Rain leads to shortened race at Indy, Herta prevails

Colton Herta took the checkered flag at the end of a wild and wet race from the Indianapolis road course, hanging on while everyone else struggled to adapt to the changing conditions.

The young star had to adjust his driving throughout the entire day in order to stay ahead, including a couple genuine passes for the lead.

Herta could be heard on the radio after he won the challenging and demanding race proclaiming that “This is my most fun win ever!”

The win is Herta’s first of the season and puts the young star back in a familiar place in victory lane, but the story of the day was the weather.

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The race started with a damp track from storms earlier in the afternoon, and drivers were mandated to start on wet tires.

That didn’t last long, however, as a dry line developed quickly, and the entire field had taken to the pits to don slick tires and dodge the remaining puddles that still lined the track.

The second half of the race was one of the most chaotic IndyCar events in recent memory, as the rain returned slowly and drivers attempted to stay out on slick tires for as long as possible.

That worked for a while, but then the rain picked up and nearly everyone left the tarmac at some point over the next 20 laps.  There were too many individual events to count, and the order was shaken up more than a couple times.

A total of eight yellow flag periods were needed to get everyone unstuck from the wet grass, and some of those were extended when more drivers spun while travelling at pace car speed.

The continued delays meant that the race was converted into a timed race, with the two-hour limit approaching faster than the laps could get ticked off.

The final restart with five minutes to go was delayed when three drivers, despite heavy rain at that point, attempted to stay on slick tires to keep their advantage at the front of the field.

McLaughlin didn’t even make it to the green flag before he spun, however, forcing him and the other holdouts into pit lane and take the rain tires that the rest of the field already had put on.

The final restart was successfully completed, and Herta was able to keep the lead that he had taken from Pato O’Ward earlier in the race and earned his seventh career win.

Simon Pagenaud finished second and Will Power rounded out the podium, with both drivers staying on course to earn their best finishes of the season.

Marcus Ericsson and Conor Daly ended up in fourth and fifth respectively after having stints at the front and the back at different points during the race.

Felix Rosenqvist maintained his starting position, though with a considerable number of events in between including a collision with his team-mate that damaged his front wing, to finish sixth.

Now that one of the most treacherous races is in the books, drivers and teams will have to reset and get ready for Indy 500 practice on the 2.5-mile oval, which starts on Tuesday.