Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American race strategist and former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series and is the strategist for the No. 27 for Andretti Autosport in the same series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapolis 500 with driver Alexander Rossi. He is the father and former strategist of former IndyCar and now F2 driver Colton Herta.

Racing career

CART/Champ Cars/IndyCars

Herta enjoyed considerable success in the lower formulae, winning the Barber Formula Ford and Barber Saab Pro Series, and dominating the 1993 Indy Lights championship with Tasman Motorsports, race engineered by Gerald Tyler.

Herta graduated to IndyCar racing in 1994 with team owner A. J. Foyt, 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. Despite a pole at Phoenix, the association was unsuccessful, with Herta managing only a twentieth place in the series standings while his teammate Jimmy Vasser finished 8th. Even so, Herta landed a top ride with Team Rahal for the 1996 season.

During the next few years, Herta developed a reputation for his prowess on road courses, especially at Laguna Seca Raceway. In 1996, he was the leader until the last lap, when Alex Zanardi made a pass through the "Corkscrew" chicane and took the victory. Herta, who rarely qualified below the first row at Laguna Seca, won two events at the circuit in 1998 and 1999. At the height of Herta's career, fan interest in the Shell-sponsored driver was dubbed "Hertamania" by team owner David Letterman.

In the opening laps of the 1998 event at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin's Road America circuit, Herta was involved in a major accident. 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, Alex Barron slid into the front of Herta's car and rode up on top of it. Both drivers were uninjured; 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, Mo Nunn Racing, 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.

IRL IndyCar Series After dabbling in sports cars, Herta 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 for Andretti Green Racing. He was retained in an expanded four-car squad in 2004, usually running development engines. On July 31, 2005, Herta took his second and final IndyCar Series win, defeating AGR teammate Dan Wheldon in a close finish in the Firestone Indy 400 at the Michigan International Speedway.

In early 2006, Herta drove at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Fundidora Park for A1 Team USA in the A1 Grand Prix series before returning to Andretti Green for the IRL season.

Across his career, Herta started in the Indianapolis 500 five times (1994–1995, 2004–2006) with three top-ten finishes, including a best of third in 2005. Herta had his helmets painted by AliveDesignCo.com.

Sports cars On October 31, 2006, Herta was confirmed as a driver for Andretti Green Racing's new Acura Le Mans prototype program for the 2007 American Le Mans Series season. He shared the car with Marino Franchitti, 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 seventh in driver points with one class win. He also drove for A1 Team USA. At the event in Australia, Herta scored a tenth place finish.

After racing Since retiring from racing, Herta served as a driver coach for Vision Racing and founded a Firestone Indy Lights Series 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. The team campaigned Sebastián Saavedra for eleven races of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season and the Indianapolis 500. In 2011 the team fielded a car for Dan Wheldon 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 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 as a co-owner and won the 2016 Indianapolis 500. Their car was driven by series rookie Alexander Rossi.

Herta's son, Colton, is also a racing driver, and made his IndyCar debut in 2019 with Harding Steinbrenner Racing. In March 2019, Colton became the youngest ever IndyCar winner in the second round at the Circuit of the Americas.

Herta is now the race strategist of his son's teammate, Kyle Kirkwood.

Personal life Herta and his wife Janette Michele (née Fountaine) have three children: Calysta, Colton, and Caden.

Career racing results

American Open Wheel (key)

Indy Lights Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 1992 Landford RacingPHXLBHDETPORMILNHATORCLEVANMDONAZLS5th120 1993 Tasman MotorsportsPHXLBHMILDETPORCLETORNHAVANMDONAZLS1st213

CART results Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points Ref 1994 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 14 Lola T94/00 Ford XB V8tSRFPHXLBHINDYMILDETPORCLETORMISMDONHMVANROANZRLS23rd11 1995 Chip Ganassi Racing 4 Reynard 95i Ford XB V8tMIASRFPHXLBHNZRINDYMILDETPORROATORCLEMISMDONHMVANLS20th30 1996 Team Rahal 28 Reynard 96i Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8tMIARIOSRFLBHNZR500MILDETPORCLETORMISMDOROAVANLS8th86 1997 Team Rahal 8 Reynard 97i Ford XD V8tMIASRFLBHNZRRIOSTLMILDETPORCLETORMISMDOROAVANLSFON11th72 1998 Team Rahal Reynard 98i Ford XD V8tMIAMOTLBHNZRRIOSTLMILDETPORCLETORMISMDOROAVANLSHOUSRFFON8th97 1999 Team Rahal Reynard 99i Ford XD V8tMIAMOTLBHNZRRIOSTLMILPORCLEROATORMISDETMDOCHIVANLSHOUSRFFON12th84 2000 Walker Racing 5 Reynard 2Ki Honda HR-0 V8tMIALBHRIOMOTNZRMILDET 18th 26 Mo Nunn Racing 55 Mercedes-Benz IC108F V8tPORCLETORMISCHIMDOROAVAN Forsythe Championship Racing 77 Ford XF V8tLSSTLHOUSRFFON 2001 ZakspeedForsythe Championship Racing Reynard 01i Ford XF V8tMTYLBHTXSNHNZRMOTMILDETPORCLETOR 22nd 28 Forsythe Championship RacingMISCHIMDOROAVANLAUROCHOULSSRFFON 2003 PK Racing 27 Lola B02/00 Ford XFE V8tSTPMTYLBHBRHLAUMILLSPORCLETORVANROAMDOMTLDENMIAMXCSRF 25th 2

