During the early morning Saturday Practice 2 session, the sun was beaming, the skies were clear and the stands were filling up, setting an ideal track day at Portland International Raceway. Tire management will be key for all drivers this weekend. Temperatures are heating up as the weekend progresses.
Practice 2 was a level up from Friday’s Practice 1 session. Overall, racers were more comfortable on the track, scoring faster laps as the morning went on. Practice 2 Results for the Grand Prix of Portland:
1. Colton Herta: 00:58.4238
2. Alex Palou: 00:58.4531
3. Scott Dixon: 00:58.5023
4. Will Power: 00:58.5376
5. Devlin Defrancesco: 00:58.544.
Weather changes will continue to make an impact throughout Saturday's qualifying session into Sunday’s race. Qualifying began at 11:35 a.m. with an ambient temperature of 73 degrees and the track temperature at 106.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Sunday's race is scheduled at 12:00 p.m.
After a penalizing Saturday afternoon, Penske racing Josef Newgarden, McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and AJ Foyt Racing Santino Ferrucci all received a six-place grid drop for an unapproved engine change. Kyffin Simpson will serve his penalty from Laguna Seca last weekend, during Sunday’s race.
After group one qualifying, championship leader Alex Palou did what he does best, starting strong and setting the pace. Palou finished first in group one (58.118), followed by Kyffin Simposon, Will Power, Marcus Armstrong, Alexander Rossi and David Malukas, all advancing to qualifying round two.
Group two was led by Pato O’Ward’s 58.2420, followed by Marcus Ericsson, Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Lundgaard and Felix Rosenqvist. All advancing to the qualifying round two.
Qualifying round two was electric. Rosenqvist launched his way into pole after a back-and-forth battle with Lundgaard’s pace. Both drivers pushed their cars to the limit, despite Lundgaard’s grid penalty after an unapproved engine change during Practice 2.
During an exhilarating Firestone Fast 6, Lundgaard finished in pole position. During his final fast lap, championship leader Paluo locked up his brakes, speeding into turn one. This caused him to run off and slam into the barrier. Palou starts sixth in Sunday’s main event, where he could clinch the IndyCar Championship with a win.
“Obviously, we have the ultimate goal of winning a championship — we just take it race by race,” Palou said.
McLaren ended Saturday’s Fast 6 session with a one-two pole. O'Ward was awarded pole position after teammate Lundgaard’s grid penalty.
“The car came alive,” O’Ward said. “Without any significant changes to the car from Practice 2 into qualifying.”
O’Ward looks to take advantage of pole position after penalties hindered drivers all over the grid, drastically affecting their position for Sunday’s race. The championship leader, Palou, has some ground to cover after his late lock-up, which led him into the barrier during Saturday’s final qualifying. Lundgaard fought well throughout Saturday's events, although his pole position was stripped due to his Practice 2 penalty.