Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Saturday at Portland

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Today’s Schedule: All Times Pacific

8:30 AM Gates Open
9:00 AM – 10:00 AMNTT INDYCAR SERIESPractice 2
10:20 AM – 11:00 AMUSF2000Race 2
11:20 AM – 12:05 PMINDY NXTPractice 2
12:00 PM – 12:30 PMUSF Pro 2000 & USF2000Autograph Session in Speed Zone
12:30 PM – 2:00 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESQualifying/Firestone Fast 6
12:40 PM – 1:10 PMUSF JuniorsAutograph Session in Speed Zone
2:15 PM – 2:55 PMUSF JuniorsRace 3
2:15 PM – 3:00 PMINDY NXTAutograph Session
3:10 PM – 4:00 PMUSF Pro 2000Race 2
4:20 PM – 4:50 PMINDY NXTQualifying
5:15 PM – 5:45 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESFinal Practice
6:05 PM – 6:45 PMUSF2000Race 3

It looks like te rest of the weekend will be dry, but today will begin cool. The temperature will be 5

7 degrees for the start of practice this morning, but when qualifying begins, it will be a near perfect 65 degrees. Tomorrow calls for a high of 80 degrees.

The slight contact between Romain Grosjean and Graham Rahal in Friday practice didn’t look like much of a big deal to me. I think the incident is magnified because Grosjean was involved. Grosjean has had a decent year, but he the clashes he has had with other drivers during his time at Andretti causes him to take the blame for each incident. I think he has been better this season, and maybe people should not be so quick to point hte finger at him every time.

I’m not sure if we will see a lap in the 57 second range today, but conditions should be ideal. It will be an interesting fight for the Fast Six. This morning’s practice may give us more clarity of hwo will be challenh[ging for pole.,

I’m heading to the track now. I will be back after morning practice. IndyCar has a compact, early schedule today, with a final practice four hours after qualifying ends.

McLaughlin Tops First Portland Practice

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Photos by Kyle McInnes

Scott McLaughlin led today’s opening practice round for the Portland Grand Prix this afternoon. McLaughlin’s fast lap of 58.3 seconds came in the small group session which followed the 45 minute all cars session. Alexander Rossi led the all xars portion of the practice period, and Marcus Armstrong was fastest in the second small group.

The rain cleared for practice, but it returned later this afternoon. We should not see any more this weekend, although temperatures will be cooler than normal.

I arrived in Portland just a few mionutes before practice began, and rental car issues and traffic made getting my credentials a longer process than I had anticipated. I will be at the track early tomorrow for the first practice.

I did watch practice on Peacock. Turn 1 is still a problem spot as several drivers locked up and missed the corner.

Results

Portland Preview

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Today’s Schedule: All Times Pacific

8:30 AM Gates Open
9:00 AM – 9:30 AMUSF JuniorsQualifying
9:45 AM – 10:15 AMUSF2000Practice 
10:30 AM – 11:00 AMUSF PRO 2000Practice 
11:15 AM – 11:55 AMUSF JuniorsRace 1
12:00 PM – 1:00 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESAutograph Session
12:10 PM – 12:40 PMUSF2000Qualifying
12:55 PM – 1:25 PMUSF Pro 2000Qualifying
1:45 PM – 2:30 PMINDY NXTPractice 1
2:55 PM – 4:10 PMNTT INDYCAR SERIESPractice 1
4:30 PM – 5:10 PMUSF2000Race 1
5:25 PM – 6:05 PMUSF Pro 2000Race 1
6:20 PM – 7:00 PMUSF JuniorsRace 2

The last road course of the season takes place Sunday in the Pacific Northwest. The main drama is in the first turn of the race, where chaos usually reigns. For the first time since IndyCar returned to Portland in 2018, the Bitnile.com Grand Prix will not be the penultimate race on the schedule.

Three oval races, two at Milwaukee next week, will end the 2024 season. Still, Portland could go a long way toward determining the outcome of the championship. Points leader Alex Palou has won the race two years in a row, and he has to be the heavy favorite coming into the event. In 2023, he clinched the title here, the earliest the championship has been decided since 2005.

Palou brings a 59 point lead to Portland. Colton Herta, his closest pursuer, has won a pole at this track, but if the points leader is looking over ghis should er at anyone, it should be Scott McLaughlin. Mclaughlin is coming on strong with a win and a second place since Iowa.

Although Portland is earlier in the schedule than it normally has been, the off track drama that occurs at this venue remains. While the hard feelings from gateway have been erased, will they return in Turn 1 Sunday? Will there be any Silly Season movement this weekend?

I will be onsite tomorrow. I am currently sitting out a long layover in Las Vegas, and I will not arrive in time for the first practice. It is possible that practice could be run under wet conditions, but the rest of the weekend looks dry.

