In one of the more entertaining sequences from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series gave full control of its Twitter account to Andretti Autosport drivers Dalton Kellett and Colton Herta, who along with teammate Nico Jamin were all on site this weekend.
The duo began the day navigating pit lane, speaking with a number of drivers, officials, and media types to preview the race. Among those they stopped were J.F. Thormann, Executive V.P. and COO of Andretti Autosport, and 2009 Long Beach winner Dario Franchitti.
Good morning race fans! Myself and my @FollowAndretti teammates are taking over this account for the day. Follow along for an inside look! pic.twitter.com/TiyeGMbheN
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
DK: Getting ready for the race! pic.twitter.com/58n9dxXgIw
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
Insight into how hectic this race will be with JF Thorman @FollowAndretti @Dalton_Kellett pic.twitter.com/LfA75F6h4P
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
Colton Herta then ran into NBCSN’s Robin Miller, who gave a bit of insight on the young Herta’s driving style along with offering thoughts about the strategic elements of racing.
Robin millers insights towards the race! @ColtonHerta pic.twitter.com/dJeJvjyfQl
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
Things soon went a little sideways, however. Herta attempted to do a quick interview with Josef Newgarden, only for eventual winner James Hinchcliffe to intervene. Hilarity ensued.
@josefnewgarden doing 5 stops while @Hinchtown going for 1? @ColtonHerta pic.twitter.com/N8ojB9lWYD
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
Congrats to this clown, @Hinchtown today at the beach. And bonus, we have a future @IndyCar boy @ColtonHerta with us pic.twitter.com/YaixrAOjLe
— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) April 10, 2017
Dalton Kellett added a new twist when he bumped into MST’s Tony DiZinno and forced him into the role of interviewee
@tonydizinno insight towards the Grand Prix coming in up very soon @Dalton_Kellett pic.twitter.com/2IhLrKmU1e
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
Kellett and Herta continued their work during the race, even catching some quick pit work from Marco Andretti’s No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda for Andretti Autosport.
Aleshin and Marco opt to pit this lap. Looks like they are going for a 3 stop. @FollowAndretti pic.twitter.com/ePUKR3vAUO
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017
In all, it was en eventful day for both Kellett and Herta. But, they did make time to the hit the souvenir tents before calling it quits.
Had to stop for some merch before heading out! (@Dalton_Kellett) pic.twitter.com/cIlaSEJxC1
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) April 9, 2017