Colton Herta secured second place in the 2024 IndyCar Series at the final round of the season at Nashville Superspeedway.
The American has proven himself to be a strong contender in IndyCar since his first full season in 2019, showing electrifying speed on road and street circuits.
Herta went into the championship decider at the Music City Grand Prix fourth in the standings, having never secured a victory on an oval course.
But the 24-year-old changed that as he took victory over Pato O’Ward for his second win of the year and subsequently leapfrogged Penske drivers Will Power and Scott McLaughlin for second in the standings; his best finish to date.
Finishing 31 points behind champion Alex Palou, Herta and Andretti looked to take the fight to Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing after a difficult start. The American grabbed top five finishes in all but two races after Road America, with four podiums and his two victories at Toronto and Nashville.
The end of Andretti’s technical partnership with Meyer Shank Racing could affect Colton Herta’s 2025 title challenge
With his performances in 2024, Herta is tipped to be one of the frontrunners and challenge for the championship in 2025.
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And while Marshall Pruett agrees that the American can be a title contender in 2025 via The RACER Mailbag, the journalist also highlighted a ‘wild card’ that could have an effect on Herta’s performance.
The ‘wild card’ in question is the end of Andretti’s technical partnership with Meyer Shank Racing. The two teams have worked together as technical partners since 2020, but the relationship is set to end this year with Meyer Shank entering a new partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Andretti benefitted from MSR’s contributions to the setup for the chassis, particularly from driver Felix Rosenqvist, who finished 12th in the championship this season.
It is this factor that Pruett believes could potentially see a dip in performance for Herta, but it also may have little to no effect at all.
He said: “It took a while, but the Andretti team really started to make its presence felt late in the season, to the point where the normal Ganassi-Penske-dominate-everything was joined consistently by Andretti with Herta.
“If the team can hold onto its steady performances, Herta should be a real title contender next year.
“The only wild card to consider is, Andretti will no longer have the chassis setup/feedback contributions from Meyer Shank Racing and specifically, Felix Rosenqvist, so sharpen themselves on the technical side.
“How might that affect them in 2025? A dip in performance? No change at all? We’ll be watching.”
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Can anyone stop Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing in 2025?
With Herta now finally securing his first oval win, the American will be certainly one to watch at the front of the grid in 2025 as he looks to dethrone Alex Palou.
The Spaniard has been the driver to beat in IndyCar over the last few years, winning three of the last four titles, with Will Power being the only one to beat him in 2022.
Palou is still yet to take victory on an oval course in IndyCar. His brilliant consistency has shone through throughout the years and has been pivotal in his success, but Palou is setting himself the goal of winning the Indy 500 as he looks to break his winless streak on ovals like Herta managed in Nashville.
As Herta comes off the back of his best finish in the series so far, the 24-year-old will be keen to go one better and end Palou and CGR’s dominance in IndyCar.