Colton Herta's Indy 500 car pays special tribute to Dan Wheldon's 2005 win with Andretti Global

Andretti Global star Colton Herta's Indy 500 Gainbridge Honda will be featuring the same font as Dan Wheldon's #26 Andretti Green Racing, the car in which the Briton won the 2005 Indy 500. Andretti Global's official social media accounts on Instagram uploaded a video of the same.

Wheldon raced for Andretti Green (now Andretti Global) for three years, 2003-2005, which was arguably his most successful stint at any IndyCar team. Wheldon finished runner-up in the 2004 championship and stood on the podium of the 2004 Indy 500. A year later, he won the Indy 500, the IndyCar championship, and the first-ever race at St. Pete.

Dan Wheldon raced with the iconic #26 at Andretti Global, and the same has now been passed to Colton Herta. The young American’s #26 Honda will feature the numbers in the same iconic font as Wheldon's car. The team has made the change to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Wheldon's 2005 Indy 500 win and to pay tribute to the legend.

As Andretti Global revealed the details on Instagram, the caption of the post read:

“Full circle moment at the Indy 500. 20 years ago, Dan Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 with Andretti Green Racing. Colton Herta's Gainbridge Honda will sport the classic No. 26 ran on Dan's Klein Tools Honda, a tribute to his unforgettable victory. Forever.”

Dan Wheldon passed away in 2011 after a crash during a race in Las Vegas. Instead of the regular two dimensions in the block pattern, the #26 of Colton Herta's car will be given a 3D look by adding a red shadow to the number, imitating what was on Wheldon's car.

Colton Herta details what the Indy 500 means to him

Colton Herta won his first-ever oval race last year at the season finale in Nashville. Coming into the 2025 IndyCar season in March, the Andretti Global driver featured in an episode of the Doug and Driver series uploaded on YouTube.

Herta was questioned what winning the 2025 Indy 500 would mean to him, to which he replied:

“It's why I got into the sport. I love watching the Indy 500. I love... well, there are two things. I loved watching Indy cars at Long Beach and I loved watching Indy cars around the Speedway. It doesn't owe me anything. I don't expect the track to do me any favors like that, but I would like a little bit of luck one year maybe and a really good race car which I've had a lot, for me to be on point with my driving.” [8:45 onwards]

Colton Herta has participated in six Indy 500s, with the P8 finish in 2020 being his best result. The American crashed out at last year's Indy 500.