Colton Herta will race at the NTT IndyCar Series season finale at Laguna Seca with his No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda adorned in a custom livery that pays tribute to his father’s 1998 Monterey-winning CART IndyCar entry.
On what will be the 25th anniversary of Bryan Herta’s first IndyCar victory, his son Colton —also a race winner at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca — will carry the same colors and styling done with the blessing of sponsor Gainbridge that accurately recreates the Shell livery the elder Californian drove into his home state victory lane three decades ago.
What a surprise for Colton Herta! 😯
To honor Bryan Herta's first career win at Laguna in 1998, Colton was surprised with a throwback livery that he'll race at Laguna in a few weeks. pic.twitter.com/QYEQx0X4rx
— Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) August 18, 2023
The story is made better by the fact that in May, on the elder Herta’s 53rd birthday, Colton surprised him with the same 1998 Reynard-Ford he used to capture the Laguna Seca win, and after the shock wore off, the idea of dressing his son’s Dallara DW12-Honda in the same livery for the September 8-10 event at Laguna Seca came to mind.
“That is so badass,” a surprised young Herta said as he discovered both cars waiting for him at the Andretti shop last Thursday. “I think it looks better. Everyone’s going to love that too, all the fans.”
The father and son duo each own a pair of wins at Laguna Seca, with Bryan taking the 1998 and 1999 CART races, and Colton the 2019 and 2021 IndyCar rounds. Ever competitive, the 23-year-old wants to do more than honor his father in throwback colors next month.
“Now it makes me want to win that race even more,” he said. “It’d be my third win there. I’ll beat him by one win at that track, in his livery, [it] would be super-cool to be able to do that and carry on that legacy of Hertas winning at Laguna Seca.”