Session Notes

Session Notes:

• Just before the green flag, the ambient temperature at Portland International Raceway was 70 degrees with 55% relative humidity and overcast skies. The track temperature was 86 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• The race was 110 laps on the 1.964-mile circuit totaling 216.04 miles. The pit road speed was 50 mph and the pit window was approximately 28–33 laps under green-flag conditions.
• On Lap 1, pole sitter Alex Palou led the field to the green. Contact between second-row starter Scott Dixon and Felix Rosqvist sent all three through the Turn 1 runoff. Further back, a multi-car incident involving Romain Grosjean, Oliver Askew, Helio Castroneves and Will Power brought out the race's first caution.
• For shortcutting the track, Palou, Dixon, Rosenqvist and others were shuffled back to the middle of the pack, spromoting Pato O'Ward to the race lead.
• The race's second caution flag flew on Lap 51 when Dalton Kellett stopped on course in the Turn 1 runoff and Callum Ilott stopped in Turn 7.
• Lap 86 saw the third yellow flag of the race when Simon Pagenaud spun in Turn 8 after making contact with teammate Will Power.
• After the restart, a spin for Oliver Askew in Turn 2 brought out the race's fourth and final full-course caution with Askew's car stalled on track.
• Having rebounded from his Lap 1 misfortune, Palou went on to lead 29 laps — second most behind Graham Rahal who led 36 laps — and cruised to victory ahead of Alexander Rossi in second and Dixon in third.
• Palou's margin of victory was 1.2895 seconds. The win marked the Chip Ganassi Racing driver's third victory of 2021. He also won at Barber Motorsports Park and Road America.
• The results shuffled the championship battle, with Palou retaking the points lead.
• Unofficial points after the Grand Prix of Portland:
  • Palou: 477
  • O'Ward: 452 (-25)
  • Newgarden: 443 (-34)
  • Dixon: 428 (-49)
  • Ericsson: 402 (-75)
  • Herta: 348 (-129)
  • Rahal: 342 (-135)
  • Power: 332 (-145)
  • Pagenaud: 329 (-148)
  • Rossi: 299 (-178)
    
  
  

Session Notes:

• Qualifying at Portland International Raceway was without incident.
• In Round 1 Group 1 qualifying, Romain Grosjean was judged by Race Control to have interfered with another driver's qualifying. The interference penalty stripped the driver of the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda of his two fastest laps and denied him the opportunity to advance to Round 2.
• In Round 1 Group 2 qualifying, Jimmie Johnson took an additional lap after the checkered flag and was assessed a five-minute time penalty to be served at the end of the 30-minute warm-up session.
• In the Firestone Fast Six, Alex Palou's fastest lap was enough to secure the Chip Ganassi Racing driver his first career NTT IndyCar Series pole. With the bonus point, Palou now stands nine points behind championship leader Pato O'Ward.
  

Session Notes:

• The 75-minute practice session began at 9 a.m. PDT with cool temperatures and sunny skies.
• There were several incidents that resulted in red flags:
  • At 9:29 a.m., Max Chilton stopped on course in Turn 2 after a spin resulting in a two-minute red flag. Chilton was penalized five minutes of practice time.
  • At 9:36 a.m., Alex Palou stopped off course in Turn 12 to bring out a four-minute red flag. Palou was penalized five minutes of practice time.
  • At 10:03 a.m., Scott McLaughlin made contact with the tire barrier in Turn 12, causing the session's third red flag. McLaughlin was penalized five minutes of practice time.
• Despite his earlier off, Palou ended the session with the fastest lap as the Chip Ganassi Racing driver looks to regain the championship lead after losing it to Pato O'Ward at World Wide Technology Raceway.