Colton Herta is eager to win at Indianapolis “the right way” when the IndyCar field returns to The Brickyard for two races in the Month of May.
The Andretti Autosport driver is a race winner at the hallowed Speedway, but on the infield road course rather than in the ‘500’.
While that is a cherished achievement, it is still dwarfed by the glory of victory in IndyCar’s biggest race.
“I mean, it’s great, it’s amazing, [but] I haven’t done it the right way yet,” said Herta.
“I’ve only won the Grand Prix. I’d love to win at the end of May.
“Obviously it’s such a rich history. Even though you’re going the other way around the track and it’s not for the big win, it still means a lot.”
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Herta prevailed in a chaotic IndyCar Grand Prix this time last year, taking the chequered flag in first position when the race finished on a time-certain Lap 75 under an eighth Caution period of the day.
Scott McLaughlin had spun out of the lead under a yellow period when the wet weather became too much for him to handle on slick tyres and Pato O’Ward, who inherited first position as a result of that incident, looped his car under a subsequent Caution period.
Herta, who pitted twice under a yellow phase, initially for slicks and then to get onto wets, nearly had an off of his own while leading in the last five laps of the race, but managed to survive.
It remains the 23-year-old’s most recent victory, and hence his drought is now almost a full season.
“It’s obviously less than ideal,” admitted Herta.
“We’ve been in the hunt. Obviously, we know how to win races. This weekend’s the best place to start it. Hopefully we can get a win here.
“But it is annoying to have basically a year without a win.”
Boding well for Herta is Andretti’s form so far in 2023.
The team has picked up three of the four pole positions on offer thus far, two to Romain Grosjean and one to Kyle Kirkwood, and could well be boasting the same strike rate in terms of race results if history had transpired slightly differently.
Grosjean was in a battle for the lead at St Petersburg with Scott McLaughlin when they banged wheels and the Frenchman ended up stuck in the wall, and he finished second to the New Zealander last time out at Barber Motorsports Park.
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