IndyCar
Power Wins At Portland; Dixon’s Championship Hopes Stall
PORTLAND, OR (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Team Penske’s Will Power took home the victory in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.
“It was a pretty tough race for the Verizon Chevy,” said Power. “I’m exhausted. I’m mentally exhausted and just so stoked to get into Victory Lane.”
Power was running second on Lap 52 when Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda suddenly lost electrical power while the 5-time and defending series Champion had a three-second lead on the rest of the field.
“I hate giving away an easy win like that,” said Dixon. “We just lost power and when that happens you can’t shift and you can’t use the clutch. Luckily, we were able to get to pit lane so the crew could get us back to the pit box.”
Dixon’s “Wolfpack” crew replaced a battery that had failed. The replacement cost Dixon three laps on pit road. The “iceman” returned to the race and soldiered home with a 16th place finish.
“Obviously, not the result that we wanted with the PNC Bank car,” said Dixon. “We had a great car and it was clean sailing out front for us in the lead. The team did a great job.”
Last year at Portland Lady Luck shined on Dixon as he survived a first-lap melee but the last two weeks she has been cruel to the No. 9 team. Two weeks ago at World Wide Technology Raceway a piece of debris found its way through a protective screen and put a hole in the radiator of the PNC Bank Honda.
“The last two races haven’t been the best in terms of luck for us, but we’ll just focus now on winning at Laguna Seca.” said Dixon.
Dixon’s teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, continued his strong second-half of the season, finishing second to Power. The 2nd place finish was Rosenqvist’s second podium finish in the last 4-races.
“I thought it was a great race for us in the NTT Data Honda,” said Rosenqvist. “The team really did a nice job. We moved up from P5 to P2 and it’s a strong result. We had really good pace on the red (Firestone Alternate) tires, but Will Power and Penske did a little bit better on black (Firestone Primary) tires. I think we were stronger than Chevy on fuel mileage.”
Andretti Autosports Alexander Rossi rounded out the podium with a third place finish in the No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda.
“We maximized what we had,” said Rossi. “I don’t think we had a race-winning car. “Starting in seventh and finishing on the podium is a good day.”
Rossi’s third place finish leaves him 41-points behind points-leader Josef Newgarden, who finished fifth. Simon Pagenaud sits third in the Championship hunt, one point behind Rossi and 42-points out of the top spot.
Double-points are on the line in the next race, The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, the season finale, Sunday September 22nd at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
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.
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