BORN FOR RACING
‘I got this’: Precocious 19-year-old Colton Herta aims for Indianapolis 500 history
INDIANAPOLIS –What might yet become one of the most successful collaborations in IndyCar history traces its roots to a makeshift long jump pit at a bed and breakfast in northwest Connecticut.
This was in the summer of 2012, when Colton Herta was 12 and George Michael Steinbrenner IV was 16.
“He was quiet,” Herta recalls. “He was really quiet back then, actually.”
Both scions of highly successful sports families loved open-wheel auto racing and were in town for that week’s events at Lime Rock Park. Bryan Herta, IndyCar champion-turned-team owner, struck up a conversation with Sean Jones, Steinbrenner’s stepfather and a budding business partner of Herta’s. Soon their sons were yapping as well. “The first conversation we had was about the (London) Olympics,” says Colton Herta, now 19 and a serious contender to win the Indy 500 in his first try. “We said how far they (long) jumped, and it didn’t sound like a big number to Sean. He was like, ‘That’s not far at all. I bet I could almost get to that.’ ”
Soon the group was in search of a suitable runway and landing area for the strange competition to commence.
“We all did a long jump at this hotel and we measured it,” Herta says with a laugh. “I think I won actually. It wasn’t an astounding number at all. I think we got lucky if we got over 10 (feet), but then we didn’t have the proper track or sand.”
Steinbrenner, now 22 and co-owner along with Mike Harding of Harding Steinbrenner Racing, confirms the tale with a laugh. It surprised no one in the group that the precocious driver who had been piloting go-karts since he was 6 claimed this dubious prize as well.
“He’s always been mature beyond his years,” says Steinbrenner, grandson of the late Yankees owner. “It was sort of just, ‘This kid’s got talent.’ ”
Champion’s mind
Red Davin has worked on IndyCar pit crews for more than a quarter century. He has been part of a fourth-place finish in the Indy 500 with Townsend Bell in 2009 and earned the pole position with Scott Sharp in 2001.
Over the years he has learned certain eternal truths about the sport.
“This is all mind-set,” Davin says. “You’ve got to be locked in. The mind of a champion, I call it.”
Strapping Colton Herta in at St. Petersburg for his first HSR race this year, Davin leaned in close and motioned two fingers between his eyes and those of the rookie driver. He reminded Herta to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth.
“You see his eyes smile and he says, ‘I got you,’ ” Davin recalls. “It was that kind of cool.”
Scanning Herta’s eyes for signs of fear or panic, Davin instead saw only serenity and confidence.
“There’s thousands of data points that he’s dealing with,” Davin says. “He’s processing those, and each one affects the other. It’s not easy just driving down the street. At that critical point in his very early career of IndyCar, he was clear enough to go, ‘Yep, I gotcha man. It’s cool. I got this.’ ”
Herta finished eighth in his 2019 debut, then won at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, his next time out. That victory, which came days before his 19th birthday on March 30, made him the youngest winner in IndyCar history.
On his way to victory lane and a memorable do-si-do he borrowed from a “SpongeBob SquarePants” episode, Herta had to handle a tricky restart. Again, his crew marveled at the way he processed those instructions on the fly.
“We’re telling him how to do the restart, where to do the restart, what procedures to go through to do the restart,” Davin says. “And he goes, ‘I got this, guys.’ It’s only bragging if you can’t do it, and he can do it. I’ve worked with all the champs; he has the tone of a champion.”
Davin, who also worked with Bryan Herta in the early 2000s, sees parallels in the son.
“They definitely have some of the same mannerisms,” Davin says. “Bryan was always touted as the test driver. He
gave the good feedback, so there is a lot (of similarities) with Colton and just being very nerdy. He’s very calm and cool and precise. He’s very clear on what he needs, which is very much like his dad.”
The record
Al Unser Sr. was days from turning 48 when he became the oldest winner of the Indy 500 in 1987. His record still stands.
Soon, Al Unser Jr., aka Little Al, could put the family stamp on the opposite end of the spectrum.
A two-time Indy 500 winner himself, Unser Jr. has served as an executive consultant and racing coach for the Harding team since early 2017. These days, Unser Jr. offers a uniquely valuable resource for Herta as he attempts to eclipse the 67-year-old mark of Troy Ruttman, who was 22 years, 80 days when he won at Indy in 1952.
Herta should have four chances to push Ruttman aside.
“I think he’ll do that,” Unser Jr. says. “I think it’s time.”
The younger Unser was 30 the first time he won at Indy, but he says technological advances have helped shorten the learning curve for younger drivers. Combine that with Herta’s natural talent and deep understanding of the sport, and Unser believes a victory here is not a matter of if but when.
“Colton is in a great position,” Little Al says. “He’s extremely smart. He’s a very talented race car driver. If we can give him the car, I think he’s mature enough to go win the race.”
Bryan Herta, a two-time Indy 500 winner (2011 and 2016) as a team owner, has merged operations with Andretti Autosport. The proud father keeps a reasonable distance from his son around the track, but he won’t hesitate to pass along suggestions through Unser Jr.
