Race Report: 2022 Grand Prix of Portland

Race Notes

• The 2022 Grand Prix of Portland was 110 laps on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile Portland International Raceway road course totaling 216.04 miles. The pit road speed was 50 mph and the pit window was approximately 28–33 laps under green-flag conditions, but cars could have pitted as early as Lap 10 due to strategy.
• Pole sitter Scott McLaughlin gridded drivers' right and the green flag to start the race was shown the third time past the start-line flag stand. Indy car race winner Oriol Servia drove the Honda Civic Type R Safety Car during the race.
• At 12:20 p.m. PDT, 10 minutes before the scheduled green-flag time, the ambient temperature in Portland was 79 degrees with 55% relative humidity and fair skies. The track temperature was 102 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 12:23 p.m., former Portland Trailblazers player Martell Webster gave the command "Drivers, start your engines." All 23 cars started and were rolling on the grid.
• All cars but those of Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, Christian Lundgaard, Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, David Malukas, Graham Rahal and Callum Ilott started the race on black primary tires. All cars were required to use one new set of red alternate tires and one set of black primary tires during the race.
• On Lap 1, the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet of McLaughlin led the field to the green flag and safely through Turn 1, avoiding a race-opening caution that has plagued Portland in the past. McLaughlin went on to dominate the race, leading 104 of 110 laps and only giving up the lead during green-flag pit stops.
• The race was slowed by one caution on Lap 84 when contact between the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet of Rinus VeeKay and the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Jimmie Johnson sent Johnson's car into the wall outside Turn 1. The incident led to a four-lap caution period. VeeKay was penalized for avoidable contact and ordered to serve a drive-through penalty.
• McLaughlin took the white flag with a 1.4439-second advantage over teammate Power and went on to capture his third career NTT IndyCar Series victory by 1.1792 seconds over Power's No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet.
• Scott Dixon, who started the race from the 16th position, completed the podium in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
• Unofficial points after the Grand Prix of Portland:
  1. Power 523
  2. Dixon 503 (-20)
  3. Newgarden 503 (-20)
  4. Ericsson 484 (-39)
  5. McLaughlin 482 (-41)
  6. Palou 457 (-66)
  7. O'Ward 456 (-67)
     

Session Notes

• Final practice began on time at 4:15 p.m. PDT and ran its full 30-minute duration without incident.
• Alexander Rossi's time of 59.0532 seconds was the fastest lap of the session.
  

Qualifying Notes

• Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award consists of three segments. In the first round, each group receives 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Round 2 while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13 to 25. Group 1 drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions while Group 2 drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions based on their fastest lap times. During Round 2, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time with the fastest six advancing to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining cars are ranked in positions seven through 12 based on their fastest laps. During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive six minutes of guaranteed green-flag time. At the end of session, cars are ranked one through six based on their fastest laps.
• Originally scheduled to begin at 12:05 p.m. PDT, the start of qualifying in Portland was delayed by five minutes.
• At noon, the ambient temperature at Portland International Raceway was 69 degrees. The track temperature was 83 degrees according to Firestone Racing engineers.
• All three rounds of qualifying were without on-track incidents and no penalties were issued.
• Josef Newgarden, Christian Lundgaard, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O'Ward and Alex Palou competed in the Firestone Fast Six for the NTT P1 Award.
• McLaughlin ended the final round of qualifying with the fastest lap: 58.2349 seconds.
  

Session Notes

• The start of Practice 2 was on a brief hold to clear the course but only began one minute after its scheduled green-flag time.
• Unlike Practice 1, the weekend's second session proceeded completely without incident.
• At the conclusion of 45 minutes, Will Power's lap time of 58.3946 seconds was the fastest of the 25 drivers.
  

Session Notes

• Practice 1 for the 2022 Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway began two minutes after its scheduled 2:30 p.m. PDT start time.
• After 23 minutes of green-flag running, practice was red flagged with 51:37 on the clock when a video board positioned on the outside of the frontstretch suffered a hydraulic failure. The stoppage lasted a total of one hour and 21 minutes.
• After returning to green, the session slowed for multiple on-track incidents.
  • At 4:31 p.m., 14 minutes following the session's resumption, the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda of Takuma Sato made contact with the tire barrier at Turn 11. The incident led to a 10-minute red flag.
  • At 4:45 p.m., a spin for the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves necessitated a one-minute red flag.
  • At 4:50 p.m., 18 minutes prior to the session's scheduled end time, the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Pato O'Ward went off course in Turn 5. The six-minute red flag led to a 12-minute sprint to the checkered flag.
• All drivers who caused red-flag incidents were assessed five-minute time penalties per Rule 7.1.4.1.1.
• At the conclusion of Practice 1, the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden was fastest overall with a lap time of 58.5769 seconds.