I still think Palou wins again here. He has mastered this race course, and I’m sure he is anxious to put a little more distance between himself and the rest of the top 5.

Where Is Rossi Heading?

I have heard from a very reliable source that Alexander Rossi’s options have narrowed. My guess is that he will sign with Rahal Letterman Lanigan. I base this on the options still available.

I will be back with a post practice report later today.

BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland Fast Facts 

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 Race weekend: Friday, Aug. 23-Sunday, Aug. 25Track: Portland International Raceway, a 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course in Portland, Oregon
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIESBITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland 110 laps / 216.04 milesI
NDY NXT by FirestoneINDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland 35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes
Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
INDY NXT by Firestone150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 260 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires unless wet conditions are declared. One additional set is available for the weekend’s first session to teams fielding a rookie driver
INDY NXT by Firestone Three new sets to be used during the event weekend. Two carryover sets from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course event may be used during pre-qualifying practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.

X: @Race_Portland, @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCARInstagram: @Race_Portland, @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCARThreads: @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCARFacebook: @PortlandGP, @INDYCAR, #INDYCARTikTok: @INDYCAR, #INDYCARYouTube: @INDYCAREvent website: www.raceportland.comINDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2023 race winners: NTT INDYCAR SERIESAlex Palou (No. 10 The American Legion Honda)
INDY NXT by FirestoneLouis Foster (No. 26 Andretti Autosport)2023 NTT P1 Award winner: Graham Rahal (No. 15 PeopleReady Honda), 58.3195 seconds, 121.236 mph
2023 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Louis Foster (No. 26 Andretti Autosport), 1 minute, 2.6302 seconds, 112.891 mph
Qualifying records:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Will Power, 57.2143 seconds, 123.577 mph, Sept. 1, 2018 (Set in Round 1 of knockout qualifying)
INDY NXT by Firestone Louis Foster, 1 minute, 2.6302 seconds, 112.891 mph, Sept. 2, 2023
USA Network race telecast: BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 25, USA Network (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for USA Network’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters.
Peacock live streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast of the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland will be streamed on Peacock, with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR LIVE.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers. DJ Clark, Ryan Myrehn and Michael Young are the pit reporters. The BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland race (3 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland (1:05 p.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, Aug. 23
1:45-2:30 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice 1, INDYCAR LIVE
2:55-4:10 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1 (45 minutes for all cars, followed by two groups for 10 minutes each), Peacock

Saturday, Aug. 24
9-10 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (45 minutes green flag or 1 hour total), Peacock1
1:20 a.m.-12:05 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice 2, INDYCAR LIVE
12:30 p.m. – BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland NTT P1 Award qualifying (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock
4:20 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (two groups/12 minutes each), INDYCAR LIVE
5:15-5:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, Peacock

Sunday, Aug. 2510:15 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland “Drivers, start your engines”10:20 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland (35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes), Peacock (live)Noon – USA Network on air12:23 p.m. – BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland “Drivers, start your engines”12:30 p.m. – BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland (110 laps/216.04 miles), USA Network (live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship facts:· Alex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with four races to go for the third time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. Palou also led the championship with four races to go in 2021 and 2023, when he won the title. Palou, who has led the point standings after eight of the 13 rounds this season, took the point lead at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey in June.· There are 14 drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Colton Herta, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist, Santino Ferrucci, Christian Lundgaard, Marcus Ericsson and Marcus Armstrong. Any driver who trails the points leader by 163 points or more following this race will be eliminated from contention.· Since the first INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland International Raceway, the winning driver has won the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season 12 times: Bobby Rahal (1987), Danny Sullivan (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1989), Michael Andretti (1991), Al Unser Jr. (1994), Alex Zanardi (1998), Gil de Ferran (2000), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2004, 2007) and Alex Palou (2021, 2023).· Since 2008 when INDYCAR SERIES racing unified under the NTT INDYCAR SERIES banner, the eventual series champion has won the 14th race of the season four times. The most recent occurrence was in 2021 when Alex Palou won at Portland. Other drivers to win the 14th race of their championship season were Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), Dario Franchitti (2009, 2010) and Scott Dixon (2008).Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the largest deficit overcome by the eventual champion was 59 points by Dario Franchitti in 2010. Scott Dixon overcame Juan Pablo Montoya’s 54-point lead in 2015. Fifty-nine (59) points separate the top two drivers in the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings.
Point differential: The 59 points separating Alex Palou and Colton Herta is tied for the fourth-largest point margin with four races remaining since 2008. During that span, the average lead with four races remaining is 38.75 points.
   Race notes: There have been seven winners in 13 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2024 season. Pato O’Ward (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Scott Dixon (Streets of Long Beach, Streets of Detroit), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway-1), Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca), Josef Newgarden (Indianapolis 500, World Wide Technology Raceway), Will Power (Road America, Iowa Speedway-2) and Colton Herta (Streets of Toronto) have all won in 2024. The modern record (1946-present) for the most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.The BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland will be the 30th INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland International Raceway and the sixth since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2018. Al Unser Jr. won the first INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland in 1984, while Alex Palou won last season. Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power are the only former winners entered in this year’s race.
ACTIVE RACE WINNER WINS SEASONS
Alex Palou 2 2021, 2023
Scott McLaughlin 1 2022
Will Power 1 2019
Eight INDYCAR SERIES drivers have won at Portland International Raceway from the pole – Danny Sullivan (1988), Al Unser Jr. (1994), Alex Zanardi (1996), Max Papis (2001), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2004), Alex Palou (2021) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).
ACTIVE POLE WINNER POLES SEASONS
Graham Rahal 1 2023
Scott McLaughlin 1 2022
Alex Palou 1 2021
Colton Herta 1 2019
Will Power 1 2018

