Bryan Herta
| Bryan Herta | |
|---|---|
Bryan Herta at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004.
|
|
| Nationality |
 American |
| Born |
May 23, 1970 Warren, Michigan, U.S. |
| Indy Racing League IndyCar Series | |
| Years active | 2003–2006 |
| Teams | Andretti Green Racing |
| Starts | 58 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Best finish | 8th in 2005 |
| CART Championship Car | |
| Years active | 1994–2001, 2003 |
| Teams |
A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chip Ganassi Racing Team Rahal Walker Racing Mo Nunn Racing Zakspeed/Forsythe Racing PK Racing |
| Starts | 121 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Poles | 7 |
| Best finish | 8th in 1996 & 1998 |
| Previous series | |
| 2005–2006 1992–1993 1990–1991 |
A1 Grand Prix Indy Lights Barber Saab Pro Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 1993 1991 |
Indy Lights champion Barber Saab Pro Series champion |
Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970, in Warren, Michigan) is an American race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the Verizon IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon.
Herta enjoyed considerable success in the lower formulae, winning the Barber Formula Ford and Barber Saab Pro Series, and dominating the 1993 Indy Lights championship with Tasman Motorsports.
He graduated to IndyCar racing in 1994 with team owner A. J. Foyt, where he had several promising races before suffering a season-ending injury at Toronto.
In 1995, Herta was hired to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing. Despite a pole at Phoenix, the association was unsuccessful, with Herta managing only a 20th place in the series standings while his teammate Jimmy Vasser finished 8th. Even so, Herta landed a top ride with Team Rahal for the 1996 season.
During the next few years, Herta developed a reputation for his prowess on road courses, especially at Laguna Seca Raceway. In 1996, he was the leader until the last lap, when Alex Zanardi made the spectacular pass through the "Corkscrew" chicane and took the victory. Herta, who rarely qualified below the first row at Laguna Seca, finally won two events on the twisty road course in 1998 and 1999. At the height of Herta's career, fan interest in the Shell-sponsored driver was dubbed by team owner David Letterman as "Hertamania."
In the opening laps of the 1998 event at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin's Road America circuit, Herta was involved in one of the scariest incidents in the history of North American motor racing. In the 4-mile (6.4 km) road course's fifth turn, Herta got too close to the back of the car of co-owner Rahal, and spun out into a paved runoff area, facing oncoming traffic. A few seconds later, an ESPN camera that had zoomed in on Herta's head pulled back when Herta clenched his fists and put them against the sides of his head. As course workers scattered, Alex Barron slid into the front of Herta's car and rode up on top of it. Both drivers were okay. Herta reported that Barron's car had actually hit his hands, only inches from his face.
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