Portland

The NTT IndyCar Series returns to Portland, Oregon for the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland. This marks the 32nd IndyCar race weekend held in Portland. The event takes place at Portland International Raceway, a venue with deep roots in open-wheel racing. Fans can watch the race live on FOX, with the INDY NXT by Firestone series providing additional racing action during the weekend.

Portland International Raceway Circuit Details

Portland International Raceway is a 1.964-mile, 12-turn natural road course located in Portland, Oregon. The circuit features a relatively flat layout but offers multiple passing opportunities throughout the lap. The track includes a quick chicane at the end of the frontstretch, known as the Festival Curves. Turn 7 presents a hard-braking right-hander that leads onto the backstretch. A three-turn complex brings the cars back onto the main straight, which also serves as a drag racing facility. Portland International Raceway holds FIA Grade 2 certification.

The race covers 110 laps for a total distance of 216.04 miles (347.69 kilometers). Practice and qualifying sessions will take place before the main event, giving teams crucial track time to set up their cars for race conditions.

Drivers and Teams

Several notable driver changes shape the grid. David Malukas joins Team Penske, while Will Power moves to Andretti. Mick Schumacher begins his rookie IndyCar season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Alex Palou enters the season as the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and a four-time series champion. Dale Coyne Racing has formed a technical alliance with Andretti Global for the season. Tim Cindric returns to Team Penske as the strategist for Scott McLaughlin.

Technical Specifications

IndyCar continues to use the Dallara IR-18 chassis. The cars run 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines from either Chevrolet or Honda. Firestone supplies all tires as the sole tire supplier through at least the 2030 season.

New tire usage requirements apply this season. For permanent road courses like Portland International Raceway, teams must use one set of alternate tires during the race. Street courses have additional requirements, mandating the use of one set of primary tires and two sets of alternate tires, with drivers completing two green-flag laps on each compound. Safety improvements include new superspeedway tire ramp flaps for the Indianapolis 500, developed with Dallara to reduce the chance of cars lifting during a spin.

Racing History at Portland

Championship car racing arrived in the Portland area in June 1909. Portland International Raceway hosted its first Indy car race in 1984, with Al Unser Jr. taking the victory. The event ran continuously from 1984 to 2007 under CART and then Champ Car sanction. After a ten-year absence, IndyCar returned to Portland International Raceway in 2018.

Portland International Raceway has produced some of the closest finishes in Indy car racing history. Mario Andretti beat his son Michael Andretti by just 0.070 seconds in 1986. Mark Blundell won a three-wide finish in 1997, beating Gil de Ferran by 0.027 seconds and Raul Boesel by 0.055 seconds. This remains the record for the closest 1-2-3 finish on a road course in series history.

Winning Records

Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr., and Will Power each hold three victories at Portland International Raceway, tied for the most wins by any driver. Newman/Haas Racing leads all teams with eight wins at the circuit. Team Penske follows with seven wins, and Chip Ganassi Racing has four victories.

Notable Facts

Portland International Raceway sits on the former site of Vanport, a city destroyed by a flood on Memorial Day in 1948. The race has historically taken place around Labor Day weekend, though the current edition features a different scheduling approach.

A remarkable statistic shows that on 12 occasions, the driver who won the IndyCar race at Portland International Raceway went on to win the series championship in the same season. This correlation adds extra significance to the Portland race within the championship battle.

The NTT IndyCar Series runs an 18-race calendar this season. New street races debut in Arlington and Markham, while Phoenix Raceway returns to the schedule. The BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland represents one of the premier road course events on the calendar, offering close racing and strategic challenges for teams and drivers.