Herta emerges as INDYCAR Street-Sweeper in Toronto
Colton Herta takes the checkered flag to win the the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto in Toronto, Ontatio (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Colton Herta lowered the broom on his NTT IndyCar Series peers Sunday in Toronto, where his victory in the crash-marred Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place completed an historic INDYCAR weekend sweep.
Herta recorded the fastest laps during both free practice sessions, qualified on-pole Saturday to win the NTT P1 Award then paced Sunday’s warmup session en route to his eighth career series victory. It is believed to be the first such sweep in INDYCAR history. Herta ended a self-described “brutal” 40-race winless streak with his first win in 799 days, since the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course in mid-May 2022.
In addition, teammate Kyle Kirkwood finished second _ 0.3469-seconds behind Herta _ to give Andretti Global its first victory since last year’s rebranding of the organization fielded by former series star Michael Andretti. Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean finished 1-2 for Andretti’s team on the Streets of Long Beach in 2023.
“It’s awesome. It’s amazing,” said Herta, a 24-year-old native of California and son of former series driver Bryan Herta. “For whatever reason it just hasn’t gone our way. We’ve had speed, we’ve had plenty of podiums, we’ve had a lot of poles, a lot of top-fives, but no wins. And so it feels great to finally get one back.”
An Andretti car won the event for the ninth time. Michael Andretti won seven times as a driver and Ryan Hunter-Reay went to Victory Lane for Team Mikey in 2012.
“We needed this so bad,” Andretti said post-race. “We’ve been competitive all year but we just haven’t been able to get the final result. It was a big day.”
The race was the first street event for the hybrid power unit technology introduced by the sanctioning body and OEM partners Honda and Chevrolet two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Honda-powered cars took eight of the top-10 finishing positions on Sunday, including the first seven.
Herta effectively led from start-to-finish, relinquishing the lead only twice to pit. Officially, his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda paced 81 of 85 laps on the 1.786-mile/11-turn circuit with Kirkwood following him throughout, including on pit stops.
“We’ve been knocking on the door to win for so long,” Herta said. “Forty-one starts without a win is a long time, and it’s been disappointing for us. I think we’re a team _ Michael is the owner _ that demands perfection. (I’m) so happy. The Gainbridge Honda was so fast.”
Kirkwood, driver of the No. 27 AutoNation Honda, said he was less concerned with passing Herta than keeping third-place Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing in his rearview mirrors.
“Putting us at-risk was just not the move today,” Kirkwood said of the team game plan. “I played a little bit more defense as you probably noticed over the (late) restarts. Super-happy with second, especially when a teammate wins. That was the goal today. We started 1-2 and we wanted to finish 1-2. Of course I would have (preferred to) have won, but I also wasn’t going to push the envelope whatsoever.”
Dixon, the six-time series champion from New Zealand, finished third to tie open-wheel icon Mario Andretti _ Michael’s father _ for the most top-three results in series history. Each has 141.
Behind the top-three, the race was chaotic _ including a red-flag stoppage for a multi-car accident in Turn 1 on Lap 73. Pato O’Ward was running sixth when he spun his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet halfway around. At that point, there wasn’t much damage to his car _ but that was about to change. O’Ward wound up facing traffic and could see the field approaching at-speed.
“I had rear-locking, spun, and that’s pretty much the end of that,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio.
Swede Marcus Ericsson veered his No. 27 Delaware Life Honda fielded by Andretti Global into O’Ward’s car on the left side of the track, hardly the end of the carnage. Native Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was the fifth car in line after Ericsson’s contact. Fittipaldi struck O’Ward’s car with enough force to lift his No. 30 HUB International Honda off the ground.
“Something happened to Pato on that lap,” Fittipaldi said. “He was quite a few positions ahead of us. There were no yellow flags, no indication and we all went through the corner and then he was just stopped on the outside wall like that and then there was nowhere to go. (Teammate) Graham Rahal cleared him last-minute and for us, there was nowhere to go.”
Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci was trailing Fittipaldi, and his No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet launched, hitting the fence with the bottom of the chassis before landing on the track upside down.
“First off, I’m very, very thankful for INDYCAR and the medical team. The cars are so safe,” said Ferrucci, who is 10th in the standings for the team based in Waller, Texas. “To have a scary accident like that, just to walk away fine. Tell my wife Renee I’m fine, so don’t worry too much.
