Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland
Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon
3 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 3
NBC and NBC Peacock
IndyCar Radio Network and SiriusXM

Manufacturer Competition

After winning seven of the nine most recent 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES events, Honda continues to lead the Manufacturers’ Championship standings, with 10 victories and 10 poles in 15 races this season.

Honda comes to Portland with a 43-point Manufacturers’ Championship advantage (1,299-1,256) over rival Chevrolet. Honda is seeking its fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship in the last six years.

The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship will be decided between Honda drivers and teammates Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, the two are the only drivers who remain in title contention.

With four wins this season, Chip Ganassi Racing driver and 2021 series champion Alex Palou holds a 74-point lead over his teammate and six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon (565-491).

Palou’s four wins this season include the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May; and a three-in-a-row streak that started at the Grand Prix of Detroit, then continued through Road America and the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Presented by the Accord Hybrid.

Dixon has a pair of wins, at the two most recent events: the Gallagher Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; and last weekend in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis.

Other Honda-powered winners this season include Kyle Kirkwood at Nashville and at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach; Marcus Ericsson, at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; and Christian Lundgaard at the Honda Indy Toronto.

Honda at Portland International Raceway

Honda drivers have won two of the four NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Portland International Raceway since the series returned to the Rose City in 2018 (there was no race in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic).

In 2018, Takuma Sato led a Honda sweep of the top three finishing positions, with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Sebastien Bourdais rounding out the victory podium for the manufacturer. Honda went on to win the first of four consecutive INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championships in 2018.

In 2021, eventual series champion Palou led a Honda sweep of the first four finishing positions. Fellow Honda drivers Alexander Rossi, Dixon and Jack Harvey completed the top four at the checkers.

Honda teams and drivers also took part in eight Championship Auto Racing Team [CART] events from 1995-2002, winning four.

Honda’s first Portland win came in 1996, via a 1-2 finish for Alex Zanardi and Gil de Ferran. Zanardi won again with Chip Ganassi Racing in 1998. Honda drivers swept the 1999 podium in Portland, with de Ferran winning, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya in second and Dario Franchitti, third. De Ferran repeated as race winner in 2000.

Where to Watch

Television coverage of Sunday’s Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland starts at 3 p.m. EDT on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).

Honda Racing social media content and video links can be found on:

Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd)

TikTok (www.tiktok.com/hondaracing_hpd)

Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD)

Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD)

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV)