Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He currently runs his own team,
Bryan Herta Autosport in the
NTT IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
. His team won the
2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
and the
2016 Indianapolis 500 with driver
Alexander Rossi
Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...
. He is the father of IndyCar Series driver
Colton Herta
Colton Thomas Herta (born March 30, 2000) is an American open-wheel racing driver currently competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian. He is the youngest person to ever win an IndyCar Series race.
He is the ...
.
Racing career
CART/Champ Cars/IndyCars
Herta enjoyed considerable success in the lower formulae, winning the Barber Formula Ford and
Barber Saab Pro Series
The Barber Dodge Pro Series was a professional open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were primarily on road and street courses in No ...
, and dominating the 1993 Indy Lights championship with
Tasman Motorsports
Tasman Motorsports Group is a former racing team that was owned by Steve Horne, a long-time motorsport figure who spent most of his career in the United States. Its lead driver is championship winning New Zealander, Daniel Gaunt.
Previously the ...
.
He graduated to IndyCar racing in 1994 with team owner
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...
, where he had several promising races before suffering a season-ending injury at Toronto.
In 1995, Herta was hired to drive for
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
. Despite a pole at Phoenix, the association was unsuccessful, with Herta managing only a 20th place in the series standings while his teammate
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
finished 8th. Even so, Herta landed a top ride with
Team Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winn ...
for the 1996 season.
During the next few years, Herta developed a reputation for his prowess on road courses, especially at
Laguna Seca Raceway
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...
. In 1996, he was the leader until the last lap, when
Alex Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...
made the spectacular pass through the "Corkscrew" chicane and took the victory. Herta, who rarely qualified below the first row at Laguna Seca, finally won two events on the twisty road course in
1998 and
1999. At the height of Herta's career, fan interest in the Shell-sponsored driver was dubbed by team owner
David Letterman as "Hertamania."
In the opening laps of the
1998 event at
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Elkhart Lake is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, located within the northwestern part of the county within the Town of Rhine. The population was 967 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolit ...
's
Road America circuit, Herta was involved in one of the scariest incidents in the history of North American motor racing. In the road course's fifth turn, Herta got too close to the back of the car of co-owner Rahal, and spun out into a paved runoff area, facing oncoming traffic. A few seconds later, an
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
camera that had zoomed in on Herta's head pulled back when Herta clenched his fists and put them against the sides of his head. As course workers scattered,
Alex Barron slid into the front of Herta's car and rode up on top of it. Both drivers were okay. Herta reported that Barron's car had actually hit his hands, only inches from his face.
From 2000 to 2003, Herta drove for a variety of Champ Car teams including
Forsythe Championship Racing
Forsythe/Pettit Racing was an American racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing.
Histor ...
,
Mo Nunn Racing
Mo or MO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series
* Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke
* Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo''
* Mo, the ...
, and
PK Racing, but never quite regained his form from the late 1990s. In 2002 Herta drove an F1 car for the first time, piloting a Minardi at the "Thunder in the Park" event held at Donington Park. This led to speculation that he would test and even race for Minardi in F1, however this never happened.
IRL IndyCar Series
After dabbling in sports cars, he revitalized his open-wheel racing career by substituting for an injured
Dario Franchitti halfway through the
2003 IRL season.
In just his third IRL start, Herta picked up his first IndyCar Series win at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
for
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti U ...
. He was retained in an expanded four-car squad in 2004, usually running development engines. On July 31, 2005, Herta took his second IndyCar Series win, defeating AGR teammate
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
in a close finish in the
Firestone Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high p ...
at the
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
.
In early 2006, he drove at
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and ...
and
Fundidora Park
Fundidora Park (''Parque Fundidora'' in Spanish) is an urban park located in the Mexican city of Monterrey, built in what once were the grounds of the Monterrey Foundry, the first steel and iron foundry in Latin America, and, for many years, th ...
for
A1 Team USA in the
A1 Grand Prix
A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
series before returning to Andretti Green for the IRL season.
