IndyCar
IndyCar Championship Fight Continues This Weekend At Portland International Raceway
PORTLAND, OR (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Two races remain in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series schedule beginning with this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato is coming off a win in the Series last race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Sato is also the defending winner of the Grand Prix of Portland after winning there in 2018.
“It’s great to go back to Portland as the defending winner and also after having won in St. Louis,” said Sato. “The fans waited a long time for the return of IndyCar racing and I’m really honored to be the first winner for the new generation of races there. That was also the first win for me with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing so there are a lot of great memories and happy moments.”
Sato’s victory was the highlight of the day for RLL as Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal was an innocent victim of a first lap crash that took him out of the race.
“I love going to Portland, it’s a great race,” said Rahal. “Last year was not what we hoped for, we were pretty competitive last year, and I expect us to be pretty competitive again this year.”
Rahal said the picturesque 1.964-mile permanent road course is not like most road courses where if you make a mistake you can recover.
In 2018 there was a huge accident on the first lap coming exiting turn three that saw Marco Andretti go up and over a couple of cars.
Marco Andretti Goes Airborne During Multi-vehicle Crash In Turn 3 At Portland International Raceway. (Photo:Chris Owens/IndyCar Series)
“There is no margin for error to go fast there,” said Rahal. “Like all tracks, you’ve got to push it to the limit to get the most out of a lap, but there is a very fine line there between what is good and what is not at Portland. And there is not a lot of runoffs so the moment you drop a wheel, you’re really in the grass whereas a lot of other places have a little bit of margin.”
Josef Newgarden comes into the event as the points-leader with his Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud in second place, 38-points behind. Andretti Autosports Alexander Rossi is in third place, 46-points behind Newgarden. PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, the five-time and defending series champion, sits in fourth place 70-points out of the top spot.
“We were able to maintain the points lead in Gateway, and that was a huge deal for us,” said Newgarden. “Now we focus on Portland. It’s a technical road course, so we’re really going to have to make sure we hit our marks to make sure we don’t lose any ground.”
“Portland is shaping up to be a super-exciting weekend,” said Pagenaud. “This is the part of the season that I love the most. It is down to the wire exciting racing and competing at our highest level. It’s time to shine.”
“Our mindset has changed a bit from being conservative on our strategy to putting it all out there,” said Rossi. “We have to get another win in order to head into the season finale with a fighting chance for the Astor Cup. We were very strong last year at Portland and could have potentially won, but an untimely yellow caught us out.”
WASHINGTON D.C. (August 22, 2026) – Alex Palou’s blistering lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda puts the four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion on the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington D.C.
“Incredible,” said Palou. “My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood lines up second after a lap of 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.”
Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party up front, putting the No. 3 PPG Chevrolet third on the grid after a fast lap of 57.4200.
Palou’s CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson did not fare as well as their teammate.
Dixon was on a lap that would have allowed him to transfer into the next round of qualifying, when Simpson hit the wall, triggering a red flag which cancelled Dixon’s lap. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda will start 14th.
Bringing out the red flag penalized Simpson of his two fastest laps so the No. 8 Sunoco Honda will start last in 25th.
Coverage of the Freedom 250 starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fox and IndyCar Radio with the green flag waving in our nation’s capital at 1 p.m.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
Riggs rules New Hampshire, Ankrum survives to claim final Chase berth
Alex Palou powers to IndyCar Freedom 250 Pole Position in D.C.
Spithaler Sprints to Mercer Win
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Logano Wins at Richmond as Chase Picture Takes Shape
Michael Norris wins his 5th Jook George Steel City Classic
Kvapil Hangs On To Win Pennzoil 250 in Top-Four Sweep by JR Motorsports
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Troutman Gets First Win For Foster In Schaltenbrand Memorial At Lernerville; Cipriano, Flick, and Schneider Also Win.
