Herta hot for Houston.

Forsythe Championship Racing's Bryan Herta last raced on the streets of downtown Houston while driving for Team Rahal in 1999. The 2001 Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston will mark Herta's third appearance on the tight street circuit.

Houston has been a good event for Herta in the past, as he has never started or finished outside of the top ten there. Herta started sixth and finished eighth in 1998 and bettered his results in 1999, starting on the outside pole and finishing fifth.

So far this season Herta has run in the top ten in five of the nine road/street course events run to date. He ran as high as second in Mexico and Cleveland and as high as fifth in Portland and Toronto. Herta was sidelined before finishing the first two laps of the Road America event due to contact, and suffered a mechanical failure at the beginning of the Mid-Ohio event.

"I like racing in Houston," says Herta, "it is tough to pass and it isn't a real fast circuit, but it is challenging and I really enjoy it. I didn't race there last year, but I had decent results there the two years prior, so I am looking forward to returning. I have always enjoyed racing on the street circuits, they present a little bit of a different challenge for the driver and definitely for the set-up of the car, but when you get it right they are a lot of fun."