As of 2006, Herta has started in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
five times (1994–1995, 2004–2006) with three top ten finishes, including a best of 3rd in 2005. Bryan has his helmets painted by AliveDesignCo.com
Sports cars
On October 31, 2006, Herta was confirmed as a driver for
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti U ...
's new
Acura
Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...
Le Mans prototype
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...
program for the
2007 American Le Mans Series season
The 2007 American Le Mans Series season was the 37th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the ninth labeled as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: ...
. He shared the car with
Marino Franchitti
Marino Alessandro Cesare Franchitti (born 7 July 1978) is a British racing driver, and the younger brother of Dario Franchitti. He has spent the majority of his career racing in sports cars and grand tourers, with a career highlight of winning t ...
, brother of his former teammate
Dario Franchitti. On January 3, 2007, it was announced that Dario would also drive a limited ALMS programme with both Marino and Herta. Herta finished the season 7th in driver points with 1 class win. He also drove for
A1 Team USA. At the event in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, Herta scored a 10th-place finish.
After racing
Since retiring from racing, Herta served as a driver coach for
Vision Racing
Vision Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League founded in 2005 when Tony George purchased the assets of the defunct Kelley Racing and hired his stepson Ed Carpenter to be the driver. The team has previously raced in the Izod IndyCa ...
and founded a
Firestone Indy Lights Series
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
team named
Bryan Herta Autosport, which has a technical alliance with Vision Racing's Indy Lights team. In 2009, the team fielded a full-time entry for
Daniel Herrington
Daniel Herrington (born July 12, 1986) is an American racing driver from Baltimore, Maryland.
Herrington began his professional racing career in Formula BMW USA in 2004 with a partial schedule. He competed full-time in 2005 for Jensen Motorspor ...
. The team campaigned
Sebastián Saavedra
Sebastián Saavedra (born 2 June 1990) is a Colombian racing driver from Bogotá. In 2014, he drove for KVSH Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series before being replaced by former GP2 Series driver Stefano Coletti.
Racing career
Early career
Aft ...
for eleven races of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season and the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. In 2011 the team fielded a car for
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...
in the
2011 Indianapolis 500 which resulted in a stunning victory, and a full-time entry in Indy Lights for
Duarte Ferreira.
For the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season,
Alex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani (; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing.
Tagliani has competed in a variety ...
ran the 500. The team switched to a Honda powered DW12 in May 2012 for the remainder of the season.
In 2016 Herta partnered with
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...
as a co-owner and won the
2016 Indianapolis 500. Their car was driven by series rookie
Alexander Rossi
Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...
.
Herta's son,
Colton, is also a racing driver, and made his IndyCar debut in
2019 with
Harding Steinbrenner Racing
Harding Racing logo prior to partnership
Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport was an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series. Founded as Harding Racing in 2017 by businessman Mike Harding, the team would form partnerships in 2019 ...
. In March 2019, Colton became the youngest ever IndyCar winner in the second round at the
Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States G ...
.
Personal life
Herta has three children with his wife Janette, Calysta,
Colton and Cade.
Career racing results
American Open Wheel
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
Indy Lights
CART results
CART career summary
2 wins, Best championship result: 8th
IndyCar Series results
IndyCar Series career summary
2 wins, best championship result: 8th
Indianapolis 500
Complete American Le Mans Series results
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete A1 Grand Prix results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
Herta's official siteHerta's profile from IndyCar.comBryan Herta Autosport's official siteBryan Herta's helmet painter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herta, Bryan
1970 births
Living people
Racing drivers from Michigan
IndyCar Series drivers
Champ Car drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indy Lights champions
Indy Lights drivers
A1 Team USA drivers
Sportspeople from Warren, Michigan
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
IndyCar Series team owners
Barber Pro Series drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
Andretti Autosport drivers
Mo Nunn Racing drivers
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers
A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
Forsythe Racing drivers
A1 Grand Prix drivers
KV Racing Technology drivers
Tasman Motorsports drivers
Walker Racing drivers
David Price Racing drivers