Quick Thoughts- Portland Grand Prix

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Photo by Brad Proctor

Another IndyCar race. another Alex Palou win. Palou has won 14 races over the last two years with his sixth win of 2026.

Palou won in typical fashion, using an overcut on the first pit stop to get ahead of felix Rosenqvist. Except for pit sequences, Palou never looked back, building a lead of more than seven seconds at times.

In the post race press conference, Palou said he was surprised at how good the alternate tires were, and he credited that stint for helping him stay far ahead.

It was a repeat of Long Beach for felix Rosenqvist. He and Palou started on the front row, but Palou won and Rosenqvist finished second.

A Great Day for Andretti

Will Power finished third, Kyle Kirkwood fifth, and Marcus Ericsson sixth for Andretti Global as the team continues to improve their road course program.

Will Power said that with the progress the team has made this year, next year should be very interesting.

Kirkwood retook second place in the standings, but he is now two full races behind Palou. With five races left in the season, overtaking the leader is close to impossible.

The Invisible Man

Rinus VeeKay finished fourth after a spirited battle with Kirkwood, probably the best battle of an otherwise lackluster day. The driver from the Netherlands continues to shine on a team operating without a technical alliance with a larger team.

It is time for a major team to pick him up., but I don’t see anywhere else he can be for 2027.

VeeKay is 10th in the standings, just nine points out of ninth. He has three top fives and five top 10s this year, and he has been a regular member in the Fast Six qualifying.

Notes

Why do all of Honda’s issues fall on Marcus Armstrong? Today is at least the third mechanical issue he has encountered since Road America.

Christian Lundgaard had a sensational drive from 25th to ninth. He was the entire show early ib=n the race as he steadily moved forward.

Attendance seemed to be down from the last two races here, and I’m not sure why. The racing has not been great since IndyCar returned in 2018, and today’s race was less than exciting.

I will have a more in depth wrap up on Tuesday. I will be spending the entire day tomorrow traveling.

Thanks for following along this weekend.

5th to 10th

Race Day- Will Portland Change the Title Picture?

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Photo by Brad Proctor

Today’s scheduleL All times Pacific

10 am- IndyCar warmup FS!

11 am Indy NXT race FS1

1 pm- IndyCar race-FOX

1:27 pm- Green flag

Good Race Day morning from Portland. Cooler temperatures are in store with a predicted green flag reading of 75 degrees. The Only Bulls Grand Prix will determine how the rest of the season plays out for the championship.

An Alex Palou win pretty much means game over as far as anyone else’s title hopes. One of Palou’s three closest pursuers must finish ahead of the four time champion. Of those drivers, Kyle Kirkwood is in the best position to do that. Kirkwood starts seventh, the highest among the three drivers in pursuit of Palou. David Malukas will roll off 15th after his penalty is assessed, and Christian Lundgaard starts 25th after a hybrid issue and penalty in qualifying.

Portland is a track position race, and pit strategy is crucial. Caution flags could be few and far between after whatever chaos occurs in turn 1 of the opening lap. I expect a three stop race today.

Felix Rosenqvist has a chance to finally convert a pole position into a race victory. He nearly accomplished the feat in long Beach in April, but a pit stop glitch on the last stop allowed Palou to get ahead of him.

I am looking at the winner coming from row 2 today. Will Power will continue his Portland dominance today.

I’ll be back before the race with warm up results and starting tire selections.

Portland Pole- Rosenqvist Keeps on Truckin’

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Photo by Brad Proctor

On the final lap in the final seconds Félix Rosenqvist snatched the pole from Alex Palou for tomorrow’s Only Bulls Grand Prix at Portland. The winning lap of 58.4828 seconds edgedthe championship leader by 0.0148 seconds.

“We weren’t super quick yesterday, so a great comeback today by the team,” Rosenqvist said.

Favorites like Kyle Kirkwood fell out of the top six in Round Two. The Fast Six had Rosenqvist, Palou, Will Power, Rinus VeeKay, Marcus Ericsson, and Kyffin Simpson’

VeeKay is becoming a Fast Six regular while Simpson and Ericsson have had occasional visits to the final round. Power got through the second round with a wild lap fighting for control of the car to squeeze in at the checkered flag.

Scott Dixon was not as fortunate. Dixon clipped the Armco in turn 1, looped the car, and tried to make up for lost time. His suspension had broken giving no chance to improve his time.

Honda ruled the day. Rinus VeeKay is the only Chevy to make the Fast Six, and with David Malukas moving to 16th place with his penalty, Honda starts the race with 11 of the top 12 cars.