CART career summary Year Team Wins Points Championship Finish 1994 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 0 11 23rd 1995 Chip Ganassi Racing 0 30 20th 1996 Team Rahal 0 86 8th 1997 Team Rahal 0 72 11th 1998 Team Rahal 1 97 8th 1999 Team Rahal 1 84 12th 2000 Forsythe/Walker/Mo Nunn 0 26 18th 2001 Forsythe Championship Racing 0 28 22nd 2003 PK Racing 0 2 25th

2 wins, Best championship result: 8th

IndyCar Series results Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref 2003 Andretti Green Racing 27 Dallara IR-03 Honda HI3R V8HMSPHXMOTINDYTXSPPIRRIRKANNSHMISSTLKTYNZRCHIFONTX2 13th 277 2004 7 Dallara IR-04 Honda HI4R V8HMSPHXMOTINDYTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYPPIRNZRCHIFONTX2 9th 362 2005 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI5R V8HMSPHXSTPMOTINDYTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYPPIRSNMCHIWGLFON 8th 397 2006 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI6R V8HMSSTPMOTINDYWGLTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYSNMCHI 11th 289

IndyCar Series career summary Year Team Wins Points Championship Finish 2003 Andretti Green Racing 1 277 13th 2004 Andretti Green Racing 0 362 9th 2005 Andretti Green Racing 1 397 8th 2006 Andretti Green Racing 0 289 11th

2 wins, best championship result: 8th

Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 1994 Lola T94/00 Ford XB V8t 22 9 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 1995 Reynard 95i Ford XB V8t 33 13 Chip Ganassi Racing 2004 Dallara IR-04 Honda HI4R V8 23 4 Andretti Green Racing 2005 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI5R V8 18 3 Andretti Green Racing 2006 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI6R V8 16 20 Andretti Green Racing

Complete American Le Mans Series results Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 2002 Panoz Motor Sports LMP900 Panoz LMP01 Evo Élan 6L8 6.0L V8 SEBovr:8cls:7 SONovr:3cls:3 MIDovr:4cls:4 AMEovr:Retcls:Ret WASovr:6cls:6 TROovr:4cls:4 MOSovr:5cls:5 MONovr:6cls:6 MIAovr:11cls:8 PETovr:5cls:5 10th 153 2003 Team Nasamax LMP900 Reynard 01Q Cosworth XDE 2.6L Turbo V8(Bio-ethanol) SEBovr:Retcls:Ret ATL SON TRO MOS AME MON MIA PET NC 0 2007 Andretti Green Racing LMP2 Acura ARX-01a Acura 3.4L V8 SEBovr:2cls:1 STPovr:21cls:7 LNBovr:6cls:6 TEXovr:2cls:2 UTAovr:Retcls:Ret LIMovr:7cls:6 MIDovr:10cls:7 AMEovr:9cls:7 MOSovr:5cls:3 DETovr:19cls:8 PETovr:Retcls:Ret MONovr:6cls:4 13th 98 2008 Andretti Green Racing LMP2 Acura ARX-01b Acura 3.4L V8 SEBovr:18cls:6 STPovr:6cls:5 LNBovr:6cls:4 UTAovr:8cls:7 LIM MID AME MOS DET PET MON 24th 38

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2002 Panoz Motor Sports David Brabham Jan Magnussen Panoz LMP01 Evo LMP900 90 DNF DNF

Complete A1 Grand Prix results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points 2005–06 USA GBRSPR GBRFEA GERSPR GERFEA PORSPR PORFEA AUSSPR AUSFEA MYSSPR MYSFEA UAESPR UAEFEA RSASPR RSAFEA IDNSPR IDNFEA MEXSPR MEXFEA USASPR USAFEA CHNSPR CHNFEA 16th 23

References

External links Herta's official site Herta's profile from IndyCar.com Bryan Herta Autosport's official site Bryan Herta on A1 TEAM USA Official Site Bryan Herta's helmet painter