As I was looking back over posts written in 2022 I came
to realize that there weren’t quite as many posts about young Colton Herta as
there had been in previous years. And yet, this was a tumultuous time for
Colton and the whole family as his rise up through the Indy driving ranks directed
the spotlight more brightly on him than ever before. The expectations for an
even better year in 2022 seemed to be there for the taking.
The year started well for Colton. In case we forget about triumphs outside of the Indy Car program, it’s good to reflect on how Colton drove his DragonSpeed LMP2 sports car to first place in the opening round of the IMSA Sports Car Championship. Putting this in context this now means four starts in this series for Colton that delivered two wins for him and his team. Batting .500 is nothing to be ashamed of – two Rolex watches from four starts?
Margo and I knew of Colton through family connections. It
was during a track weekend back in 2010 or thereabouts at the Auto Club
Speedway, a track I really enjoyed driving in the big supercharged Corvette as
it gave you a real taste for superspeedways and the banking that they provided.
Brian and Jan Kenny were keen to head to Las Vegas as grandson Colton was racing
in an important karting event.
Just another pair of excited grandparents we thought
and pretty much left it at that. However, their enthusiasm kept growing as
Colton kept winning. We first heard about the “Colton Zone” and about how he
liked to hang back in second place the better to mount a winning pass with no
opportunity for his opponent to respond. Yes, seemed like we were witnessing a
little more than just kindly grandparent support. In 2012 we just had to see
for ourselves and to watch #26, as his kart was numbered, race around the track
in the Las Vegas Rio car park and that proved to be a turning point for Margo
and me.
It was about this time that we first heard about
Colton’s dad Bryan Herta and of how Jan’s daughter, Colton’s mom, Janette and
son-in-law Bryan were pretty much royalty in Indy Car racing circles. We heard
for the first time about “The Pass” at Laguna Seca when Alex Zanardi took to
the dirt for a last breath overtake, passing Bryan as both descended the Corkscrew
to win the race. But then again, Margo and I aren’t too quick to dismiss the
heritage that came from Jan Kenny, Colton’s maternal grandmother and our dear
friend as, in her own right she racked up many hours on track herself.
But genetics and heritage aside, it can only take you
so far. You simply have to put in the time, drive the tracks and absorb as much
as you can as you work your way up to the senior levels of motor racing.
Watching Colton win in karts, then in 2015 and 2016 hearing of how he headed
over to Europe for two years racing in different junior events with the Carlin
team – and yes, he was on track with F1 driver Lando Norris (whom he beat more
than once) – still didn’t give us any indication that much more was to come. He
was good, very good indeed, but how good would he become in the years ahead?
Margo and I were present for Colton’s first outing in
the senior series at the end of 2018. Given an opportunity to race in the final
event of the series, this time thanks to Harding Racing, it was an inauspicious
beginning. Problems through that afternoon left him at the backend of the field
– definitely not a foretaste of what was to follow. And yet, as he made it
plain to us and to anyone else who asked, this was to be his career. This was
what he had worked towards all his life.
And then along came 2022 and a whirlwind erupted around
him. Coming off three seasons where he had finished no worse than seventh
(2019) and as high as third (2020), expectations were that in 2022, Colton
would mount a serious challenge for a series’ win. But as the year unfolded all
we can say is that results were mixed. From a year of living dangerously where
he won the Indy Grand Prix in the rain while racing on slicks and delivering
the best slide save of all time to where it became risky business with more
than the occasional off-track race ending excursion, including during practice
for the Indy 500 main event.
Looking at his record – one win, two poles, one fastest
lap race time, and collecting a couple of podiums - altogether it wasn’t a
shabby year by any means you care to choose. But not by Colton’s standards!
Margo and I had the opportunity to spend time with the Andretti team where a
team manager said about another Andretti driver, “yes, he’s good and will
improve but he just isn’t on the same plain as Colton; he is driving at another
level altogether.” We had already heard Mario Andretti tell a journalist that
when it came to Colton’s performance on track, ”you can’t teach quick!”