“I never saw Pato. At the start of the race, I had the steering wheel bent trying to avoid Pato and we were just left hand up, right hand down. When I came through there, I never saw Pietro clip him. Nothing on the spotters. There was no yellow, no nothing. I didn’t know to check-up. Super-unfortunate. Trying to take care of equipment, trying to have a recovery day. Just a bummer, but we’re going into a couple of ovals.
“Obviously, full steam ahead. I’m devastated for the guys. That’s not what we want to do here at A.J. Foyt Racing. I think we’ll make it back. We’ve accomplished a ton with this Sexton Properties Chevrolet. I can’t thank this team enough for the stellar year we’ve had. There’s nothing to be lost there at all.”
Rookie Nolan Siegel and his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet followed Ferrucci into the crash site, and his car struck O’Ward’s as well. Rookie Toby Sowery then hit Siegel with his No. 51 Global Kartin League/Vuzix Honda fielded by Dale Coyne Racing. Fortunately, no one was injured.
O’Ward said he was shocked INDYCAR officials did not immediately throw the yellow flag. “You’re just calling for a massive shunt,” said O’Ward, who started 14th and finished 17th. “They had a solid five seconds to call the yellow and tell everybody that was coming, but I’m glad that everybody else in it is OK. Sorry for the team. Obviously, we were having a better race than what we’ve had all weekend. It’s been miserable, just a shame for the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew.”
Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren, joined O’Ward in expressing concern over the yellow flag procedure. “I’m just glad we don’t have any more injured drivers at the end of the day,” Ward said. “I think INDYCAR needs to take a deep dive into the delay in going yellow. That incident started off with Pato having a spin, and not going to a full-course yellow until there’s a car in the catch fence, and we’ve totally crashed two good race cars. It’s just not good enough.”
Ward also gave a shout-out to rookie Theo Pourchaire, whose weekend began with a last-minute trans-Atlantic flight from France to Toronto to sub for the injured Alexander Rossi. Pourchaire finished 14th after starting 26th in the No. 7 Ryde Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on a circuit he had never turned a lap on prior to Saturday.
“Thanks to Théo for jumping in a very difficult circumstance and keeping his nose clean,” Ward said.
Just prior to the accident, rookie Kyffin Simpson whacked the Turn 8 wall with his No. 4 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, the same corner where Rossi crashed and broke his right thumb in Friday’s first practice. Simpson, a native of the Cayman Islands, was not injured.
Minutes before that, Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist overshot Turn 3 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing and drove into the escape area. Ericsson similarly had to take evasive action. Pourchaire then survived contact with fellow-rookie Linus Lundqvist of Sweden and driver of the No. 8 The American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
“It was a very tough and challenging race for me,” Pourchaire said. “I think we did an amazing job with the No. 7 Ryde Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew. The car was amazing, and the team did their best. I did my best, as well.
“With the end of the race now, I probably arrived 26 hours ago. I didn’t know the track and I haven’t raced in about five weeks. It’s an amazing job to go from P26 to P14 and avoid major incidents. I made one small mistake during the race that cost us perhaps a top-10 finish. I’m just proud of myself and the team. We showed great pace, and I’m so proud and happy that I was able to race again.”
Team Penske endured a disastrous incident with nine laps remaining. Native Australian Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet, bumped Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet into the Turn 5 wall. That led to a penalty for Power and a sarcastic round of applause from McLaughlin as he waited for his teammate to come back around. For the record, they were racing for fourth place.
“It was just, in my opinion, a very low percentage move by Will there,” said McLaughlin, a native of New Zealand. “We both had Palou covered and we were both going to gain points on him going into the homestretch of the season with a lot of ovals left where Team Penske is typically very strong. You never like contact with your teammate, but it happens. I ran into him at Laguna Seca so it’s hard to be very upset and hypocritical. Just frustrated when you have these moments, but the Gallagher Chevy team will move past it.”
Power, Team Penske’s elder statesman, made it clear he never wants to run into a teammate. “That is not something I ever set out to do,” Power said, “and I apologize to Scott and his team for knocking them out of the race. We were both in a position to have a solid day against the two Andretti cars and I knew I had a better tire situation than Scott. Unfortunately, we got together and gifted Palou too many points. The Verizon Chevy was solid all day, great pit stops and we’re leaving without much to show for it.”
