PORTLAND — A new major player emerged as a dark horse to finish highly in the NTT IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland in Saturday morning’s Practice 2. 26-year-old Marcus Armstrong finished with by far the fastest lap, ending with an incredible time of 58.30 seconds. The second-year Meyer Shank Racing driver finished 8th in Portland last year, and looks to rise up the championship standings. Armstrong, a New Zealand native, sits in 13th ahead of the Grand Prix of Portland. A high finish would mean a potential move into the top 10 in the standings, a major boost for Meyer Shank’s second-highest performer.
After finishing with the fastest lap time in last night’s Practice 1, four-time NTT IndyCar champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing finished a distant second behind Armstrong in the second round of practice. Palou’s fastest lap clocked in at a still-incredible 58.61 seconds, but by the nature of Portland International Raceway, a deficit of even 0.3 seconds can prove insurmountable. The Spaniard’s continued success at the top flight of American open-wheel racing means that the deficit he faced in practice isn’t something to read too much into, so fans can still expect major success in Sunday’s race.
Rounding out the top three was veteran Scott Dixon, also of Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon sits in 11th on the season, so similar to Armstrong, a strong placement would boost his hopes of a top-10 spot on the season. The Australian finished with a lap time of 58.64 seconds, just behind Palou. With two top-three finishers in Practice 2, Ganassi is well-positioned to win big on Sunday.
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The NTT IndyCar Only Bulls Grand Prix of Portland kicks off at 1:27 p.m. on Sunday afternoon on FS1.