Colton Herta reveals IndyCar's unknown rule to explain his bizarre 2024 Indy 500 DNF despite his car surviving a crash

Colton Herta has pulled back the curtain on why he stepped out of his car after a crash at the 2024 Indy 500. The Andretti Global driver's No. 26 Honda had sustained damage only on the front wing and nose, a part that could've easily been replaced during a pit stop. In a recent interview with IndyCar and IMS President Doug Boles, Herta explained how a lesser-known rule disallowed him from continuing the race.

Herta's crash took place in lap 86 when he was running in P2 behind pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin. At turn 1, the potential victory contender's car got loose and his failure to control it led to a spin and eventual contact with the barriers. However, when he started getting out of the car instead of going into the pits, the commentators were baffled. They pointed out how "easily replaceable" the nose of the car is.

Herta has now explained how it is in the IndyCar rulebook that a driver is mandated to visit the medical center after a crash at an oval. When Boles asked him about it on the latest "Doug and Drivers" episode uploaded on the IMS' YouTube channel, Herta replied [7:40 onwards]:

"No, I knew what happened. I think people don't understand the rule in IndyCar, which is, it doesn't matter how hard you hit a wall, even if you brush a wall and you come to a stop, you have to go to the medical center on any oval. You don't have to in road courses, but you have to in any oval. So that was the reason. Even if I stayed in (the car), they wouldn't have restarted the car for me. They would have told me, 'You have to go to the medical center.'"

This IndyCar rule is justifiable from a safety standpoint, considering how many drivers have died as a result of the deadly nature of racing at 220+ mph on an oval. After the medical check-up, Colton Herta returned to race at the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing" multiple laps down and earned 7 points for finishing in P23. Josef Newgarden won the race to take his second consecutive victory there.

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Colton Herta expresses his love for the Indy 500 with a small wish for "a little luck" at the iconic race

The 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

Colton Herta is IndyCar's youngest race winner, having won his first race at COTA in 2019. Since then he has won eight more races, the last of which came at the 2024 season finale in Nashville, marking his first win on an oval.

For IndyCar drivers, the Indy 500 is the mecca of ovals. In his six attempts at winning at the Brickyard, Herta has never finished higher than eighth place (2020). In the interview with Doug Boles, he described how much a victory at the 500 would mean to him.

"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 for my driving," he said. [8:45 onwards]

Herta's start to the 2025 season was undesirable. Starting P2 on the front row at the St. Petersburg GP, he was in victory contention until a botched pit stop ended his pursuit.