PORTLAND, Oregon – In a sense, Colton Herta of Harding Steinbrenner Racing has completed the first lap of what he hopes are many more in his NTT IndyCar Series career when he returned to Portland International Raceway on Friday.

It was at the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course in Portland’s Delta Park where young Herta drove an Indy car for the first time in his career at a test session last year.

At that time, he was wrapping up his final season in Indy Lights and preparing for his first IndyCar Series race in the 2018 season finale at Sonoma Raceway.

Herta was impressive in that test and has carried that into a very impressive rookie season in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season.

Herta was the fastest driver in Friday’s combined practice session at Portland turning a fast time of 57.4293 seconds for a lap at 123.115 mph in the No 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Capstone Turbine Honda.

“It’s not the completion of a circle because my career is not done yet, but it is pretty cool to come back here,” Herta told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “Although I’m not a veteran, it’s a little more like it because I have had past experience here in an Indy car.

“Any track we go to, by the end of practice one, everyone will be on it. It’s great for getting up to speed, especially for somebody who takes a little longer to get up to speed. Luckily, that is one of my strong suits that I don’t have trouble getting up to speed in my first practice sessions.”

Herta scored his first career victory on a permanent road course at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in the March 24 INDYCAR Classic. He was just one week short of his 19th birthday and became the youngest driver in IndyCar history to win a race.

But he has also qualified up front at the Indianapolis 500, led laps on the short oval at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and challenged for the lead on the high banks at Texas Motor Speedway and the street courses on the schedule.

It seems that every track suits Herta’s style.

“I think out of all of my abilities, I’m the best on permanent road courses,” Herta said. “It seems to be a trend like COTA, Road America, Mid-Ohio and here, we have set ourselves up for good weekends.”

Reflecting on his first IndyCar Series test last year, Herta remembered how powerful the brakes were going into Turn One and how comfortable he was in the car and get it up to speed.

“I’ve never had that in any other car, so it was really strange,” Herta admitted.

He also competed in the Indy Lights race here last year and noted the tires on the Indy car are softer than in Indy Lights, and that allows the cars to corner faster.

“This was definitely a place where the cars felt much different,” Herta said. “Coming back to a place that you know is huge. That’s why I believe I will be so much better prepared for next year.”

Herta does not have a problem having fun while driving the car, but the joy of racing comes from winning and that makes him want to work harder, too.

But he has let the newness of his rookie season allow him to savor the moment, especially at a unique place such as Portland.

“Downtown Portland is a bit strange to other cities, especially in the United States,” Herta said. “The motto is ‘Keep Portland Weird’ and this city fits it.”

Herta’s motto should be, he may not win the race, but everybody that watched certainly realized he was in the race because he ran up front and gave the fans something to remember.

“That’s the most important thing is that we do well, everybody knows and sees us,” the rookie said. “Hopefully, we can keep that going.”