BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland Fast Facts
Race weekend: Friday, Sept. 1-Sunday, Sept. 3
Track: Portland International Raceway, a 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course in Portland, Oregon
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland 110 laps / 216.04 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland 35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes
Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend. A carryover set from the Indianapolis GP event may be used during the first practice.
X (formerly known as Twitter): @Race_Portland, @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @Race_Portland, @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCAR
Threads: @IndyCar, #PortlandGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @PortlandGP, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR
Event website: www.raceportland.com
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2022 race winners:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet)
INDY NXT by Firestone
Benjamin Pedersen (No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD)
2022 NTT P1 Award winner: Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet), 58.2349 seconds, 121.412 mph
2022 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner: Benjamin Pedersen (No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD), 1 minute, 3.6698 seconds, 111.048 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 NXT by Firestone
Pato O’Ward, 1 minute, 2.8074 seconds, 112.573 mph, Aug. 31, 2018
NBC Sports race telecast: BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 3, 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. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters.
Peacock live streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast of the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland will be streamed on Peacock, with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR LIVE.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn and Alex Wollf are the pit reporters. The BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland race (3 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland (1 p.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone 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. 1
1:55-2:40 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice 1, INDYCAR LIVE
3-4:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1, Peacock
Saturday, Sept. 2
9-10 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (45 minutes green flag or 1 hour total), Peacock
11:20 a.m.-12:05 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice 2, INDYCAR LIVE
12:30 p.m. – BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland NTT P1 Award qualifying (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock
4:25 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, INDYCAR LIVE
5:15-5:45 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, Peacock
Sunday, Sept. 3
10:15 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland “Drivers Start Your Engines”
10:20 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland (35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes), Peacock
Noon – NBC on air
12:23 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:30 p.m. – BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland (110 laps/216.04 miles), NBC (Live)
Championship facts:
- Alex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with two races to go for the second time in his career. Palou previously led the championship with two races in 2021 when he won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.
- There are two drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Palou leads Scott Dixon by 74 points. Palou will clinch the championship if he leads Dixon by 54 points at the end of the race.
- 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, 2007) and Alex Palou (2021).
Point differential: The 74 points that separate Alex Palou and Scott Dixon are the largest margin with two races remaining since 2008. The average deficit with two races to go since 2008 is 24.3 points.
Key championship point statistic: It’s been 16 years since an INDYCAR SERIES title was clinched before the final race of the season. The last time was when Sebastien Bourdais was crowned the 2007 Champ Car World Series champion following the penultimate round at Surfers Paradise, Australia.
CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 2 TO GO (2008-2022)
| YEAR | LEADER | SECOND | LEAD | CHAMPION |
| 2008 | Scott Dixon | Helio Castroneves | 43 | Scott Dixon |
| 2009 | Ryan Briscoe | Dario Franchitti | 25 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2010 | Will Power | Dario Franchitti | 17 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2011 | Dario Franchitti | Will Power | 5 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2012 | Will Power | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 36 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
| 2013 | Helio Castroneves | Scott Dixon | 8 | Scott Dixon |
| 2014 | Will Power | Helio Castroneves | 39 | Will Power |
| 2015 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Graham Rahal | 9 | Scott Dixon (-34) |
| 2016 | Simon Pagenaud | Will Power | 20 | Simon Pagenaud |
| 2017 | Josef Newgarden | Scott Dixon | 31 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2018 | Scott Dixon | Alexander Rossi | 26 | Scott Dixon |
| 2019 | Josef Newgarden | Simon Pagenaud | 38 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2020 | Scott Dixon | Josef Newgarden | 40 | Scott Dixon |
| 2021 | Alex Palou | Pato O’Ward | 25 | Alex Palou |
| 2022 | Will Power | Josef Newgarden | 3 | Will Power |
| 2023 | Alex Palou | Scott Dixon | 74 | ?? |
Race notes:
- There have been seven winners in 15 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2023 season. Marcus Ericsson (Streets of St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Indianapolis 500, Iowa Speedway-1, Iowa Speedway-2), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach, Streets of Nashville), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park), Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1, Streets of Detroit, Road America, Mid-Ohio), Christian Lundgaard (Streets of Toronto) and Scott Dixon (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-2, World Wide Technology Raceway).
- The BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland will be the 29th INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland International Raceway and the fifth since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2018. Al Unser Jr. won the first INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland in 1984, while Scott McLaughlin won last season. McLaughlin, Alex Palou and Will Power are the only former winners entered in this year’s race.
- Eight 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), Alex Palou (2021) and Scott McLaughlin (2022).
- Team Penske has won seven times at Portland International Raceway. Penske’s winning INDYCAR SERIES drivers are Danny Sullivan (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Al Unser Jr. (1994, 1995), Gil de Ferran (2000), Will Power (2019) and Scott McLaughlin (2022). 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, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power each have six starts, most among the entered drivers. Fourteen entered drivers have led laps at the track (Castroneves 115, Scott McLaughlin 109, Power 68, Colton Herta 36, Graham Rahal 38, Alexander Rossi 32, Alex Palou 29, Pato O’Ward 28, Dixon 15, Josef Newgarden 8, Felix Rosenqvist 3, Marcus Ericsson 1, Callum Ilott 1 and Christian Lundgaard 1).
- Pato O’Ward won both Indy NXT by Firestone 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 USF Pro 2000 championship) race in 2005.
- Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 321st consecutive start, extending his INDYCAR SERIES record streak … With his next win, Will Power will tie Michael Andretti for fourth on the INDYCAR SERIES’ all-time victory list with 42 … Scott McLaughlin will attempt to make his 50th INDYCAR SERIES start.
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:
- The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland will be the series’ 22nd race at Portland International Raceway. Previous Indy NXT by Firestone winners at Portland include Paul Tracy, Andre Ribeiro, Greg Moore, Pato O’Ward, Rinus VeeKay, David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood. Current NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Benjamin Pedersen won the INDY NXT by Firestone race at Portland in 2022.
- Christian Rasmussen of HMD Motorsports is enjoying a dominant season, leading the series in wins (four), laps led (240 of 475) and top-10 finishes (10) through 11 races. Rasmussen, a native of Denmark, owns a 50-point lead over second-place Hunter McElrea of Andretti Autosport. Rasmussen can clinch the season championship by leading by at least 109 points after this event.
- Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Portland as INDY NXT by Firestone drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds.
- Matteo Nannini, Reece Gold, Nolan Siegel and Louis Foster became first-time winners earlier this season. Will another talented prospect like Jacob Abel, James Roe, Kyffin Simpson or Ernie Francis Jr. score a first INDY NXT by Firestone win in 2023 in Portland?