Colton Herta Shines in Rain Soaked GMR Grand Prix

A wet and wild Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway produced one of the most entertaining races on the 2.439-mile road course. The weather was unpredictable, the decision-making was crucial, and the bravery was at an all-time high.

Colton Herta guided his No. 26 Honda through the rain and into to victory lane today, but it was far from easy. While he led 50 of the 75 laps today, it was anything but a dominant drive from the 22-year old. It is the seventh career victory for Herta, and the first of the season. It was also the first win of the season for Honda, and the first win on the IMS road course for Andretti Autosport.

"That was the hardest race I think I’ve ever done," Herta proclaimed. "Wet to dry, dry back to wet. And thank you so much for the Hoosiers for sticking around. I know you’re used to this kind of weather, so thank you so much. Love you guys."

Simon Pagenaud started back in 20th position, but certainly knows his way around the road course here. The three-time winner here had the drive of the day all the way to the front and delivered a runner-up finish for the Meyer Shank Racing team.

"I couldn’t see. I couldn’t drive at the end," Pagenaud said. "The car felt really good in the wet, but I just couldn’t see. It was treacherous at the end. You have to say congrats to Colton because it was really tough to finish the race." This was Simon's first podium finish since the Indy 500 last May.

Will Power has owned this race, with six poles and five wins on his resume. The pole sitter lost some ground in the early laps but rebounded nicely for another podium. Power has finished inside the top four in all five races this season, and takes over the lead in the championship heading into the Indianapolis 500. This is the first time Power has led the points standings since 2018.

Add Marcus Ericsson to the list of drivers that earned a solid finish after starting at the back of the field. He was the top-finishing driver for Chip Ganassi yet again. Conor Daly capped his impressive weekend with a top-five finish at his home track. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver earned his first top-five result since 2017.

I love this place," Daly exclaimed. "We never gave up today. I was just hanging onto the car for dear life, but it finally worked out for us. I really want a trophy from here. This is a great way to start the month. We wanted to rebound here. We knew we had a fast car all the time but we needed to execute all the way, which is exactly what we did. These are the two biggest races for me and we’re going to come out swinging next week and be ready for more."

Visibility was a major concern all afternoon, as Mother Nature continued to toy with race conditions. The start of the race was moved up in an attempt to dodge the impending storms, but lightning in the area actually delayed the start back to the original start time. It was declared a wet start when the green flag finally waved, but Herta was the first to jump to pit lane on Lap 2 for slick tires. That move vaulted him from the 14th starting position, and into the lead.

All of the chaos from the weather and yellow flags really mixed up the field, with different strategies changing by the minute. Several drivers were able to take advantage, as Felix Rosenqvist, Callum Ilott, Takuma Sato, Christian Lundgaard, and Scott Dixon all posted top-ten finishes.

Rosenqvist nearly saw his day end on a restart when he went nose-to-nose with his teammate Pato O'Ward when the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet spun on a restart in Turn 1. Ilott finished what was a sensational weekend for the single-car Juncos Hollinger Racing team. The 23-year old British driver was second-fastest in practice, qualified 7th, 2nd in the morning warmup, and finished a career-best 7th today in just his eighth start.

Several teams took a gamble at some point in the race. Alexander Rossi was one of those, but the tire gamble just didn't pan out for the driver of the No. 27 Honda. Graham Rahal was another one that was hoping for a bit of luck to put them in prime position for a win, but the timing just didn't work out.

There were 16 drivers that finished on the lead lap today, but that number was much higher before the final few cautions. Reigning series champion Alex Palou entered the day with the points lead, but an early spin put him behind the eight-ball. The Ganassi driver fought his way back the best he could, but ultimately finished 20th.

Many championship contenders were dealt a major blow with today's result. O'Ward had his trouble and came home in 17th. Scott McLaughlin had a good day going before his spin relegated him to an 18th place finish. Romain Grosjean had contact with Jack Harvey in Turn 7 which resulted in him going off and into the grass, where he finished 19th.

The biggest moment of the race came on Lap 16 when Josef Newgarden lost control of his No. 2 Chevrolet after making contact with Harvey. The Penske driver simply didn't see the RLL Racing machine to his inside, and his car was unable to continue in the race. He finished a disappointing 25th today, which is not the momentum they were seeking heading into the 500 next week.

Penske and Ganassi make up the top five representatives in the championship standings. Power leads his teammate McLaughlin by 16 points, followed by Palou, Newgarden, and Dixon. More points will be up for grabs during Indy 500 qualifying next weekend, and the race will pay out double points.

Teams and drivers will use the next two days to dry off and get ready for their most stressful week of the year. Practice for the 106th Indianapolis 500 begins at 9 AM ET on Tuesday.