“Bryan does come down every now and then,” Unser Jr. says. “He goes, ‘I want you to watch this and this and this.’ And I go, ‘OK.’ He’s in tune with it, too.”
Harding Steinbrenner Racing has a working agreement with Andretti Herta Autosport to share technical information, so the dynamic isn’t quite as tricky as it sounds.
“When I sit and talk with Colton, it reminds me of me and my dad,” says Unser Jr., 57. “There’s a wealth of experience there, and he taps into every bit of it.”
The buffer
The younger Herta gives significant credit to Unser Jr. for helping him make the transition from Indy Lights to the major leagues.
“Everything that I’ve been through, he’s been through. And everything that
I’m going to go through, he’s been through,” Herta says. “Obviously, it’s great to have somebody like that and be able to pick their brain and even just to have him watch me and then say, ‘Oh, you need to do this,’ or ‘This could improve.’ It’s super vital.”
Mentor and pupil have grabbed breakfast a time or two, but mainly their interactions are around the track or the shop or the Main Street offices of Harding Steinbrenner Racing. Providing a buffer between father and son while putting his own low-key spin on the message should keep the rising star on the right path.
“Al has a calm, friendly demeanor and he’s someone who’s great for Colton to learn from,” Steinbrenner says. “As smart and as great a mentor as his father is, sometimes the father-son dynamic (means) it’s difficult to listen to your father over maybe someone else who’s saying the exact same thing.”
The younger Herta sees this as a natural step in his professional evolution.
“I mostly get the driving tips from Al now,” he says. “When I was younger, it was my dad, but now he kind of lets me do my own thing. I think he understands that I know enough to be on my own. Obviously, I’m a professional now and stuff.”
Herta downplays any tension in the arrangement.
“Driving on another team is different, for sure,” he says. “But my dad definitely doesn’t mind when I beat his driver or when I win.”
Says Unser Jr., who lost the 1985 points championship to his father by a point: “Bryan is a part of this team and he wants the success of this team as much if not more than his own car. I’m sure he’s kind of torn: ‘Do I want my car to win or do I want my son to win?’ I promise you, if his son wins it, will be him winning. Really, the way Bryan’s looking at it, he’s got two cars in the race to win the 500.”
Captain-esque
George Steinbrenner III famously called Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield “Mr. May” in a futile attempt to spur him to match the postseason accomplishments of Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson.
What would the Boss think of Herta, a potential Mr. May in a far more positive light?
“He’d want to keep him around, that’s for sure,” George the Fourth says. “Our grandfather liked guys who put it all out on field — in this case the track — and Colton’s definitely one of those guys.”
Asked which Yankees’ great Herta most resembles, Steinbrenner pauses and considers the offbeat question.
“Hmm … I’ve never thought of that,” Steinbrenner says. “In terms of attitude
and his pure talent?”
Sure, but mostly his precocity. “I don’t think he’s quite as precocious as (Mickey) Mantle was,” Steinbrenner says. “Similar.”
He brings up Joe DiMaggio but quickly lets the comparison drop.
What about Derek Jeter? After all, the captain was a first-round draft pick out of high school, reached the majors at 20 and won his first of five World Series the following year.
“Jeter’s a good one,” Steinbrenner says. “Ages are similar. Both have that prodigy status, early success. It didn’t take Jeets long, did it? And it didn’t take Colton long either.”
While the younger Steinbrenner chopped his shoulder-length hair last fall, Herta’s locks remain. That might make him a strange sight in a Yankees cap, which he wears around the track at times, but the young driver’s personality and off-track interests are as much a part of his appeal as what he can do behind the wheel.
The Zibs, a self-described garage/alternative/punk band for which he drums, recently released an EP (“Just Crust”) with plans for a second fulllength album this summer. The group, which includes some of Herta’s buddies from back home in Southern California, recently played before close to 500 fans at a San Francisco street fair.
The band name, however, could be a problem. According to Urban Dictionary, it’s the Arabic word for the male member, a fact Herta sheepishly admits when pressed on the matter.
Herta, who spent 2015-16 racing in Europe, is also a serious cyclist who thinks nothing of training rides that last up to seven hours and cover 100 miles or more. At 5-10, he considers it part of his conditioning as he tries to bulk up from his current 140 pounds to a stated goal of 155 pounds, the better to handle the physical demands of driving.
He and Steinbrenner, more of a buddy than a boss, also battle regularly at online video games. “Project Cars” and “Forza” are their current favorites, while Herta’s top rival on “Apex Legends” is fellow driver Conor Daly.
“The young demographic is the one you want to approach,” says Harding Steinbrenner Racing president Brian Barnhart. “I think (Herta’s) youth, his capabilities in what he’s shown in the race car, his personality outside the race car — I think they’re all exactly what IndyCar needs moving forward.”
Hearing Herta drop references during a recent test run to “Avengers: Endgame” and Thanos along with other pop-culture flash points only reinforces the idea.
“That’s what’s going to resonate with youth,” Barnhart says. “He has that connection. He’s a very marketable, successful young man. And he’s a lot of fun.”