Colton Herta, driver of the No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara/Honda for Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, led the NTT IndyCar Series standings heading into the all-important month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
It was a pivotal moment for the son of former IndyCar Series race winner Bryan Herta.
Stardom has been predicted for the younger Herta since he was a teenager returning from the European junior formulas.
After two seasons of what is now Indy NXT, where he finished second to Andretti teammate Pato O’Ward in the 2018 championship, Herta was still just a kid when he made his IndyCar debut on Sept. 16, 2018, at Sonoma Raceway.
Two races into his rookie effort, Herta battled Josef Newgarden to win at Circuit of The Americas on March 24, 2019, becoming the youngest winner in IndyCar history at 18 years, 359 days old.
It was supposed to be the launching pad to greater things for the Santa Clarita, Calif., driver. However, Herta is now 24 years old, in his sixth IndyCar season and hasn’t won a series race since 2022.
Improved consistency has fueled Herta’s results this year. He started fourth and finished second in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10, and went from fourth to second in the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21.
Herta started 15th and came home eight in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park on April 28. It was enough to put him atop the IndyCar standings by one point over two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Will Power heading into the May 11 event on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
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