Meanwhile, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden cut a tire on the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet during the sequence and was forced to pit. Roger Penske’s organization had three cars in the top-seven at the time but finished 11th, 12th and 16th as Newgarden later overshot Turn 3.
“That’s just kind of how our year has gone, unfortunately,” said Newgarden, who started seventh and finished 11th. “This No. 2 Hitachi crew has been so solid all year long but we just had a communication issue on the first stop. Happens to everyone but we managed it well and fought back to get in position for a top-five finish before the late-race issue.
“The Andretti cars were going to be very hard to catch but we were in a great position to maximize our day, and you never know what can happen late in one of these races.”
All three Penske drivers, plus O’Ward, have been chasing Palou for the series championship. Those hopes took a massive hit as Palou drove from the 18th starting position to finish a solid fourth. The two-time/reigning series champion from Spain, Palou extended his lead over Power to 49 points. Dixon is third, 53 points out. Herta moved up to fourth, 57 points behind Palou and his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Rinus VeeKay of The Netherlands and Ed Carpenter Racing was best-in-class among the Team Chevy drivers with his eighth-place result in the No. 21 ECR entry.
“Crazy race! I avoided most of the trouble and my tires held on well,” said VeeKay, who started 22nd. “There really wasn’t that much passing, I had a few good ones but it was quite hard to get by another car. Towards the end, we chose to go to new sticker green Firestone Firehawks, which was a really good call.
“Unfortunately, in the Turn 5 stack-up I damaged the front wing. I had to pit for a new one and take the restart a bit farther back. I was able to move forward again, so I’m pretty happy with where we finished. This was one of those days where you really don’t have to do too much special, you just need to finish and stay out of the problems.”
Frenchman Grosjean posted a solid weekend with a ninth-place finish after starting fifth in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. “Another top-10,” the former Formula One regular said. “That was not an easy day. We had a bit of an issue on a pit stop, but I think we can be happy with our weekend. We recover well after a hard fight.”
The series will now take three weekends off in deference to the Paris Olympics. Race No. 13 of the 17-event season will be the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval in Madison, Ill., on Aug. 17.
Results of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto NTT IndyCar Series event on the 1.786-mile/11-turn Streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
- (1) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
2. (2) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 85, Running
3. (15) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
4. (18) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
5. (13) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 85, Running
6. (6) David Malukas, Honda, 85, Running
7. (16) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 85, Running
8. (22) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 85, Running
9. (5) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 85, Running
10. (8) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
11. (7) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
12. (9) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
13. (24) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 84, Running
14. (26) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 84, Running
15. (21) Toby Sowery, Honda, 84, Running
16. (4) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 76, Contact
17. (14) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 72, Contact
18. (11) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 72, Contact
19. (23) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 72, Contact
20. (17) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 72, Contact
21. (19) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 72, Contact
22. (20) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 66, Contact
23. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 63, Mechanical
24. (25) Hunter McElrea, Honda, 57, Contact
25. (27) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 13, Mechanical
26. (10) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 4, Contact
27. (12) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 91.568 mph
Time of Race: 01:39:28.4293
Margin of victory: 0.3469-seconds
Cautions: 5 or 15 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 3 drivers
Lap Leaders
Herta, Colton 1 – 34
Dixon, Scott 35 – 36
Herta, Colton 37 – 53
Dixon, Scott 54
Ericsson, Marcus 55
Herta, Colton 56 – 85
NTT IndyCar Series point standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 411; 2, Will Power, Team Penske, 362; 3, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 358; 4, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 354; 5, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 340; 6, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 328; 7, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 314; 8, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 266; 9, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 265; 10, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 231;
11, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 229; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 222; 13, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 221; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 203; 15, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 201; 16, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 199; 17, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 197; 18, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 173; 19, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 135; 20, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 133;
21, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing, 121; 22, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 109; 23, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 109; 24, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 91; 25, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 88; 26, David Malukas, Arrow McLaren, 82; 27, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 80; 28, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 46; 29, Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 39; 30, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 32;
31, Toby Sowery, Dale Coyne Racing, 32; 32, Luca Ghiotto, Dale Coyne Racing, 27; 33, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 26; 34, Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 26; 35, Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, 24; 36, Kyle Larson, Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren, 21; 37, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 19; 38, Tristan Vautier, Dale Coyne Racing, 12; 39, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 40, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, 6; 41, Hunter McElrea, Dale Coyne Racing, 6; 42, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb Agajanian, 5.
