Alex Palou looks to take another step toward the mountaintop today. Indycar photo by Chris Owens

Good morning and welcome to race day at the Grand prix of Portland. Alex Palou has a golden opportunity to retake the points lead and possibly whittle down the number of realistically eligible challengers by a couple.

Today’s Schedule: All times Pacific. Race coverage begins on NBC at pm Eastern.

A few thoughts:

His teammate Scott Dixon lead the final warmup session yesterday evening, and could be a factor in the race. It’s hard to believe, but Dixon is third on the team as far as wins this season.

I would not count out Graham Rahal for the win. He definitely should end up on the podium.

If these last three races are indeed an audition for Oliver Askew in the RLL car 45, he is off to a fine start with a ninth place grid spot.

Callum Ilott acquitted himself well by qualifying 19th. He has two more races with Juncos Hollinger Racing. Lets look at his overall performance after Long Beach, but yesterday was a decent start.

While many are rightly concerned about turn 1 at the start, which has been a challenge in 2018 and 2019, later in the race the final corners are a place to watch. Yesterday saw numerous spins and barrier contacts there.

David Malukas won the first Indy Lights race and is on pole for today’s race. Malukas leads Kyle Kirkwood by 10 points.

They might have said this all season, but yesterday the NBC announcers kept using the term “championship points.” I find the term annoying. Are there other types of points drivers earn?

9/11

Yesterday the paddock held a moment of silence at 10:28 Eastern time. The entire paddock lined the pits and front straight.

All cars and AMR Safety Team vehicles bore a special sticker

The stickers on the safety vehicles are especially poignant as some members of the team were at the Twin Towers that day.

Enjoy the race. I will be back later today with some quick thoughts and have a larger wrap up tomorrow.