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IndyCar driver Conor Daly has made a bold prediction for rival Colton Herta for the upcoming Long Beach Grand Prix. It is the 50th edition of the race this weekend on the iconic street circuit, where Herta emerged victorious in 2021.
Daly reckons that the Andretti Global star could take his first win of the 2025 season at Long Beach by upsetting reigning champion Alex Palou, who has won the first two races at St. Petersburg and the Thermal Club. He went as far as to say that Herta would win by a mammoth margin of 30 seconds.
While making this prediction on his Speed Street podcast on YouTube, Daly said [15:10 onwards]:
"I'm going to take Colton Herta. Sorry, I got to take Colton Herta. Colton's going to win. Colton might win by 30 seconds this weekend. I know that (Alex) Palou is going to be hard to beat as usual, but I think Colton's going to win by a country mile this weekend and that's my number one pick in the draft."
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While Conor Daly's 30-second claim might seem far-fetched, Andretti Global's cars have blistering pace on street circuits, as evident at the season opener in St. Petersburg. Herta was in victory contention there if not for a botched pit stop by his No. 26 squad, which pushed him down to P16.
The 25-year-old fared well at the 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix. Sitting in P2, he was breathing down race leader Scott Dixon's neck in the final nine laps, but couldn't make the winning move. Contrastingly, Daly has never finished in the Top 10 around the streets of Long Beach, barring his Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) win in 2011.
The Long Beach Grand Prix made Colton Herta dream of being an IndyCar driver
Colton Herta grew up in Santa Clarita, California, just over an hour's drive from Long Beach. He first visited the race when he was only two weeks old. His father, Bryan Herta, was competing in the IndyCar race with Walker Racing. He finished an impressive P5 in the race, which was won by Paul Tracy in the No. 26 car.
21 years later, Andretti Global (which was Team Kool Green when Tracy raced for it) signed Herta to drive the No. 26 car. Long Beach was the season finale that year and he added another victory to the No. 26 squad's history.
Ahead of the 2023 Long Beach Grand Prix, Herta revealed his deep connection with the iconic race.
"As a young kid, I always dreamed of becoming an IndyCar driver, and it was because of this race. I grew up around here. It was my first IndyCar race. It was the track that made me fall in love with IndyCar racing because it was the one West Coast race a year I would go to. I think that part of it, that aspect of it, probably played the biggest role," he said via Speed Sport.
Herta's 2025 season got off to a bittersweet start. After the St. Petersburg debacle, he recovered well at the Thermal Club to earn his first Top 5 finish of the season with a P4. He stands eighth in the championship standings after two races.
