Pruett's slowdown lap: St Petersburg edition

A DIFFERENT WORLD

A mollywhopping. An ass kicking. A virtuoso performance. Whatever you want to call it, most professional drivers are fortunate to have one defining performance throughout their careers. Colton Herta has done it twice by the age of 21.

The first came at the close of his rookie season in 2019 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where he took pole and owned the field, leading 83 of 90 laps in a showy demonstration of what the future held. And he’s done it again, this time at St. Petersburg where he demolished everyone in qualifying – finding a staggering advantage of 0.2499s around the short 1.8-mile street circuit – and followed it up by decimating the opposition by leading 97 out of 100 laps.

Think of all the drivers who will retire without knowing this feeling, then remember Herta has two, and just reached the legal age to buy alcohol in his home state of California.

Since arriving with the Harding Steinbrenner Racing in 2019 as an Andretti Autosport affiliate driver, he’s won four races. And in another nod to his ridiculousness, Herta’s become Andretti’s winningest driver over that time span. From 2019-2021, teammate Alexander Rossi has two wins, and other than that, everyone else past and present over that stretch – Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Zach Veach, and Conor Daly – have zero.

And after having been the only Andretti driver to defy the inconsistencies that plagued his teammates in 2020 and going on to secure securing third in the championship, he’s now managed to overcome his terrible open to 2021 at Barber, where he was taken out at the start by Josef Newgarden. By winning at St. Pete, he’s vaulted to P4 in the standings. His next-closest teammate in the championship? Rossi in P16.

There are plenty of extenuating circumstances to explain why Rossi, RHR, and Hinchcliffe aren’t at fault for their punishing starts to 2021, so there’s nothing critical to offer in that regard. But the person tabulating championship points doesn’t care about drivers’ problems. Andretti Autosport’s drivers are P4, P16, P20, and P21 entering the month of May, and while the bottom three will surely respond and move up the rankings, it’s hard to ignore how the inter-team fortunes continue to diverge.

It leaves me to ask: Has Colton Herta taken another step forward with his game? There’s no doubt he’s become the team leader on road and street courses; the results tell that tale. We should have a better grasp on the overarching question about Herta’s ascendance by Sunday night after he’s been through the Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader. That first oval win is the only accolade he’s missing. And if things go well for him around the 1.5-mile oval, a proper fight for the title is on.

Turns out that Herta isn't too bad at this IndyCar caper. Galstad/Motorsport Images

NOD TO NATHAN

Race engineer Nathan O’Rourke has been with Herta for all of his IndyCar wins, and years before their partnership began, he worked with another Road To Indy phenom in Josef Newgarden during the Tennessean’s first two seasons with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Of the many talents found within a race engineer, the ability to connect with young newcomers to IndyCar is a skill that few possess. Yet O’Rourke has formed special bonds with one who’s gone on to win two championships with Team Penske, and it feels safe to say he’s on the path to earning one or more with Herta.

It was also O’Rourke who watched his current driver out-duel his former driver on Sunday. While there were opportunities for the Penske pilot to attempt high-risk passes for the lead, there was trust that Newgarden would race with care, and that’s exactly what he did on the way to P2. Cool to see O’Rourke’s influence born out in the most positive ways with Colton and Josef.

HIGHS AND LOWS

What a weird weekend for Arrow McLaren SP. The team that looked unbeatable before its first pit stop at Barber felt the whiplash of plummeting fortunes, as it was largely anonymous at St. Pete. Pato O’Ward made it into the Firestone Fast Six in P6, but sank like a rock on the opening lap, and the situation only worsened as the lap count grew.

Getting tangled in a late incident between Ed Jones and James Hinchcliffe was the lowlight of the race for O’Ward, who pitted for repairs on the way to P19. The more curious case within AMSP is Felix Rosenqvist, who earned a podium at St. Pete on his series debut in 2019, but lacked pace from the moment cars hit the track on Friday. Qualifying 17th, the race-winning Swede improved to 12th by the finish, but with the rough opening-lap drama at Barber that ruined his day, and a distant run on Sunday, he’s in thoroughly unfamiliar territory: 18th in the championship.

