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BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland

Portland, Oregon

August 24, 2024

With four races remaining on the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, the time is now for those chasing points leader Alex Palou to begin showing their hand. So far in this BITNILE.com Grand Prix weekend at Portland International Raceway, the Team Penske trio are trying to separate from the pack as those drivers. 

Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 Freightliner Chevrolet team found themselves at the top of the speed charts for both the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning practice sessions. Unfortunately, he was caught up in traffic on what would have been his fastest lap of the first round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon and was not able to advance to the second round. On top of that, an issue with his engine was discovered after qualifying and the resulting engine change triggered a six-position grid penalty prior to tomorrow's 110-lap race. The 2022 Portland winner will start from the 20th position. 

Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team have also enjoyed a strong weekend in Portland, and the 2019 winner on this 12-turn circuit was able to put together a complete qualifying session to nab the second starting position for Sunday afternoon. With another 2024 victory, Power will secure his first three-plus win season since 2018. 

Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Tire Rack Chevrolet team finished the qualifying session with the seventh fastest lap. In a very tight session, Newgarden and team backed up their targeted time around the Portland circuit and just narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Firestone Fast Six by roughly .01 seconds. Newgarden will move up to the fifth starting position due to grid penalties to competitors in front of him. 

Coverage of tomorrow's BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland will begin at 3:00 pm ET on the USA Network and Peacock. 

Josef Newgarden

Second Practice - 3rd
Qualifying - 7th
Final Practice - 4th

Scott McLaughlin 

Second Practice - 1st
Qualifying - 14th
Final Practice - 20th

Will Power

Second Practice - 9th
Qualifying - 2nd
Final Practice - 15th

LITTLE AL IN '94: The 1994 PPG IndyCar World Series season was one of the best in Team Penske history, particularly for the season champion Al Unser Jr. "Little Al" scored eight of the teams 12 wins in the 16 races that made up the 1994 schedule. He came to Portland after having a three-race winning streak broken on the streets of Detroit by teammate Paul Tracy. After 32 cars took the green flag on that June afternoon, the end came down to Unser and his other teammate, Emerson Fittipaldi. After Fittipaldi beat Unser off pit lane following their final pit stops of the day, Unser pulled a crossover move in the following corner to make the pass and score the win.

WELCOME TIRE RACK: Team Penske welcomes a new primary partner to their INDYCAR SERIES lineup this weekend, but it's one with plenty of history with team already. South Bend, Indiana-based Tire Rack has been an associate INDYCAR partner since 2022 and was prominently featured on the front wing of both of Josef Newgarden's Indianapolis 500 wins in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, Tire Rack is part of the Discount Tire family that has enjoyed a very successful partnership with the Team Penske NASCAR program since 2010. 
 

THEY SAID IT: "I made one mistake in turn 12. I dropped the wheel off which lost me a bit over a tenth, so (Santino Ferrucci)'s lap was very, very good. He did a great job. All stoked to get through the Fast Six. I really wanted pole because it helps so much not getting caught up in that first corner. But, it's great to be on the front row with somewhat of a teammate. Obviously, with Santino, we share information some, so we can chat about the start. Ultimately, just have to keep finishing ahead of (Alex) Palou. He's right there. Obviously, I can be a bit more aggressive than he can on the start. I have less to lose than he does, so we'll just focus on trying to win the race."
- Will Power