Andretti Global racer Colton Herta and girlfriend Riley champion awareness for pets and support animals impacted by LA wildfire 

The Andretti Global team recently uploaded a couple of pictures on their Instagram account of their driver Colton Herta and his girlfriend Riley Flynn as they posed with their rescue dogs, Henry and Sandi. The pair is raising awareness for pets and animals impacted by the LA wildfires.

Andretti Global uploaded the pictures with the caption:

" Our hearts are full! 🥺 Colton and Riley's sweet rescues, Henry and Sandi are rocking the Colton Herta Pet Bandanas 💛 Get yours now at ShopAndretti.com and join us in making a difference."

The #26 driver has teamed up with his primary sponsor, Gainbridge and Pasadena Humane to raise awareness about pet adoption and support animals impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, which took place in January 2025. The bandana carries the colours of the driver's sponsor, Gainbridge Honda. The proceeds of the purchase will go to Pasadena Humane. Along with the bandana, Gainbridge and Herta have set up online donations to help them meet the goal of raising $5000.

For the ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach, Herta's #26 car will sport the Pasadena Humane logo on its rear wing and the inside of the halo. The side pods will feature the couple's dog's names and an illustration of the canine on his helmet.

The Andretti Global team will also have a tent selling the bandanas at the ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach which is scheduled to take place on April 13th at 4:30 pm ET.

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Andretti global puts out a statement following Colton Herta's penalty

In light of the recent $25,000 penalty imposed on the #26 car of Colton Herta, Andretti Global recently put out a statement. The team was handed the penalty days after the Thermal Club Grand Prix.

The issue was flagged after the #26 car was inspected post the race and it was found that the anti-intrusion plates were not fitted correctly. This would have been hazardeous during a crash.

IndyCar put out a statement detailing the reason for the penalty, which read:

During post-race technical inspection Sunday, IndyCar discovered the team incorrectly attached the anti-intrusion plates on the aft leg of the front lower wishbones by using only one plate per side of the chassis instead of the two per side (a total of four), which were mandated in a Dallara bulletin released Feb. 14, 2025.”

In response to this, the team put out a statement on X, explaining their stance on the issue. The statement read:

“We have received the penalty notice for car 26 at Thermal and have discussed the findings with IndyCar. While we disagree with the assessment, we accept the penalty and move forward.”

However, in all of this, Colton Herta was able to retain his 32 points earned from the race and hence it will not affect his position in the driver standings or the fourth place finish in the race. This was seen as a mistake on the team's end rather than the driver's fault.