IndyCar’s return after the summer break at the Grand Prix of Madison had plenty of action, and one driver quietly went about his business in the race after a poor weekend up to that stage.
Colton Herta was relegated to the back of the grid after blocking Linus Lundqvist, then suffering a crash in his second fast-six lap.
He made up six positions on the first lap in what was described by his own Andretti team as a ‘video game’ like start.
And eventually he worked his way up to fifth place by the end of the race – excellent damage limitation, losing only two points to IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou, who came fourth.
Why ‘super impressive’ Colton Herta could’ve ‘dominated’ at Gateway
Speaking on The Race’s IndyCar podcast, JR Hildebrand shared his thoughts on Herta’s performance at Gateway.
“I think it was super impressive that Colton and the 26 team, that they ended up where they were without the benefit of strategy,” he said.
“Because there was a lot cars that just went completely the other direction. I guess all of that amounts to, well if he just starts further up in the race, even if he starts fifth or sixth or something, I think there’s a chance that he would’ve been sitting on the pole for this thing.
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“[If he] starts further up and surely he ends up finishing better or is more clearly in contention with Power, McLaughlin, Newgarden and Malukas for the duration of the race that he was up there.
“There’s potential that this could have been a dominant race for Colton, had he started at the front.”
Why Herta can yet make a run for maiden IndyCar title
The unwanted stat that Herta is yet to win an IndyCar oval race, when three of the remaining four events this season are held on them, isn’t too much of a worry for the American.
That’s because he has managed to be consistent on ovals over the course of the year, and a breakthrough victory can only be so far away if his Gateway performance is an indication of the 26 car’s true pace.
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Alex Palou – the man who he is chasing and is 59 points ahead, is yet to win on an IndyCar oval yet either, so that makes the battle slightly more interesting.
Andretti are quite good at delivering a car capable of challenging for victories every weekend and they will be especially eager to beat the arch-rival Chip Ganassi outfit to the title.
Their next opportunity to claw back some ground will come at the final road course event of the season in Portland, where Herta qualified third last year and showed impressive pace.