Colton Herta conquered a second place at the Long Beach Grand Prix in the IndyCar over the weekend, finishing just behind Scott Dixon by less than a second at the finish line.
Herta’s position in the race was the result of a daring maneuver on Josef Newgarden at the last hairpin, which some believed deserved a penalty. With only 10 laps to go, Herta misjudged the braking point approaching the slowest corner of the track, resulting in a direct collision with the rear of Newgarden’s car. The impact was strong enough to momentarily lift Herta’s rear wheels off the ground, causing his traction to fail and activating the anti-stall mode. As a result, Newgarden had to wait for the system to restart for several seconds.
While Herta and another driver, Alex Palou, managed to overtake Newgarden during this delay, it effectively ended Newgarden’s chances of competing for the win. Newgarden expressed his frustration with the incident, demanding a penalty over the radio, but race control did not impose any sanctions, and he ultimately finished in fourth place.
Reflecting on the maneuver after the race, Herta admitted that he had anticipated a possible penalty for his actions. He believed he could have been placed behind Newgarden on the track, but expressed surprise that no penalty was applied. Herta emphasized that the impact itself was not the issue, but rather the activation of the anti-stall mode, which disrupted the flow of the race. He joked that if a penalty had been given, it would have been funny to see Palou elevated to second place.
After the race, Newgarden approached Herta personally to address the incident. Herta apologized for the collision, but made it clear that he had no regrets about maintaining his position after the overtake.
Since the incident was not investigated during the race, no penalty will be applied, and the results will remain as they were at the finish line.
Later, Herta explained how the collision with Newgarden occurred. He explained that, in order to get the best exit on the straight, it is ideal to take a wider entry into the corner. However, this approach significantly reduces speed on entry. Herta miscalculated Newgarden’s speed by taking a wider line to optimize his exit and possibly challenge Dixon. Herta acknowledged that Newgarden had the right to confront him after the race and admitted his mistake, apologizing to Newgarden for the incident.
