Colton Herta Looks To Jumpstart His Season At Indy

Photo: Joe Skibinski

It hasn’t been the start to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season Colton Herta has been looking for. But the Andretti Autosport driver hopes to change that this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Herta returns to Indy for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix on the Speedway’s road course as the defending race winner. It’s also the last time Herta has stood on the top step of the podium. Impacted by rain, last year’s race featured ten lead changes among six different drivers with Herta eventually coming out on top.

“It's hard to remember everything because so much was going on in that one.

“If I nitpick, I would prefer a little bit of an easier time and hopefully a win that's a little bit more straightforward.

“It was an interesting race, a lot going on. Split strategies almost the whole time. Guys not sure if they could be on wets or slicks. Luckily we made those calls better than everybody else, we were able to take the win there.”

One moment Herta remembers vividly is when he nearly spun out in the chicane leading to the back straight but was able to save it and keep going.

“Yeah. The one thing about that is I've never had this feeling in the car ever, or been able to remember a feeling from a specific time in racing, especially one from a year ago.

“I can tell you exactly how everything felt when it happened. Obviously we talk about how we feel everything through our butts. I know that same feeling in my butt right now, which is so interesting. Not to be weird talking about butts.

“It's so interesting. I still have that same feeling. I can feel that motion, which I've never been able to feel in any moment of my career, like remember it so clearly.

“So it was something that I don't think I'll ever forget. Obviously we've all seen it a whole bunch of times now. I hope I don't have to replicate it again because it definitely wasn't the fastest way to go through that corner.

“Yeah, it happened, it was interesting, and that's that.”

Ranked tenth in the season standings going into Saturday’s race, Herta is looking forward to getting back to a track where he’s enjoyed success in the past.

“Yeah, it's always been a great race for us. Two podiums and a win there. Obviously have had strong cars in the past. We've always qualified well.

“Like we saw, usually is a pretty straightforward three-stopper, unless there is weather, which there might be. But, yeah, looking forward to getting back out there.”

According to Herta, this weekend is important, not only for getting back in the championship hunt, but also setting a tone for the rest of the month at Indy.

“It's important. Everybody kind of talks about setting the mental right in the first weekend here for the 500. This race, it's so important. So much history at the Speedway. Starting out the month of May like this, I always enjoy it.

“So, yeah, it's important to start it off right here.

Photo: Chris Owens

Given that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course uses an infield section as well as a portion of the 2.5-mile oval, which is more important to get right?

“That's a good question. Obviously it's more of a road course than anything. Even on the oval part, if we did use like the turn one of the oval, it would be so easy flat compared to what we're used to doing.

“Yeah, obviously you have the long straights. You have the wall right next to you. Down the front straight, gives you more of a feel of a street course than a road course at times.

The biggest thing for us is finding out the trim levels, how much wing you want to use, compared to take out, because you obviously have these long straights and hard brake zones.”

With rain in the forecast again this weekend, Herta admits there’s only so much the team and he can do to prepare and strategize for a race with unpredictable weather conditions.

“That's the most difficult part. There's really nothing that you can do to prepare for these situations from the team's aspect. Obviously I can watch video on races in the rain or I can watch the onboard from last year and kind of get an idea of where you want to be out on the track when it's raining.

“As far as the strategy, you really have to go on the fly. The weather systems are great, but they're not always completely 100% reliable, so you can't fully go off of that. You need a little bit of intuition when it comes to it.”

Whether it’s a repeat win, or another podium finish, Herta thinks a good result this weekend has the potential to turn his championship hopes around.

“I sure hope so. Like I kind of touched on before, we've never been slow here. We've always had great cars here. Most of the time we've been in contention for at least a podium. It's a place that I feel very comfortable coming to.

Herta already knows what winning at Indy feels like. He’d like nothing better than to do it again, both this weekend and at the of the month.

“I mean, it's great. It's amazing. I haven't done it the right way yet. I've only won the Grand Prix. I'd love to win at the end of May.

“Obviously it's such a rich history. Even though you're going the other way around the track and it's not for the big win, it still means a lot.”