Hard Luck for Herta in Gallagher GP at Indy

The Andretti Autosport driver looked like he had the car to beat - until a mechanical issue ended his day prematurely and all but eliminating him from the IndyCar championship.

What looked to be shaping up to be a great day for Colton Herta quickly turned into a bad one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon.

Herta was victorious on the track’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile infield road course in May, but an apparent mechanical issue prematurely ended the Andretti Autosport driver’s day in the Gallagher Grand Prix.

"The No. 26 Gainbridge Honda was strong all weekend," Herta said. "The crew did a great job with the setup, I think we were the car to beat honestly. We had the issue halfway through the race and there was nothing we could do at that point. I'm looking forward to Nashville. As a team, we've been strong on street courses, so I think we'll be in a good position."

Herta started the race from the ninth position and made his way up front, taking the lead on Lap 41. But he hit the Turn 12 curb on Lap 42 too hard and apparently damaged his gearbox, causing him to retire from the event.

“Man that is sad,” Hetra later tweeted. “We showed what we can do. We’ll keep going till we win again.”

Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi then took control of the race lead following Herta’s mishap and went on to break a three-year, 49-race winless streak.

“I think he was definitely strong,” Rossi said of Herta. “We had pretty much the same race car. I don’t want to take anything away from him and what he did to come from ninth to that position, it was incredible. But it was the 27’s turn, so that’s awesome.”

Ericsson finishes 11th after starting last but loses points lead,

The last time Ericsson left Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in May, he was the most recent winner of the renowned Indianapolis 500 and the overall leader in the point standings.

Now, he leaves Indy without a trophy and in second place. He came into the race eight points ahead of Will Power. He leaves Indy nine points behind Power, who assumes the points lead.

However, Ericsson is still happy with the end result of the weekend. It was not a good one to begin with. He started Saturday’s race from dead last in the 25-car field after failing to complete a single lap in Friday’s qualifying session due to his car experiencing mechanical issues.

But Ericsson was able to slowly move through the field, and he likely would have advanced further if not for a caution.

“We were strong out there and had a good strategy going long on that first stint,” Ericsson said. “Unfortunately, that yellow came and it was very badly timed for us.

"So that advantage we would have had for the second half of the race sort of got away from us. Still, moving up from 25th is something to be happy about.”

With four races remaining in the 2022 season, another win could quickly propel Ericsson back on top.

“We’re still very much in the mix for the championship, and we’re going to Nashville where we won last year,” Ericsson said. “I’m looking forward to that."