Colton Herta, driver the No.88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda, made history as the youngest driver to ever win an IndyCar race when he crossed the finish line at the Indycar Classic on March 24th.
Colton Herta with the Indycar Classic winner trophy.Colton Herta takes the lead during the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in AustinHerta’s team celebrates the victory at the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in Austin
Herta’s weekend in Austin began with a car fire, and ended with the top spot of the podium. During the first practice on Friday, the No. 88 Honda started leaking fluid on the track, and Herta had to stop and quickly jump out of the car.
Much of the practice session was under red flag as the crew took care of the car and the racetrack, and the fastest lap went to Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden with 1 minute, 48.6567 seconds.
Josef Newgarden during the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in AustinAlexander Rossi during practice at the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in Austin.Rookie Patricio O’Ward, winner of the 2018 Indy Lights series, at the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in Austin.
The fastest during practice session 2 was the reigning Indy500 winner Will Power, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, with 1 minute. 47.4401 seconds.
Will Power during the autograph session with the IndyCar fans.Felix Rosenqvist’s team during the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in AustinWill Power with the No.12 at the Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas in AustinPatricio O’Ward driving by the COTA Stars and Stripes during practice.
Practice 3 saw faster times as Alexander Rossi topped the chart in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda, with the fastest lap of 1 minute, 46.9148 seconds. Rossi was followed closely by Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda.
View from the COTA tower as Takuma Sato drives by the Stars and Stripes during the 2019 Indycar Classic. Will Power with the No.12 Verizon Chevrolet at the 2019 Indycar Classic. Scott Dixon ready for qualifying at the Indycar Classic.Ryan Hunter-Reay during qualifying at COTA.
In qualifying, Will Power won his 56th career IndyCar pole with a lap time of 1 minute, 46.0177 seconds. Behind Power, Alexander Rossi and his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, followed by series rookie Colton Herta, Felix Rosenqvist, and Scott Dixon.
Will Power and his crew getting ready for qualifying at the Indycar Classic.Focus. Will Power ready for the qualifying session. Will Power celebrates the pole at The Circuit of The Americas. Will Power celebrates the pole with Firestone’s Firehawk at COTA.Will Power celebrates the pole with the team at The Circuit of The Americas.
Qualifying fourth was a big success for Herta, after missing practice session 2 while his crew had to rush and change engines after the mishap in the first practice session.
Racing by the tower. The beautiful Tower of The Americas in the background during the race.
During the race on Sunday, Herta took the lead when Power, Rossi, and Dixon made a pit stop under yellow flag. Once the race restarted, he was able to maintain the lead and cross the finish line 2.7812 seconds ahead of Josef Newgarden of Team Penske, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal.
Colton Herta with the No.88 Honda at the Circuit of The Americas.Josef Newgarden on track at COTA.Ryan Hunter-Reay by the Tower of The Americas. Graham Rahal at COTA during the Indycar Classic.
Will Power, after starting from pole with the No. 12, remained in the lead for over half of the race, but had to make a pit stop at lap 46 during the full course caution. To complicate things, the drive shaft on his car broke as he was leaving the pits, and he finished last in the field.
Alexander Rossi gets ready to race at COTA.Scott Dixon before the start of the race at COTA.Mirrored view from the Tower of The Americas.
Tony Kanaan, who had started the race in last place, was able to finish in 12th place after a solid race. Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato ran a very good race and finished in 7th place.
Tony Kanaan gets ready to start the race from last place. He managed to hold a steady pace and take advantage of the chaos to finish 12th.Pit stop for Takuma Sato at The Circuit of The Americas. Takuma Sato on track at COTA during the Indycar Classic.
This is the first win for Herta, and also for team owners by Mike Harding and George Michael Steinbrenner IV. While Herta is the youngest winner in IndyCar history at 18, Steinbrenner is the youngest winning team owner at 22 years of age.
The winners with Firehawk on the podium at the Indycar Classic.Colton Herta with Firehawk on the podium at the Indycar Classic.Colton Herta with the winner trophy on the podium at the Indycar Classic.
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park
The podium of the first Indycar Classic at The Circuit of The Americas.
