The NTT IndyCar Series ran its final road course event of the 2024 season on Sunday, completing a race around Portland International Raceway.
The dominant winner was Will Power, who cruised to victory and earned his third victory of the season.
The veteran took the lead entering the first turn, and led 101 of the 110 laps throughout the afternoon. The only laps he did not lead were on account of pit stop cycles, and his margin at the checkered flag was nearly 10 seconds.
READ MORE: IndyCar Portland – Full Race Results
At one point he had to fend off a challenge from Alex Palou as he navigated traffic in the first half of the race, but the two drivers were never side by side on track.
Palou was able to comfortably hold the second position throughout the race, and earned his sixth podium of the season.
The reigning champion’s points lead shrunk despite finishing second, and is now just 54 points ahead of Power with three races remaining.
Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium, climbing from fifth to third over the course of the race.
He said after the race that he thought his car was good enough for second place, and was happy with his result.
Colton Herta and Marcus Armstrong finished fourth and fifth respectively, each driver climbing a few positions and staying out of trouble.
Santino Ferrucci started on pole for the first time in his IndyCar career, but was not able to maintain the top position for long.
He lost the lead in the first turn to Power, then slipped slowly through the field. He ended in eighth, but was still satisfied with his day and hopes it will turn into a contract for next season.
Scott Dixon brought out the only caution of the day, as he crashed out on the back stretch on the opening lap.
Kirkwood pushed the veteran wide in Turn 7, then as Dixon was trying to get up to speed he inadvertently pushed Pietro Fittipaldi onto the curbs. Fittipaldi could not keep control of his car off the track, hit Dixon and forced him into the barriers at high speed.
Dixon was able to walk away from the crash, but his day was done on the spot. Fittipaldi was assessed a penalty, although it appeared he did not get himself into that situation willingly.
There were multiple drivers that made little mistakes throughout the day, which caused them to take a quick trip through the grass.
Romain Grosjean’s small mistake sent him spinning in Turn 1. He was able to get his car refired, but when he spun the #78 around to face the right way, he did so right in the middle of traffic.
Christian Rasmussen had nowhere to go and ran into the back of him, spinning the Frenchman around again. Grosjean limped back to pit lane on a flat tire, and ended the day three laps down in 27th.
The biggest mover of the day was Scott McLaughlin, who climbed from 20th up to seventh. He easily overcame his grid penalty for a new engine and earned his 10th top 10 of the year.
The three Arrow McLaren drivers all improved from their lowly starting positions, but still were not able to get back to where they through they should be based on what they showed earlier in the weekend.
Alexander Rossi finished 12th, with Pato O’Ward 15th and Nolan Siegel ending his day one lap down in 21st.
Drivers will reconvene in one week’s time for a double-header at the Milwaukee Mile.
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