Was Colton simply trying too hard? Did the team let him down? Did the strategy not always go his way? The answers here were yes to all of the above. Combinations of poorly timed yellow flags caught him out multiple times a number of which followed Colton pitting #26 while in the lead. Miscalculations on corner entry were sometime challenging as well and then the pit stops – according to some journalists who suggested there was room for improvement.
Perhaps the best change came in 2021 with the elevation of Colton’s father, Bryan, to being his strategist and when we saw Bryan in Long Beach, there was one particular three-ring binder we weren’t privy to view! Maybe better still, it’s the on-track support of his entire family that shows up whenever it’s time to race. And then there are the growing legions of Herta fans that are now making a lot of noise whenever Colton passes by!
It may not have been Colton’s day when we spent a
weekend with him in Long Beach. In qualifying he did break the track record
only to eclipse that record with a new record one lap later. Yes, he was
driving at an entirely different level to even the most celebrated of drivers trying
to outpace him. But the mishap that followed was soon rectified when he stormed
to that win in the Indy Grand Prix only a few weeks later.
There was much that was happening in the background as
the season neared midpoint. Colton said that it was of little concern but I am
not totally convinced of that. As of the end of 2021, news began to circulate that
Andretti was looking to enter Formula One (F1). Anyone who asked Mario about such
a possibility was left in no doubt that any such move would thrust Colton into
the most competitive racing series in the world. This only continued throughout
2022 where many thought a deal would be done by the time F1 hit Miami or
perhaps Austin, but again, defeat appears to have been pulled from the jaws of
victory. Was F1 scared of Andretti? Was it even more concerned about Colton?
All the while, Colton judiciously deflected journalists
away from the topic simply saying that yes, there’s stuff going on but he has
races yet to win. During the summer, Colton was whisked off to Portugal by the
McLaren F1 team for a test weekend. Driving an older F1 car, Colton impressed so
much so that it truly did look like a fait
accompli. Stories began to appear that if Colton had been present for
qualification at this track, he would have placed in the top 10 perhaps even
the 6 (or higher). No one has officially confirmed anything but racing
journalists were left in no doubt, Colton would be competitive in F1 right out
the gate.
Late breaking news? It looks like team Andretti is
about to make another approach to F1, this time with the full support of the
Cadillac division of GM. If you haven’t been impressed with the racing pedigree
of Cadillac then you have been missing major sports car events of the past
couple of years. But even so, nothing is guaranteed in racing. In the meantime
and just as the 2022 came to an end, Andretti locked-in Colton on a monster
deal for the next four years that establishes him as the highest paid Indy
driver. Wow, dangerous and risky may not be the right words after all.
Will anything come of this most recent joint Andretti and GM / Cadillac approach to FIA and F1? Will Colton earn enough Super License points in 2023 to race in F1 in what is shaping up to be a 2025 possibility (maybe even 2024). Colton only needs to finish third or better – and he already succeeded in finishing third in the series back in 2020 – so it is highly possible. However as this continues to unfold I am firmly of the opinion that all Colton really wants to do in 2023 is to race. And to win! As for F1 then it is best left to the brains trust at Andretti where Michael and Mario have become highly motivated to make this happen at some point.
How best to sum up the year 2022? How about entertaining or even dare we say, exciting? That Colton finished as high as tenth in the year’s Indy series speaks volumes of his focus and his desire. Margo and I have known Colton now for more than a decade and through all the time, we have watched a boy grow into a young man and sponsors’ dream ambassador. Can you do any better than that given the whirlwind that surrounded him? I doubt it and even as we now wait to see what unfolds in 2023, Margo and I recognize that yes, the “Herta Zone” lives on albeit now truly the Colton Zone and the Little Assassin as once described by racing journalist legend, Robin Miller, thrives and with that, the family can ask for little more.
The Colton (Herta) Zone continues but as Colton predicted all those year ago, he is no longer little. Onwards to a great year in 2023 and yes, perhaps one more Rolex at the end of the month! At some point, F1 will beckon and it will be real (who wouldn't want the chance to drive in F1), but hopefully, we will get to see Colton win the Indy 500 and score an overall series win. He has the talent, the team and plenty of opportunities. 2023 may be the year we come to see in Colton, a man with a plan!
and are acknowledged as such;
other photos are strictly from my own library.]
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