Eighteen-year-old rookie Colton Herta made history at COTA in 2019 by winning the INDYCAR Classic.
Colton Herta: Part of the History Books
In just his third race in his IndyCar career, Colton Herta made it into IndyCar’s long history book with his win at Circuit of the Americas. The victory at 18 years and 359 days old, set the record for youngest driver to win an Indy car race.
Here’s a look back to the historic weekend five years ago.
Qualification:
There was a lot of hype and excitement surrounding the race even before it began.
It was the first time IndyCar made its way to the Austin, Texas track. It was also the first time that American open-wheel cars and F1 raced at the same track during the same season since 2006.
The 3.41-mile, 20-turn permanent road course would make things exciting, not only in the race but also in qualifying and it did not disappoint.
Herta ultimately secured fourth in the No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda, starting ahead of Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon in row 3 and just behind Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, and pole-sitter Will Power who set a time of 1 minute, 46.0177 seconds (115.792 mph).
The pole marked Power’s second consecutive pole position to start the 2019 season and the 56th of his 15-year career.
This qualification for Herta was a bounce back from his previous session at the opening round in St. Petersburg where he was penalized for qualifying interference, surrendering his two best laps by rule after a “rookie mistake”.
The group of drivers that rookie, Herta, will be around at the start of the race have years of experience over him but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from his determination of earning his first IndyCar victory.
The Race:
On Sunday the green flag is waved marking the start of the 60-lap race.
Herta wasn’t looking to make history at COTA but he knew he wanted to give it a chance.
He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, he needed everything to go his way if he had a fighting chance to be on the top step. And that’s exactly what happened.
The race looked like it was going to be another pole to victory for Power as he was leading for the first 44 laps under green flag conditions. Then a late crash changed everything in how the race played out.
Herta had made his way to second place from fourth and he did a phenomenal job of holding his position at the front of the field. Even when did Rossi get by he continued to match and maintain a strong third.
Herta’s strong performance and the team’s unique strategy were rewarded with some luck.
On Lap 44 James Hinchcliffe and Rosenqvist made contact. The incident brought out a caution and the timing of it couldn’t have been better for Herta as he stopped just prior, while the leaders of Power and Rossi still needed to make their final pit stop.
The 18-year-old surged from third to first as the frontrunners came in for fuel and tire changes.
The race resumed with 10 laps to go and with the 2017 Series champion, Josef Newgarden right behind, Herta needed to get a good start.
Not only did he do that, but he managed to pull a 2.7-second gap from the Penske driver to take the checkered flag for the first time.
“We were not expecting (to win). I think we were going to get a podium (top-three finish) – I think we had the pace for that – but holy crap, man! … It’s spectacular!”
Herta’s skill in managing the restart and pulling ahead highlighted his victory, especially given the differences in teams and experience.
The Aftermath:
Making history at COTA was just a bonus for Herta as he just wanted to be on the long list of IndyCar winners, just like his dad Bryan Herta.
“Just to be up with the names of people that have won (a) race, I’m going to live and die an Indy car winner, which is spectacular in itself,” Herta said. “Yeah, it’s a great record at a young age. To be standing up here kind of feels surreal.”
The 2019 IndyCar was the first and last time a race was held at COTA. In 2020, the race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it hasn’t been on the IndyCar Series schedule since then.
Now at 25-year-old, Herta has 99 career starts and nine wins to his name with plenty more the on way, but you can bet he will never forget his first one.