Team Penske has won seven times at Portland International Raceway. Penske’s winning INDYCAR SERIES drivers are Danny Sullivan (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Al Unser Jr. (1994, 1995), Gil de Ferran (2000), Will Power (2019) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).
Chip Ganassi Racing has four wins at Portland with Alex Zanardi in 1996 and 1998 and Alex Palou in 2021 and 2023. Newman/Haas Racing won a record eight times at Portland.Twenty-three drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Portland International Raceway. Scott Dixon and Will Power each have seven starts, most among the entered drivers. Twelve entered drivers have led laps at the track (Scott McLaughlin 109, Alex Palou 98, Power 68, Graham Rahal 59, Colton Herta 36, Alexander Rossi 32, Dixon 30, Pato O’Ward 28, Josef Newgarden 8, Felix Rosenqvist 6, David Malukas 2, Marcus Ericsson 1 and Christian Lundgaard 1).Five drivers have won INDY NXT by Firestone races at Portland before moving up to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Pato O’Ward won both races at Portland in 2018 on his way to the INDY NXT by Firestone championship. Rinus VeeKay and Toby Sowery split the doubleheader races in 2019, and Kyle Kirkwood and David Malukas split the doubleheader races in 2021 … Graham Rahal scored the first win of his professional racing career at Portland, winning the Star Mazda (now USF Pro 2000 championship) race in 2005.Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 336th consecutive start, extending his INDYCAR SERIES record streak … With his next podium finish, Dixon will break a tie with Mario Andretti for the INDYCAR SERIES’ all-time record with 142 podium finishes.
INDY NXT by Firestone notes:
Andretti Global’s Louis Foster is enjoying a historically dominant season, leading the series in wins (six), poles (four), laps led (207 of 450), top-five finishes (10) and top-10 finishes (11) through 11 races. Foster, a native of England, owns a 91-point lead over second-place Jacob Abel of Abel Motorsports. Foster can clinch the season championship by leading by at least 108 points after this event.The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland will be the series’ 23rd race at Portland International Raceway. Previous Indy NXT by Firestone winners at Portland include Paul Tracy, Andre Ribeiro, Greg Moore, Pato O’Ward, Rinus VeeKay, Toby Sowery, David Malukas, Kyle Kirkwood and Benjamin Pedersen. Current INDY NXT by Firestone point leader Louis Foster won the INDY NXT Grand Prix of Portland in 2023.

Shank Aligns with Ganassi; Lee Replaces Diffey in NBC Booth

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Kyle McInnes photo

Some long rumored changes in the Indycar landscape have become official.

Meyer Shank racing will form a technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing beginning in 2025, ending a multi year partnership with Andretti Global. Mike Shank told Marshall Pruet of RACER magazine that the new association was a matter of alignment with both the Indycar and IMSA side of his operation. Shank heaped praise on his team’s affiliation with Andretti Global, and he had no issues with anything during their partnership.

Meyer Shank has one open seat for 2025, the 66 currently driven by David Malukas, who has signed with A. J. Foyt for next season. The car has become more attractive to free agents with the new partnership with Ganassi.

Diffey Heads to NASCAR; Lee Takes Over

As expected, long time Indycar booth anchor will move to NBC’s NASCAR coverage as the lead booth announcer. Diffey has called Indycar races on television for more than a decade. While some fans don’t care for his style, I was fine with him. Thanks, Leigh, for all you’ve done for Indycar.

Veteran Kevin Lee will assume the anchor duties for the rest of the season. Lee does a fine job in the times he has filled in for Diffey, and I hope Fox picks him up as the lead when they take over Indycar broadcasts in 2025. Keeping him will make me dread the switch a bit less.

Portland Scheule

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All Times Eastern. Portland is in the Pacific Time Zone.

