Colton Herta celebrated his first NTT IndyCar Series victory in more than two years with doughnuts.
After crossing the finish line at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on Sunday, the American instantly began spinning his car in triumphant circles.
“I love doing doughnuts,” Herta stated. “After the race, I’ll remove the engine and destroy it to my heart’s content… I hate not getting to do donuts, and this was the ideal race to win.”
Teammate Kyle Kirkwood began and finished second, while four-time Toronto champion Scott Dixon completed the podium in a wild race in which only 15 of 27 cars finished.
It had been 41 races since Herta, the Andretti Global driver, topped the podium, including a couple of pole positions that he failed to convert earlier this season.
The 24-year-old, who now has eight career triumphs, has no concerns about this one. He became the first IndyCar driver to win both practice sessions, qualify for pole position, and win the race all in one weekend.
“It’s wonderful. “It’s amazing,” he said. “For whatever reason, things haven’t gone our way. We’ve had speed, podium finishes, pole positions, and top fives, but no wins. And it’s fantastic to finally get one back.”
The race featured six restarts, including a spectacular multi-car incident that resulted in a red flag on the 73rd lap when Pato O’Ward, third in the season-long standings, crashed into a wall, sending the nose of his car flying across the course.
Marcus Ericsson collided with the wall behind O’Ward, and three more racers—Pietro Fittipaldi, Santino Ferrucci, and Nolan Siegel—clipped O’Ward’s nose. Ferrucci’s automobile took off and landed upside down, but the American quickly signaled to his colleagues that he was fine and exited from his vehicle relatively undamaged.
The other four drivers escaped unharmed, but none were able to continue.
“I feel like I never get the 85-lap full green races to win,” Herta told the press. “There are always red and yellow flags at the end. But it’s good because it motivates you to strive harder for it, which makes you feel better when it happens. But it’s crazy. “It was an insane race.
Herta and Kirkwood appeared to work well together throughout the race, with the latter allowing his colleague space at the front after each of the six restarts.
Kirkwood, who had his best finish of the year and third career podium, stated he was treating the result “as an Andretti Global win.”
“I’m overjoyed to come in second place, especially because a teammate won. That was our goal today. We started 1-2 and hoped to finish 1-2. Of course, I would have preferred to have won, but I wasn’t going to push the envelope in that situation,” Kirkwood explained.
Dixon started 15th and elected to pit significantly behind the rest of the pack. The tactic paid off as he re-entered the race in sixth place before gradually surging up the standings as cars appeared to exit left and right.
The podium appearance marked the 141st of the New Zealander’s illustrious career, tying him with the legendary Mario Andretti for the most all-time.
“I knew nothing about that. Dixon responded, “That is very cool.” “Podiums are a big event, and it’s always enjoyable to celebrate. Obviously, you want to be on the top step, but being at the top, especially in this field, feels great.
Alex Palou, the current IndyCar series title leader, started the day in 18th place and worked his way up to fourth.
The Spaniard extended his season-long lead to 49 points over Will Power, who finished 12th after receiving a late penalty for an incident that forced teammate Scott McLaughlin to hit the wall and crash out of the race.
Christian Lundgaard, the defending Toronto winner, finished sixth.
Christian Rasmussen collided with the wall on the opening lap, and Agustin Canapino hit the concrete on the fifth nearly soon after the restart. Both drivers were forced to leave the race, but neither was harmed.
Kyffin Simpson, a rookie, was also pulled out of the race after crashing with 18 laps remaining.
For the second time in the race’s history, no Canadians competed. The last time this happened was in 2015.
The IndyCar Series will now take three weeks off for an Olympic vacation before resuming on August 17 in Illinois.
“That sucks because all I wanna do, even after three weekends back to back to back, I just want to go race again and have a chance at another win,” Herta told the crowd.
To that end, Herta said his win celebration would have to wait a few days because he’s returning to Indianapolis Sunday night and has a simulation practice set for Monday.
“I do not need to rejoice. I’m simply glad we finally finished it.”