Quick Thoughts- Portland Grand Prix- Invert, Reset

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Alex Palou celebrates his third win of the year and retaking the points lead. Indycar photo by Chris Owens

Pit strategy and cautions can make or break your race. They hurt Graham Rahal, who arguably should have won the race, and Pato O’Ward, who lost the lead in the points standings They helped Alex Palou, Alexander Rossi, and Scott Dixon, who ended the day on the podium. Palou’s team waiting an extra lap to call him in on lap 44 was the winning move today.

The podium. Photo from my friend Brad Proctor

Why can’t Indycar drivers get through the first turn at Portland cleanly? Today’s melee wasn’t as destructive as the first two years after Indycar’s return, but it turned the race on its head, especially with the way Race Control reordered the field. It took a later caution to reverse what happened at the beginning.

Is Alex Palou the next Scott Dixon? Nothing seems to faze this kid-neither two consecutive finishes in the 20s, nor being shuffled to the back of the field after winning the pole. He just does what he needs to do in order to win the title. Today was a big step in that direction.

Palou not only leads O’Ward by 25 points, he now owns the first tiebreaker with his third win of the year. I really didn’t think we would see a driver win three times this season.

The points chase realistically is down to three-Palou, O’Ward, and Josef Newgarden. Dixon is 49 points behind, essentially a full race in arrears. Marcus Ericsson was barely hanging on, and losing 15 more points to the leader pretty much ends his title bid.

I hope in their new television deal that indycar has forbidden NBC from using the “Points as They Run” graphic. It is pointless and meaningless. Drivers don’t earn point as they run. They earn points when they finish. This graphic was displayed at least five times in the first 28 laps, a time in the race where it is totally not necessary.

Points as They Finished

It seems that the Team Penske drivers have had a lot of contact with each other during races this season.

Nice to see Alexander Rossi finally get on the podium in 2021. I think he will win one of the next two races. Rossi dominated two years in a row at Long Beach.

Palou’s repeat win means the series can only tie the record for most different winners in a season with a maximum of 11.

I will be back tomorrow with more on today’s race. Thanks for following along this weekend.

Race Day at Portland

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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

Indycar photo by Matt Fraver

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.

Palou Puts Other Contenders on Notice with First Career Pole

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Alex Palou celebrates his first career pole. Indycar photo by Joe Skibinskii

Anyone worried about Alex Palou fading out of the championship hunt can breathe easier now. Palou backed up his top speed in practice with his first career pole, nipping Alexander Rossi by 0.087 of a second.

The day did not start well for Palou with a spin and a light tap of a barrier about halfway through the practice session. He rebounded to finish with the fastest time in the practice and in Round 2 of qualifying.

The biggest surprise of the day was that title contenders Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward did not advance. Newgarden will start 18th and O’Ward will start 7th. Scott Dixon starts 3rd. The irony for O’Ward is that teammate Felix Rosenqvist knocked him out of the Fast Six as round 2 ended.

Takuma Sato took a six place grid penalty for an engine change and will start 24th. Ryan Hunter-Reay did not participate in qualifying as his team could not repair the car in time. Hunter-Reay had an unspecified electronics issue.

Notes

Graham Rahal had a great day making the Fast Six. i would not be surprised to see him on the podium tomorrow.

Max Chilton qualified a career best 11th.

Meyer Shank cars driven by Helio Castroneves and Jack Harvey were second and third in the morning practice, but had no pace in qualifying. Castroneves starts 17th and Harvey 20th.

Simon Pagenaud continues to not qualify well. He starts 26th.

Tomorrow is Alexander Rossi’s best chance for a win in 2021. The series still has a chance to set a record for the most different winners in a season, but it will take a different new winner in each of the last three races to accomplish it.

I believe this is the first all Alex front row in Indycar history.

Thanks for following along today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a race preview and a post race recap.

Palou Quickest in Morning Practice

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Alex Palou led the only practice for the Grand Prix of Portland despite causing a red flag with a spin about halfway through a wild session. Palou is second in points and looking to rebound from consecutive finishes in the 20s.

Trailing Palou were the two Meyer Shank cars of Helio Castroneves and Jack Harvey.

The top 10:

Qualifying begins at 3:15 Eastern time on Peacock and re airs at 11: 30 Eastern on NBCSN.

Notes

A nice tribute to Robin Miller I’m the media center this morning.ore food was added later to make it more authentic.

Callum Ilott confirmed he is “in discussions” with Juncos Bollinger Racing about the ride in 2022.

Marcus Ericsson has signed a multi year deal to stay at Chip Ganassi Racing.

I hope that Takuma Sato and Ryan Hunter-Reay can be ready for qualifying. Sato needs an engine change and RHR could not get the car to go through the gears.

I’ll be back after qualifying.

Saturday at Portland

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Good morning from the great northwest- side of Indianapolis, that is. Marti was transferred to rehab yesterday afternoon, so i will be covering the final three from races from home. I will miss dinner at Homegrown Smokers in Portland tonight.

Indycar has a hectic schedule today with a 75 minute early practice, qualifying an hour and 45 minutes later, then a 30 minute race prep session. Qualifying will be key for the title contenders. The closer to the front you are, the better chance you have of avoiding a turn 1 catastrophe.

Today’s schedule: All times Pacific. All of today’s sessions are live on Peacock. Qualifying will re air on NBCSN at 11:30 pm Eastern.

https://thepitwindow.blog/2021/09/10/portland-grand-prix-preview-return-to-the-west/

Notes

Indycar photo by James Black

Callum Ilott will drive in the final three races of the season for Juncos-Hollinger Racing. Last year’s T2 runner up has to be considere3d a strong candidate for this seat full time in 2022. He was originally slated just for this weekend, but Ilott was able to clear his schedule to run all three Indycar races. The continuity will be helpful to the team as they prepare to go fulltime next season.

Today and tomorrow there will be ceremonies to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The details can be found here:

INDYCAR To Commemorate 9/11 Through Charitable Activations, Special Race Weekend Ceremonies

Indy Lights points leader David Malukas won the pole for Race 1, which runs immediately after Indycar qualifying. The race airs on Peacock. Kyle Kirkwood, who trails Malukas by 3 points, starts fifth.

Marshall Pruett of Racer magazine confirmed today what I had been thinking. The IMS road course will serve as a backup if one or both of the California races cannot go on as planned. Get ready for Harvest Classic 2.0. I hope it doesn’t come to that.