RACE NOTES – Grand Prix of Portland
RACE RESULTS
5th: ALEXANDER ROSSI No. 20 Java House Chevrolet
12th: CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet
NEXT RACE: Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250, August 24 (FOX, 2 p.m. ET)
ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 20 JAVA HOUSE CHEVROLET
ALEXANDER ROSSI, No. 20 Java House Chevrolet, Finished 5th: “First Top 5 of the year for us on the 20 car! Overall, a great execution by the whole Java House team. It was a strong weekend for us, which was a good way to end the last road course race of the year. We’re now going into two ovals where we feel like we’ll be quite strong. We appreciate all the support and hope to see everyone at the last two races!
OF NOTE:
- A mere 0.0163 of a second separated Alexander Rossi from a spot in the Firestone Fast Six yesterday afternoon at Portland International Raceway. Though he qualified 7th, he started 6th after another competitor had to serve a grid penalty. Rossi took the green flag on a set of primary black Firestone Firehawk tires.
- After two early cautions under which he did not pit, he made his first stop on Lap 16 under the third. He switched from the black tire compound to the red, which he had enough sets of to finish out the race. With the field split onto two different strategies, Rossi cycled into the Top 5 during each stint.
- Rossi made his final pit stop on Lap 81, successfully completing a three-stop strategy. Once all cars had finished their final pit stops, Rossi found himself solidly in the fifth position. He earned his first Top 5 result of the year and his first with Ed Carpenter Racing.
RACE RESULTS:
START: 6th
FINISH: 5th
STATUS: Running
LAPS COMPLETED: 110/110
CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, NO. 21 LIQUID SCIENCE CHEVROLET
CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet, Finished 12th: “It was an eventful day here at Portland. The start of the race went really, really well for us. I was moving up on the black tire and was up to the 12th position. As the race settled in, the black tires became a struggle for us to manage. I had an incident with Conor (Daly), which put us back in the field and we were in recovery mode from there. Through strategy and decent pace on the red tire, we fought our way back up to 12th. I am happy with that and I am really looking forward to a couple of ovals to finish the season out. I have a good feeling we can end this year with some strong results!”
RACE RESULTS:
START: 16th
FINISH: 12th
STATUS: Running
LAPS COMPLETED: 110/110
OF NOTE:
- Christian Rasmussen finished Round 1, Group 2 of qualifying at Portland International Raceway with the 9th-fastest lap. As cars that qualified in front of him had to serve grid penalties, he moved up the starting grid and rolled off 16th in this afternoon’s Grand Prix of Portland. For his opening stint, Rasmussen’s No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet was outfitted with a set of primary black Firestone Firehawk tires.
- Rasmussen carved through the field in the opening laps, quickly moving up to the 12th position. An on-track battle with another competitor and subsequent contact caused him to drop back to the 20th position. Like his teammate, Rasmussen did not make his first pit stop until the Lap 16 caution. Rasmussen too was able to finish the 110-lap race on red Firestone Firehawks.
- Rasmussen remained competitive, driving the No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet back through the field. He completed the race on a three-stop strategy, making his second and third pit stops on Laps 50 and 81, respectively. As he re-joined the race with cars around him and was able to execute passes, he was able to make up several positions by the checkered flag. He finished 12th in the final road course race of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season