto is one of those events that IndyCar drivers get really excited for because it’s such a cool city, such a cool town, the racing is amazing and the track layout is awesome. It’s a really historic race for IndyCar at this point, it’s been around for a long time.”
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