Photo by Kyle McInnes

Hiring Michael Cannon has paid off handsomely for A. J. Foyt Racing. Santino Ferrucci sits on pole for tomorrow’s Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland. Ferrucci sits 11th in the points with several top 10 finishes this year as gthe Foyt team has had a resurgence in 2024.

Ferrucci played a waiting game and was the last car to get on track in the Fast Six. It was an unusual Fast Six, with Will Power and Alex Palou the only regular guests. Besides Ferrucci, Kyle Kirkwood, Graham Rahal, and Christian Lundgaard made it through to the final round.

Round 1 saw Scott McLaughlin and David Malukas, who were fast in the two practice sessions, eliminated. Scott Dixon and Colton Herta went out in the Fast 12, as did Josef Newgarden, Romain Grosjean, Marcus Armstrong, and Marcus Ericsson.

Alex Palou was leading the second round when he spun exiting turn 12. He was able to keep the car running, and returned to the track. The spin cost him his best lap up to that point, but he recovered to advance to the final segment.

Notes

Kirkwood and Rahal will star 11th and 12th, respectively when their six place grid penalties are assessed. Malukas will line up in row 13 with his penalty.

Today’s attendance is probably the best I’ve seen for a Saturday at Portland.

Points leader Palou will start third. Will Power, fourth in the standings is the only contender ahead of him.

Power still has not won a pole this season.

Results