Friday. August 23

4:45 pm Indy NXT Practice 1

6:55-7:10 pm Indycar Practice 1 Peacock, Indycar Radio

Saturday, August 24

Noon-1 pm- Indycar Practice 2 Peacock, Indycar Radio

2:20 pm- Indy NXT Practice 2

3:30 pm- Indycar Qualifying Peacock, Indycar Radio

7:20 pm Indy NXT Qualifying

8:15 pm – Indycar Final Practice Peacock, Indycar Radio

Sunday, August 25

1 pm Indy NXT Race 35 laps or 55 minutes Peacock,

3:30 pm Indycar Race 110 laps USA Network Peacock, Indycar Radio

  • All three levels of the Road to Indy are also at Portland this weekend.

Final Thoughts – Bommarito 500 Edition

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Photo by Kyle McInnes

It took three events, but Indycar found a way to create an entertaining show after the introduction of the hybrid. Cars could pass and race closely, several pit strategies were tried, and the distance between the mid race cautions were far enough apart to not interfere with scheduled pit stops.

Another metric by which last night’s race was great was the number of drivers upset with each other, and the discussions among fans theat the race created.

The high line practice appears to have worked, as cars could pass on the outside. Indycar recorded 676 passes, 254 for position, a nice recovery from the dearth of overtaking we saw at Mid Ohio and Iowa.

Hard Luck Drivers

Three drivers in particular had great races going for them, only to have them snuffed out by on track incidents or penalties.

Let’s start with David Malukas.

Malukas started second, and he had the only180 mph lap in qualifying. He fell back at the start, regained his spot, and passed Scott McLaughlin for the lead on lap 16. Malukas was in line for his third straight Gateway podium, when he hit the wall on lap 240 after being hit by Will Power. How Power wasn’t penalized for that move is beyond me, but Malukas’ night was over. I enjoyed watching a driver from one of the smaller teams going toe to toe with the Team Penske trio.

Nolan Siegel was in contention for a career best finish, possibly a podium or top five, with the pit strategy he was following, but a pit lkane speeding violation ended that hope. He recovered to finish seventh.

Conor Daly started ninth and moved up a couple of spots early. He looked like a sure bet for a top 10 finish, but on lap 17, contact with Kyle Kirkwood in an incident which also involved Daly’s teammate Romain Grosjean, dashed his hopes. Daly ended the night in 13th, but he showed the promise that Juncos Hollinger Racing was looking for in their quest to make the Leaders’ Circle. With three ovals remaining, I think they will get there.

More Alchemy from Alex Palou

In a race in which points runner up Will Power appeared to earn the maximum amount of points available to him, and in which points leader Palou seemed to be going virtually nowhere, Palou finishes fourth after a Colton Herta received a last lap blocking penalty, adding 10 points to his lead, while Power drops to fourth place after his 18th place finish.

We had the same scenario at Toronto, wher Palou looked to be vulnerable to seeing his lead shrink within shouting distance. Now, He leads by more than one race.

Scott Dixon is a master fuel saver. Palou is a master point saver..

Restarts and Penalties

Indycar assessed eight penalties during the race, but I think two more were warranted. I felt Power should have had an avoidable contact penalty for the Malukas incident, and Newgarden should have had some consequence for the slow restart which resulted in the chaos which caused a red flag.

Restarts- From my view near turn 1, It looked like most of the restarts and the start of the race were ay a slower than normal pace. The restart on lap 252 was the slowest of the night. While Indycar telemetry showed Newgarden maintained the proper speed throughout the restart, something was not right. That restart should have been waved off.

Overall, this was a really good race. It had great racing, multiple strategies, controversy, and lots of drama and controversy, which is still being discussed today.

Thanks for following along this weekend. I’m going to the Cardinals game this afternoon before heading home. They extended their winning streak to one in a row last night.

Bommarito 500- Another Oval, Another Penske Win

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Photo by Kyle McInnesa

One streak continues, and another restarts. Josef Newgarden broke his two race oval losing streak with a come from behind win at World Wide Technolgy Raceway, his fifth win at this track.

Newgarden beat Scott McLaughlin out of the pits on a late stop and held the lead the rest of the way.

The race had many dimensions, cautions, questionable moves, and a red flag which resulted in a seven lap shootout in which newgarden ran away from the field.

Tonight’s race was the best race since the introduction of the hybrid. There was a lot of overtaking, multiple pit strategies, and the winner was in doubt until near the end. There were also heartbreaking stories- David Malukas, Nolan Siegel, and Conor Daly, to name a few.

Alex Palou looked as if he would take a huge hit on his points lead, but thanks to Will Power’s mishap near the end, he once again extends his lead.

In the post race press conference Newgarden said that the second lane worked tonight, and he is hopeful that Indycar can get other tracks to put on a good show. He felt relieved that he didn’t hit the wall when he spun.

I will have more thoughts on the race tomorrow morning.