MR INVISIBLE

I swear Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou turned up at St. Pete, participated in every session and competed in the race, but man alive, send out a search party because the Barber winner was missing in action on Sunday. These things happen, obviously, but I’m struggling to recall a recent example where a first-time race winner completely disappeared at the next race. Starting P10, he finished P17 which, considering the heights produced seven days prior, came as a shock.

Palou seemed a little lost at St Pete, but it didn't hurt his championship position. Cantrell/Motorsport Images

CARTOON ANVIL

I’m not sure if I’ve ever given it to a team that won the race, but when it comes to crappy days where half of its drivers are clobbered by over-optimistic passing attempts that result in flat tires, Ye Olde Anvil chose Andretti Autosport as its best friend in Florida.

CHICKEN SALAD REPORT

Who made the most from a forgettable qualifying performance? Could it be anyone other than Will Power, who hauled the No. 12 Chevy from 20th to eighth and maintained second in the championship while doing so? Quality work in the pits, sharp strategy calls, and a lot of dogged passes by the guy who rewarded Penske’s faith after being signed to his umpteenth contract extension by The Captain.

THE 11.76% DONE UPDATE

With two out of 17 races complete, here’s a look at the championship standings after St. Petersburg.

Alex Palou’s Barber ‘appearing act’ and subsequent disappearing act at St. Pete carved into his lead, but finishing P14 on Sunday wasn’t enough to knock him out of first overall. The poor result did, however, take a 12-point lead and cut it down to two as he sits with 67 points to the 65 shared by Scott Dixon and Will Power. Colton Herta leapt from 22nd to fourth with his win (62 points), and Simon Pagenaud holds fifth (54).

Behind them, the trio of Jack Harvey, Sebastien Bourdais, and Rinus VeeKay lay claim to a tie (51) with Marcus Ericsson in ninth (50) and Josef Newgarden, another Barber driver with a hole to climb out of, in 10th (47).

Just as one good weekend did wonders for the likes of Herta and Newgarden, one bad weekend had the opposite effect for O’Ward, who fell from fourth to 11th (45). Alexander Rossi was another driver headed in the wrong direction after the clash with Graham Rahal. Who’d have predicted Rossi would trail a pair of rookies in Romain Grosjean in 14th (37) and Scott McLaughlin in 15th (35) entering Texas in P16 (31)?

MISC

* This might save us time for the rest of the year: Rookie IndyCar driver Jimmie Johnson looked like a rookie on his first visit to [insert name of event]. He made a few mistakes at [name of circuit] on his way to finishing [insert position]. Despite the enormity of the task facing the road racing neophyte, a [adjective] amount of people took delight in his struggles.

* Hello, Takuma Sato! He was mostly invisible at Barber, but wow, there was no question as to how much fire remains in the belly of the 44-year-old. It was not exactly a clean run to sixth (an affirming observation from J. Hinchcliffe of Canada: “On the restart, Takuma ran out of patience and talent, hit us, and flattened our tire. That was pretty much the story of our day”), but since I’m not the one being hit, it’s easy to say I’d rather see Charging Sato than Invisible Sato, who we saw – or rather, didn’t see, I guess – at about half the races in 2020.

* Two rounds in, and Conor Daly’s season has become a bizarre thing to witness. He was just clear of the Turn 1 melee at Barber that ensnared his teammate Rinus VeeKay, and had none of the hits and lockups VeeKay experienced at St. Pete, but their results have been diametrically opposed. Daly leaves St. Pete holding 17th in the championship with a growing list of obstacles that have prevented quality results. A slow pit stop at Barber cost him a number of positions; he emerged in 18th and improved to 16th at the checkered flag. The No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing team went to an alternate strategy early at St. Pete in an effort to improve Daly’s P19 starting position, but it backfired, and with complaints of high cockpit temperatures late in the race, he was left with another unfulfilling event. Consistency is a good thing, but not when it’s a double dose of 16th.

