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Colton Herta continued Honda's early-season winning streak in the 2021 #nttindycarseries, with the Andretti Autosport driver starting from the pole and leading a race-record 97 laps en route to victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of #stpetersburg.
The win is the second for Honda in as many races this season, following Alex Palou's victory in last weekend's season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Starting on the outside of the front row, Honda-powered Meyer Shank Racing's #jackharvey battled the Team Penske duo of Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud in the middle stages of today's 100-lap contest to finish fourth for Honda.
Today's results move Herta to fourth in the Drivers' Championship standings, five points behind Palou; while Honda increased its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship to 30 points (178-148). Meanwhile, defending series champion Dixon backed up his third-place result at Barber with fifth today, leaving him just two points behind his Chip Ganassi #racing teammate Palou.
Firestone Grand Prix of #stpetersburg Honda Driver/Team Results
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Meyer Shank #racing Honda |
| Chip Ganassi #racing Honda |
| Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| Chip Ganassi #racing Honda |
| Dale Coyne #racing with RWR Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| Chip Ganassi #racing Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Dale Coyne #racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda |
| Andretti Autosport Honda |
| Chip Ganassi #racing Honda |
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship (unofficial, after 2 of 17 rounds)
Honda | 178 pts |
Chevrolet | 148 |
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers' Championship (unofficial, after 2 of 17 rounds)
1. #alexpalou, Chip Ganassi #racing Honda | 67 pts. [1 race win] |
2. Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet | 65 |
3. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi #racing Honda | 65 |
4. #coltonherta, Andretti Autosport Honda | 62 [1 race win] |
Quotes
Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport Honda) started 1st, finished 1st, led a race-record 97 laps for his first Indy car victory of 2021 “What a great job by everybody, my team, Gainbridge, Honda. Sorry, I can hardly talk, I'm so winded. I'm so happy that we did this, so happy that we rebounded from Barber [where an opening-lap crash sent him behind the wall for several laps for repairs]. We've now got the momentum we need [to contend for the championship]. I was nervous [following a late-race restart] because Josef [Newgarden] is so good around here and was on [Firestone alternate] ‘Red' tires, but it turned out to be similar [to Herta's primary-compound ‘Black' tires], so I was able to hold him off. Oh man, I can't even speak right now. So happy to be powered by Honda, and my team, they did a hell of a job.”
Jack Harvey (Meyer Shank #racing Honda) started 2nd, finished 4th: “I think we had a solid day. Any time you start on the front row, you want to finish on the podium. So [finishing fourth] is slightly disappointing. But it was a solid result, and that's what we needed to start the year off properly. We're just so close to [a qualifying] pole position and podium finish now, we just need to keep working hard and the results will come. We were #racing with some of the best drivers on the grid, and that's where we want to be. I just want to win.”
Kelvin Fu (Director, Program Management, Honda Performance Development) on today's Honda victory at the Firestone Grand Prix of #stpetersburg: “Two wins, from two different Honda drivers and teams, is just a fantastic way to start Honda's season in the #nttindycarseries. It's great to see a pair of young drivers – Alex [Palou] and Colton [Herta] – come to the fore and end up on the top step of the podiums at Barber and #stpetersburg. And encouraging to see #jackharvey and Meyer Shank #racing have another strong run as their effort continues to improve. Now we're excited to head to Texas for our first ovals races of the year, in what should be a preview for an exciting Month of May and Indianapolis 500.”
Fast Facts
Next
The string of consecutive season-opening #nttindycarseries races continues next weekend, with the May 1-2 double-header oval #event – the Genesys 300 and Expel 375 – Saturday and Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
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