While Rosenqvist went on to the pole, teammate Marcus Armstrong finished a disappointing 21st. Christian Lundgaard had a hybrid issue and will start 25th.

That will do it for today. Thanks for following along.

Morning warn up is at 10 am Pacific tomorrow on FS1.

Results

Armstrong Fastest in Practice 2

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Photo by Brad Proctor

Marcus Armstrong turned the quickest lap in the morning practice session as Meyer Shank Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing took the top four spots. The teams have a technical alliance.

The Andretti Global trio of Will Power, Marcus Ericsson, and Kyle Kirkwood shpwed strengh early, with Po fastest at the end of the all-car segment. Power finished seventh, Ericsson sixth, and Kirkwood ninth.

Qualifying is at 4 pm pacific time on FS1

Results

Portland Qualifying Day

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Today’s schedule: All times Pacific

Gates open 8:30 am

. All on FS1

9-9:45 am: IndyNXT Practice

10:05-11:25 am: IndyCar Practice (40 minutes all skate, 12 minutes Group A, 12 minutes Group B)

Noon: IndyNXT Qualifying

4 pm: IndyCar Qualifying

Practice groups:

\Qualifying groups will be published later.

Another warn sunny day is on tap in Portland, with the temperature projected to be 88 degrees when IndyCar qualifies for tomorrow’s Only Bulls Grand Prix.

Oliver Wheldon won the USF 2000 race t=yesterday afternoon. Wheldon started on pole, lost the lead briefly, then retook the top spot and took the ch3eckered flag,

Yesterday’s media bullpen was one of the most in-depth sessions of the season. These late season bullpens get awkward when drivers not staying with their current teams have to talk around questions about their future. They handle the situation well, however.

My friend Brad Proctor took some great photos during IndyCar practice yesterday. Below are a few of them.

Palou Edges Kirkwood in Portland Practice 1

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The champ is gonna champ. Alex Palou led Practice 1 today for the Portland Grand Prix, just narrowly quicker than Kyle Kirkwood by eight hundredths of a second.

“Good day, great start,” Palou said. “I think there’s some work to do with the alternates (Firestone Firehawk tires), but we were really good on primaries, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“It’s good that we tested here because it allowed us to start with good speed already in the No. 10 DHL Honda. But, yeah, some work to do still. We just need more speed.”

Kirkwood was very happy with his run.

“We definitely came here with a much different car than we’ve ever ran here, and hopefully it’s paying off,” Kirkwood said. “Early days here, but it’s promising. Compared to where we were last year, this is a big step in the right direction.”

The skies and air improved greatly as the day progressed, and the Portland area is now clear of the wildfire pollution.

Rinus VeeKay was quick in both the all-car session and his group, finishing third overall. He might be one to watch on Sunday, Will Power finished fourth today. Teaqm Penske had a decent day with Scott McLaughlin seventh, David Maluks eighth, and Josef Newgarden ninth.

Pato O’Ward struggled, spinning out in turn 1 and later having a tire lock up on the approach to the turn. He finished 15th.

Notes

Earlier in the day, David Malukas told me he feels quite confident in the car which has won the last two races at Portland. He will lose six places after qualifying with an engine penalty, which will hurt his chances.

Kyle Kirkwood said he feels he has the advantage over Malukas and Christian Lundgaard over the rest of the schedule. He believes his team is stronger on two of the types of tracks left, where Malukas and Lundgaard just each may only be stronger on one type of circuit. Lundgaard was 22nd fastest today.

Kirkwood ultimately wants to catch Palou, which he believes is possible. A lot would have to go right for the Andretti driver for that to happen.

Results

Grid Penalties for Cars 12 and 4

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From IndyCar officiating:

INDYCAR Officiating Announces
Portland International Raceway Grid Penalties  

INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Aug. 7, 2026) – INDYCAR Officiating has announced six-position starting grid penalties for the entries of No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises and No. 12 Team Penske for unapproved engine changes. The No. 12 of Team Penske made two unapproved engine changes during the race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway while the No. 4 of A.J. Foyt Enterprises made an unapproved engine change following the Monday, July 20 race.
The No. 4 of A.J. Foyt Enterprises and No. 12 of Team Penske were in violation of:
Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Approved Engine Change-Out if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine Change-Out.
The No. 12 of Team Penske was in violation of:Rule 16.1.6.2.1. If an Entrant makes two (2) Unapproved Engine Change-Outs during an on-track Event, the penalty for the second (2nd) Unapproved Engine Change-Out is served at the following Race.
According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and will be served at the series’ next event, which is the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, Aug. 9 at Portland International Raceway.