* Just as Colton Herta’s first win with his dad Bryan as part of the team was celebrated, it’s also worth noting it was Herta’s first win without George Steinbrenner and Mike Harding as co-entrants. For 2021, Steinbrenner is attached to Hinchcliffe’s car and Devlin DeFrancesco’s Indy Lights entry. Harding is no longer involved on the ownership side.

* Who had ‘Sebastien Bourdais will be seventh in the championship after the first two races while driving for a small and rebuilding team’ in their pre-season predictions?

* Things can only get better for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan’s Ed Jones after a rocky start to his second IndyCar stint. With everything to learn, rookie teammate Romain Grosjean has a 10th and 13th, and holds 14th in the standings. Jones, meanwhile, is sitting 19th in the championship with finishes of 15th and 20th. The DCRwVS team rolled the dice on pitting Jones when a yellow flag was expected and didn’t fly – same call made by ECR with Daly – and things went downhill from there. His team wants to be inside the top 10 everywhere it goes, and with Texas on the horizon, Jones has a perfect opportunity to put his exemplary oval skills to good use and get back in the game.

Grosjean is settling in fast. Abbott/Motorsport Images

* Fair to say any concerns about Andretti Autosport starting off the year with another slump have been put to rest?

* Welcome to Episode 943 of Scott Dixon Doing Scott Dixon Things. He hasn’t had the speed to trouble the leaders across the two opening races, but he’s driven forward from fifth to third at Barber and eighth to fifth (after falling as low as 10th) at St. Pete to ensure he’s in a strong position as the month of May arrives. The most consistent driver of the early season has been putting in work just outside the spotlight, which he and the No. 9 CGR Honda team won’t mind.

* As IndyCar fan Ryan Terpstra observed on social media after qualifying, there was only one driver—Pato O’Ward – who carried over from the Firestone Fast Six at Barber to the Fast Six at St. Pete. That’s remarkable.

* Happy birthday to one of IndyCar’s greatest assets, communications coordinator Arni Sribhen, who looks like he’s 12 and celebrated another lap around the sun on Saturday.

* Count me among those who privately cheered for Zach Veach to succeed on behalf of Gainbridge/Group1001 during his three-ish seasons representing the company he brought to IndyCar. While it was sad to see Veach’s IndyCar career end without delivering a win, full credit is due to the company for sticking with the series and receiving the first of what will likely be many wins with Herta at the controls.

* IndyCar’s first proper street race crowd in more than a year was a welcome sight. Here’s to hoping the post-race COVID data is favorable among attendees.

Fans! Levitt/Motorsport Images

* In the engine manufacturer wars, that’s 2-0 for Honda to open the season. Don’t count Chevy out, however, as the performance margins are razor thin. It could easily become 2-2 after Texas.

* Oddest thing I learned on Sunday: While Herta was winning in St. Pete, Kyle Kaiser, fellow Californian and Fernando Alonso’s worst friend, was winning at Laguna Seca. In a Spec Miata during an SCCA race, of all things! Word on the street is the 2017 Indy Lights champion hopes to make a return later this year if the funding can be raised.

* For those who are regular watchers of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and know the name ‘Rooftop Ray,’ as in Ray Wetzel, the amazing camera operator atop the grandstands who is often the only cameraperson bringing us images during the long overnight stretch, say thanks for the amazing overhead shots of Colton Herta’s donuts. Like his perch at Daytona, Ray’s become a fixture at Turn 1 giving us the crane shots at St. Pete.

* Oh, Max. Mr. Chilton’s year has opened with two kicks to the crotch. Gearbox failure ended his run at St. Pete after 18 laps. Starting 20th at Barber, the opening lap crash ruined his day; he’d finish P20. Starting 22nd on Sunday, he was first out: 24th. And where is he in the standings? 24th. As the old saying goes, you can’t fall off the floor, so if you’re a fan of The Little IndyCar Team That Could, the proposition of Conor Daly taking over the No. 59 Chevy for two races at Texas has the makings of a turnaround waiting to happen.