Herta, Rossi Podium Finishes Lead Honda Effort at Harvest Grand Prix
- Late-race charge from Colton Herta comes up just short as he finishes second
- Alexander Rossi scores fourth consecutive podium result with third-place run
- Honda takes Manufacturers’ Championship lead to season finale in St. Petersburg
SPEEDWAY, Ind. (Oct. 3, 2020) – A late-race charge from Mid-Ohio race winner Colton Herta came up just short in today’s second race of the Harvest Grand Prix race weekend, as he finished less than a second behind race winner Will Power, on the road course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fellow Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi finished third, for his fourth consecutive podium finish in the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The second-place finish for Herta helped Honda to maintain a 54-point lead over Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship [1057-1003] with a single race remaining in the 2020 season. Dixon, who finished eighth in the caution-free race in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, goes to the St. Petersburg season finale later this month with a 32-point lead over rival Josef Newgarden.
Honda drivers claimed six of the top 10 positions in today’s 75-lap race, with Jack Harvey finishing a season-high sixth for Meyer Shank Racing, while Graham Rahal held off Dixon to finish seventh. Alex Palou rounded out the top nine today in his Team Goh with Dale Coyne Racing Honda.
Next
After the fifth doubleheader race weekend of 2020, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES now takes the next two weekends off before concluding the season in Florida with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on October 23-25.
Honda Racing social media content and videos from the Harvest Grand Prix weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).
Quotes
Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started second, finished second: “The Capstone Honda was really good and I’m happy to be powered by HPD. I think I kind of left everything out there [on track]. I used up a lot of my tires trying to catch back up to those guys. We just didn’t really have it at the end, I think I burned up the rears a little bit too much to the point where Will could hold me back. I do think we were a little bit faster than him, but, unfortunately, we just didn’t put it together in the first stint until too far back and that kind of hurt us going into the next two stints.”
Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started third, finished third, fourth consecutive podium finish in 2020: “Ultimately, another good day. It was the best qualifying we’ve had all year, so it’s good to be able to finally start up front. I think our pace through the first two stints was good. I think myself, Will [Power] and Colton [Herta] were kind of in our own league and it was whoever could make the best, last stint happen. We went with [Firestone Primary] ‘Blacks’ because we thought it was a good option. We were the only car that did Blacks on the last stint. Ultimately, we tried something different – I’m not mad about it – but it was the wrong tire choice. Did it cost us the win? Maybe not. Did it cost us second? Probably. But, ultimately, four races [at Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis] and four podiums, we’re pretty happy.”
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 15th, finished eighth; leads drivers’ championship by 32 points with one race remaining: “It’s definitely been a trying last few race weekends. I’m still mad at myself for making that mistake at Mid-Ohio, and letting those [championship] points get away. As always, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points title will come down to the last race. I’m just really proud of this PNC Bank team and everyone who works so hard to win. Honda has been pushing hard, and we’re always proud to be powered by them along with HPD. Congrats to Will [Power] and Josef [Newgarden] on the wins this weekend – that’s what we’ll be trying to do in St. Petersburg.”
David Salters (Technical Director, Honda Performance Development) on today’s closing race of the Harvest GP weekend and Honda’s continuation in Indy car racing: “The closing laps of today’s race were exciting, as Colton [Herta] gave everything he had in search of the victory. Now the championship fights – both manufacturers’ and driver – will once again go on to the final race of the season, and our team at HPD are ready to take the fight on to St. Petersburg. We were excited to be part of today’s announcement securing the future of our participation in this great sport, and we’re already looking forward to the start of the new, hybrid era of Indy car racing.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Harvest Grand Prix
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.439-mile road course) Indianapolis, IN
Weather: Partly sunny, mild, 62 degrees F
Top-10 Race Results:
| Fn. | St. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Notes |
| 1. | 1. | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 75 | 119.115 mph average speed |
| 2. | 2. | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Autosport | Honda | 75 | +0.8932 seconds |
| 3. | 3. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 75 | |
| 4. | 9. | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 75 | |
| 5. | 5. | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 75 | |
| 6. | 7. | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 75 | |
| 7. | 10. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 75 | |
| 8. | 15. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 75 | |
| 9. | 4. | Alex Palou-R | DCR with Team Goh | Honda | 75 | |
| 10. | 19. | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 75 |
Other Honda Results
| 11. | 8. | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 75 | Running |
| 12. | 11. | Santino Ferrucci | DCR with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 75 | Running |
| 13. | 13. | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 75 | Running |
| 14. | 17. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 75 | Running |
| 15. | 16. | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 75 | Running |
| 16. | 6. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 75 | Running |
| 21. | 12. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Herta Autosport | Honda | 74 | Running |
