IndyCar Grand Prix of Indianapolis Race 2

Herta DNF still a mystery but won’t require engine change

Alexander Rossi’s triumph on the Indy road course last Saturday was a welcome turn in fortunes for both he and Andretti Autosport, but teammate Colton Herta’s retirement remains unexplained.

David Malsher-Lopez

Edited: Aug 1, 2022, 6:43 PM

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Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian Honda

Rossi, who started on the front row, led 44 of the 85 laps in the Gallagher Grand Prix to score his first IndyCar victory since June 2019, but Herta, up from ninth on the grid, was leading his teammate when his car suddenly coasted to a halt with no drive at half distance.

On Saturday night, both team owner Michael Andretti and the #26 car’s co-owner and strategist Bryan Herta could confirm only that it was a drivetrain issue, and by Monday morning, the team had still not ascertained the cause. But Andretti Autosport COO Rob Edwards said it was doubtful that Herta’s right-side impact with Will Power’s Penske on Lap 1/Turn 1 that damaged his sidepod, combined with his vigorous use of the curb at Turn 8, a right-hander, on Lap 43, are what doomed his car.

“We are still working through it,” Edwards told Motorsport.com. “We don’t have the root cause.

“I don’t want to say anything that we’re not sure of, but I don’t think the rubbing with Will was the cause. We’re taking a long hard look at the thumping over the curb at Turn 8, but it’s a line used by several drivers, and over the years one of the reasons Colton’s been so quick at the IMS road course has been his speed from Turn 7 through Turn 10. He very early on figured out how to be quick through that sequence and his line hasn’t caused any problems before.

“So we’re homing in on what went wrong, but we can’t yet say, ‘Here’s 100 percent why the car broke down.’”

Edwards was happy to confirm that there was no damage to the engine, so Herta will not have to endure a grid penalty at Nashville as he did for the second race at Iowa.

“No, no early engine change,” he said. “There was nothing wrong with the Honda; it was a case of its drive no longer getting to the rear wheels.”

Nonetheless, Edwards drew satisfaction from not only Rossi’s triumph, but also the form of both Rossi and Herta, which was the result of “a lot of hard work” at what had previously been a bogey track for the squad. Herta’s triumph in May’s mixed-weather and then rain-soaked Grand Prix of Indianapolis had been put down to inspired driving from Herta and perfect on-the-fly tire strategy from the #26 team, rather than superiority in the cars. By contrast, this most recent win saw the Andretti team appear to be more than a match for regular Indy road course winners Team Penske-Chevrolet.

“I know we have to be sensitive about how we talk about it, but without the tire issues Colton had in qualifying, I think he would have joined Alex in the Firestone Fast Six,” said Edwards. “And in the race, I’m confident that we had two cars that would have delivered us a 1-2.

“But I’m very pleased for Alex. It’s obviously a real pity that it took so long. That whole side of the team deserved a win, and I think the result, and his pace in qualifying, showed that even though Alex is leaving us, we haven’t been putting any less effort into his car, and he hasn’t been giving less than 100 percent for us.”

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

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