Grand Prix of Portland Fast Facts

Race weekend: Friday, Sept. 2 – Sunday, Sept. 4

Track: Portland International Raceway, a 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course in Portland, Oregon

Race distance: 110 laps / 216.04 miles | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes

Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.

Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires in the race. (Note: A seventh set of primary tires is available to any car fielding a rookie driver.)

Twitter: @Portland_GP, @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCAR

Event website: www.portlandgp.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2021 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Alex Palou (No. 10 PNC Bank Honda)

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Race 1: David Malukas (No. 79 HMD Motorsports)

Race 2: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)

2021 NTT P1 Award winner: Alex Palou (No. 10 PNC Bank Honda), 58.7701, 120.306 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 Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Pato O’Ward, 1:02.8074, 112.573 mph, Aug. 31, 2018

NBC Sports race telecast: Grand Prix of Portland 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 4, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.

Peacock Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast of the Grand Prix of Portland will be simulcast on the streaming service. Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show – featuring driver interviews, podium ceremonies and post-race analysis – will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights Portland Grand Prix (1 p.m. ET Sunday) will be streamed on Peacock Premium with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR Live!

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Michael Young and Ryan Myrehn are the turn announcers. Dan Rusanowski and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters. The Grand Prix of Portland race (3 p.m. ET Sunday), Indy Lights Portland Grand Prix (1 p.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Friday, Sept. 2

1:25-2:15 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practice 1, INDYCAR Live!

2:30-3:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1, Peacock Premium

Saturday, Sept. 3

9-10 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (45 minutes limited guarantee), Peacock Premium

11:15-11:55 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practice 2, INDYCAR Live!

12:05 p.m. – Grand Prix of Portland NTT P1 Award qualifying (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium

3:25 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying, INDYCAR Live!

4:15-4:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, Peacock Premium

Sunday, Sept. 4

10:15 a.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland “Drivers Start Your Engines”

10:20 a.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland (35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes)

Noon – NBC on air

12:23 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”

12:30 p.m. – Grand Prix of Portland (110 laps/216.04 miles), NBC (Live)

Championship facts:

  • Will Power leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with two races to go for the fourth time in his career. Power previously led the championship with two races in 2010, 2012 and 2014. He won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in 2014.
  • There are seven drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Power leads Josef Newgarden by 3 points with Scott Dixon (-14), Marcus Ericsson (-17), Alex Palou (-43), Scott McLaughlin (-54) and Pato O’Ward (-58) behind. Any driver who trails the points leader by 54 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.
  • Power assumed the point lead following the Gallagher Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 30. The lead has changed hands seven times between McLaughlin, Newgarden, Palou, Power and Ericsson.
  • Since the first INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland International Raceway, the winning driver has won the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season 11 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 and 2007) and Alex Palou (2021).

Point differential: The three points that separate Will Power and Josef Newgarden is the closest margin with two races remaining since 2008. The 43 points separating the top five drivers in the championship is the tightest title chase since 2003, when 41 points separated the top five. The average deficit with two races to go since 2008 is 24.3 points.

Key championship point statistic: No point lead is ever safe in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Since 2008, a driver has made up a deficit with two races to go and won the series championship five times. Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon have done it twice. Franchitti trailed Ryan Briscoe by 25 points in 2009 and Will Power by 17 points in 2010; Ryan Hunter-Reay tracked down Power in 2012 after trailing by 36 points with two races remaining, Dixon overcame an eight-point deficit to Helio Castroneves in 2013 and was in third place, 34 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya, in 2015.

CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 2 TO GO (2008-2022)

YEARLEADERSECOND LEADCHAMPION
2008Scott DixonHelio Castroneves43Scott Dixon
2009Ryan BriscoeDario Franchitti25Dario Franchitti
2010Will PowerDario Franchitti17Dario Franchitti
2011Dario FranchittiWill Power5Dario Franchitti
2012Will PowerRyan Hunter-Reay36Ryan Hunter-Reay
2013Helio CastronevesScott Dixon8Scott Dixon
2014Will PowerHelio Castroneves39Will Power
2015Juan Pablo MontoyaGraham Rahal9Scott Dixon (-34)
2016Simon PagenaudWill Power20Simon Pagenaud
2017Josef NewgardenScott Dixon31Josef Newgarden
2018Scott DixonAlexander Rossi26Scott Dixon
2019Josef NewgardenSimon Pagenaud38Josef Newgarden
2020Scott DixonJosef Newgarden40Scott Dixon
2021Alex PalouPato O’Ward25Alex Palou
2022Will PowerJosef Newgarden3?

Race notes:

  • There have been eight different winners in 15 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach, Road America, Iowa Speedway-1, World Wide Technology Raceway), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway-2), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500), Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park), Scott Dixon (Streets of Toronto and Streets of Nashville) and Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-2) have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
  • The Grand Prix of Portland will be the 28th INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland International Raceway and the fourth 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 in 2021. Palou, Will Power and Takuma Sato are the only former winners entered in this year’s race.
  • Seven 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) and Alex Palou (2021).
  • Team Penske has won six times at Portland International Raceway. Penske’s winning INDYCAR SERIES drivers are Danny Sullivan (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Al Unser Jr. (1994 and 1995), Gil de Ferran (2000) and Will Power (2019). Chip Ganassi Racing has three wins at Portland with Alex Zanardi in 1996 and 1998 and Alex Palou in 2021. Newman/Haas Racing won a record eight times at Portland.
  • Twenty-one drivers entered in the event have competed in past INDYCAR SERIES races at Portland International Raceway. Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Will Power each have five starts, most among the entered drivers. Fourteen entered drivers have led laps at the track (Castroneves 115, Power 66, Colton Herta 36, Graham Rahal 36, Alexander Rossi 32, Alex Palou 29, Pato O’Ward 28, Takuma Sato 25, Dixon 15, Josef Newgarden 8, Jack Harvey 5, Scott McLaughlin 5, Felix Rosenqvist 3 and Marcus Ericsson 1).
  • Pato O’Ward won both Indy Lights races at Portland in 2018 on his way to the series championship…Graham Rahal scored the first win of his professional racing career at Portland, winning the Star Mazda (now Indy Pro 2000 championship) race in 2005.
  • Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 305th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history … With his next pole position, Will Power will break a tie with Mario Andretti for the INDYCAR SERIES record for most career poles. They both have 67 pole positions … With his next win, Power will tie Michael Andretti for fourth on the INDYCAR SERIES’ all-time victory list with 42.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Notes:

  • The Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland will be the series’ 21st race at Portland International Raceway. Previous Indy Lights winners at Portland include Paul TracyAndre RibeiroGreg MoorePato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay. Current NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookies David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood split the Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader in 2021.
  • Linus Lundqvist of HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing is enjoying a dominant season, leading the series in wins (five), poles (six) and top-five finishes (11) through 11 races. Lundqvist, a native of Sweden, owns a commanding 108-point lead over second-place Matthew Brabham of Andretti Autosport. Lundqvist can clinch the season championship by leading by at least 109 points after this event.
  • Danial Frost, Christian Rasmussen and Hunter McElrea have all scored their first Indy Lights win in 2022. Just three races are remaining for other talented prospects such as Sting Ray RobbBenjamin PedersenKyffin Simpson or Ernie Francis Jr. to score a first series win.
  • Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Portland as Indy Lights drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking, similar to the drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds