• Eighth place finish for Colton Herta at 2019 IndyCar Series season opener

    Harding Steinbrenner Racing will take home an eighth-place finish after qualifying eleventh in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Rookie Colton Herta entered the top-ten on Lap 85 and was able to hold on to the eighth position for the remainder of the 110-lap race. Herta stayed on pace with the leaders for the majority of the race which allowed him to maneuver through the field after falling back to 17th in the first stint.

    “What an up and down race,” said Colton Herta. “We had a pretty poor start to the race after I bumped the wall after a restart and lost quite a bit of positions. We were all the way down in 17th position at one point. After that we just had really great pace and were able to start making up positions when everyone was in the pits. An eighth-place finish isn’t too bad for the first race of the season.  The Harding Steinbrenner Racing guys did a great job this weekend and I’m very happy with the #88 Latitude Vacation Club Honda, can’t wait for the INDYCAR Classic at the Circuit of the Americas.”

    This was Herta’s first top-ten in the NTT IndyCar Series. He previously finished 20th in his first INDYCAR race at Sonoma Raceway at the 2018 series finale.

    Next up for the #88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda-powered team will be the INDYCAR Classic at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 24th. Practice begins on Friday, March 22 at 10:45 am ET. All practices will be available on NBC Sports Gold INDYCAR Pass, qualifying and race day coverage will be live on NBC Sports.

    About Harding Steinbrenner Racing

    Indianapolis based Harding Steinbrenner Racing is led by Indianapolis businessman Mike Harding and George Michael Steinbrenner IV. Brian Barnhart is team president, and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. serves the team as executive consultant. Harding Steinbrenner will compete on a full-time basis in the 2019 IndyCar Series with Colton Herta, driver of the #88 Honda-powered Indy car.

    About Colton Herta

    Colton Herta began racing go-karts at the age of four. At 12, he turned to cars and promptly won the Pacific F1600 Series championship and finished second in the Skip Barber Summer Series. At 16 years old, the Valencia, California, native quickly impressed by winning the second race of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship 2017 season. That year he also led the series with seven pole positions, set five new track records and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Most recently, Herta won the Rolex 24 Hours IMSA race with the Rahal Letterman Racing team and placed second in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship with four wins, three pole positions and 13 podium finishes.