Andretti Autosport has had a tough year when it comes to replacing Dallara DW12 and after Colton Herta’s wild crash, flight, rollover and second hit during final practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Friday, his crew spent a late night in the Gasoline Alley to assemble a new car after its primary #26 Honda chassis (pictured) was destroyed.
“Most of the work was done last night,” Andretti COO Rob Edwards told RACER. “The guys are back in there now and just finishing up today to make sure it’s done tomorrow.”
With a new and untested car for Herta to pilot in the big race, the Andretti team asked permission to shake off the replacement
The No. 26 Honda during a one-lap installation check at IMS before rolling off the grid for tomorrow’s 106th Indy 500.
“We certainly asked for the opportunity, but we were turned down,” Edwards said of the allowance IndyCar once gave. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll deal with it. The boys will be sure that everything is in top form. Too bad, but the replacement for the damaged car is the one he just won the Indy Grand Prix with. So if Colton has a good day in the new car tomorrow it will certainly be a unique story.”
David Malukas, the other rider who crashed on Carb Day, saw his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda suffer less from his impact with the wall at Turn 1. Aside from the bodywork and suspension, which required replacement, the main damage from the rear impact was the cracked gearbox.
Rather than swap out the case, the team will need to field a spare speedway gearbox and like Herta, Malukas will be ready when the order to start the engines is given at 12:38pm ET before the 12:45pm green flag on Sunday .