Colton Herta thanks his lucky stars for escaping "normal worklife" with IndyCar dream come true

Andretti Global star Colton Herta is the son of former American open-wheel racing series driver Bryan Herta. Being born into a racing family, Colton always dreamt of racing in IndyCar. The 25-year-old came out and thanked his lucky stars for having the opportunity to race in IndyCar.

Unlike growing up in an American family, where kids are mainly attracted to sports like basketball, football, and baseball, Colton Herta revealed that most of the conversations at his house were around racing, and it continues to be about racing.

After the IndyCar race at Road America in Wisconsin, Colton Herta opened up about his early life and life away from the track. He suggested that he's lucky to have his dream of racing in IndyCar come true, as he said, via Fox6now:

"I didn't grow up wanting to play soccer or be an astronaut or a rock star or whatever, I wanted to be an IndyCar driver, so it's a dream come true for me. I feel extremely lucky. I understand what a normal worklife is and how fortunate I am to be paid to do this job and it's a passion. I think if you asked a lot of us, we'd do it for free, and I'm lucky enough that they pay you.”

Colton began karting at the age of six and participated in his debut competitive karting race at the age of 10. The American rose the ranks, moved to Europe to race in single-seaters before returning to the US to race in Indy NXT (then Indy Lights). Herta made his IndyCar debut towards the end of 2018 and has been racing as a full-time driver ever since.

NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

Racing isn't just a job for Colton Herta but a passion, and he felt lucky to be paid to follow his passion. His father, Bryan Herta, despite retiring from the sport in the 2000s, has continued working in it as a team owner and race strategist.

Colton Herta on the “unfortunate” IndyCar run since the start of 2025 amid Kyle Kirkwood’s stellar season

Colton Herta sits 10th in the IndyCar standings with 184 points, while Alex Palou leads the championship. However, his teammate Kyle Kirkwood has been able to somewhat keep up with Palou as he's the only other driver, other than the Spaniard, to win a race this season.

Colton, on the other hand, has been unfortunate with the retirements, incidents, and issues with the race. Reflecting on the season, he said:

“Yeah, I mean it's unfortunate for us, but if it's not me that is winning, you want a teammate to win. You want somebody to take points out of Palou, which is the main thing. It's good to know that the team is winning, and that makes everybody happy and excited around the shop. But for me, you know, I need to start winning.”

While Colton Herta has been unfortunate, the #26 Andretti Global Honda hasn't showcased the same pace as the Honda of Kyle Kirkwood. The #27 driver sits on 293 points, which is over a 100-point lead on his teammate.