GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND
RACE REPORT
09.01.2019

The 2019 Grand Prix of Portland brought a podium finish and small climb in points for Alexander Rossi, while his teammates were not as fortunate, each suffering from on track incidents during the 105-lap event.

The NTT IndyCar Series now breaks for two weekends before the Series return to WeatherTech Race Laguna Seca for the season finale. A new champion will be crowned and the Astor Cup awarded on Sept. 22 with live coverage via NBC.

ALEXANDER ROSSI, No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS HONDA

• STARTED 7th // FINISHED 3rd
• CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (552 pts.)
• OF NOTE: Drove a clean race to collect a podium finish with a third-place result // Climbs back to second in the championship standings, 41 points behind leader Josef Newgarden and one point behind Simon Pagenaud in third

“It is not that I wanted more, I just wanted less for [Josef Newgarden]. The 27 NAPA Andretti Honda boys did a good job. We maximized what we had. I don’t think we had a race-winning car today, unfortunately. Starting in seventh and finishing on the podium is a good day. We finished in front of our championship rival. It will be pretty intense in California, but I am looking forward to it.”

MARCO ANDRETTI, No. 98 OBERTO CIRCLE K / CURB HONDA

• STARTED 16th // FINISHED 13th
• CHAMPIONSHIP: 16th (271 pts.)
• OF NOTE: Had a strong race start, running comfortably inside the top 10 through the first two stints // Had on-track contact with the 22 car on Lap 73, resulting in a front wing change and dropping the 98 car from sixth to 14th

“We just didn’t have the pace for the top six, but we were comfortably in a top-seven position. We got held up a little in the pits on our last stop which allowed [Simon] Pagenaud to have a go on me on cold tires, then he drove me off track. I wasn’t just going to let him go by, I had to put up a fight for my position. What should have been seventh or eighth for the Oberto team ended up as 13th.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, No. 28 DHL HONDA

• STARTED 6th // FINISHED 18th
• CHAMPIONSHIP: 7th (380 pts.)
• OF NOTE: Made contact with Car 60 on Lap 14 resulting in large damage to the 28 car // The car was repaired behind the wall and rejoined the race on Lap 28 // Hunter-Reay served a 30-second stop and go penalty for avoidable contact

“I feel terrible for the team. I was racing [Alexander] Rossi and got caught up in the fight, then broke too deep. I missed it by a good half a marker in the braking and got into Jack Harvey – feel bad for them. Apologies to the team, to DHL, AutoNation and our partners. We should have had a pretty good day today. This is one on me.”

ZACH VEACH, No. 26 GAINBRIDGE HONDA

• STARTED 11th // FINISHED 22nd
• CHAMPIONSHIP: 18th (247 pts.)
• OF NOTE: Was collected in a Lap 1 incident which damaged the 26 car // Because of track position and procedures, the car was not able to be returned to the garages for repair

“A frustrating day. The start was a bit messy, kind of had that stop and go thing. We got off to a good start and I passed a few cars on the inside going into [Turn] 1 then I just got hit with a rocket launcher from behind. We were going to stop and make the corner well enough, then I gained another 40mph from someone hitting me. I hated it for the guys involved. Once I got hit, I was basically a missile into the mess of the pack.”