With just days left before the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500, excitement is reaching its apex for both fans and the drivers.
All of that buildup means to fall short, or to have a bad race, is all that more painful. Colton Herta knows this well. The 23 year old driver for Andretti Autosport has raced in 4 Indy 500’s, with his best finish coming in 2019 when he placed 8th. Last year was a difficult 500; Herta did win the GMR Grand Prix, but would also endure a scary wreck during 500 practice, and ultimately would retire after 129 laps, finishing 30th.
Herta appeared on The Ride With JMV during Thursday’s edition of the show! During that conversation, Herta spoke about the disappointment that follows a bad Indy 500.
“It’s not like we have team practice the next day.” he said. “It’s hard to kind of get past, because it’s not something that you can just get right back into and get your mind off of it.”
Herta, at only 23 years old, is still incredibly young, but that doesn’t mean he is inexperienced. He talked about what he has learned over the years, and where he is now compared to where he was when he first began.
“I definitely know a lot more, I know what to expect a bit more than my rookie year.” he said. “It is a very interesting sport where you’re kind of always evolving and there’s always things to learn and improve on.”
When asked about how the lead-up to the race has been for him, Herta was blunt.
“It was not great to be honest.” he said. “21st is my 2nd worst starting spot. Last year we blew an engine so we had to start around 26th, but before that I haven’t started worse than 10th. Usually it’s been a pretty good area or strong suit for this team, and we just missed it a little bit this year, but the most important thing is we made the race and we’re in it.”
Being on 23, Herta more than likely has plenty more chances to try and join the ranks of Indianapolis 500 winners. Last year may not have ended the way he wanted, and he may face an uphill battle this year, but if one thing is for certain, it’s that you can never rule anything out at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing!
Listen to JMV’s full conversation with Colton Herta below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
