Will Power led 101 of 110 laps in last year’s BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI, giving Team Penske its third victory at Portland International Raceway in the last five years.
Can Team Penske stave off Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou this weekend?
Palou won in 2021 and 2023, the only two years in this five-race span a Team Penske driver didn’t. He also finished second to Power last year and has been dominant on natural road courses this season with five wins and a runner-up finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in six starts.
Will anyone emerge to challenge these two powerhouses in Sunday’s 110-lap race (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network)?
Favorites
Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet)
Newgarden placed third last year, extending his PIR streak to six consecutive top-10s – including four top-fives in his last five starts. He needs a strong finish, and this is a prime opportunity.
Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet)
McLaughlin has four straight top-10s at Portland and two top-fours in six natural road course starts this season.
Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Dixon’s early crash last year snapped a run of three straight third-place finishes at Portland. He’s winless in eight starts at PIR. Still, he won in July at Mid-Ohio, a natural road course, and can’t be counted out.
Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Palou has two wins and 101 laps led in four PIR starts. He’s never finished worse than second on a natural road course this season. A repeat performance will be enough to clinch his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)
Power is boom-or-bust at Portland, finishing 13th or worse in three of his last six starts – but top-two in the others, including two wins. On natural road courses this season: sixth, fifth, third, 14th, 26th, and seventh.
Sleepers
Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
O’Ward has two runner-up finishes on natural road courses this year and three top-fives at PIR in the last four years. He’s consistently strong on tracks like this, but no podiums at this circuit make him a sleeper.
Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
Though his best PIR finish is 11th, the Dane has found a groove on natural road courses in 2025, finishing third, second, third, and second in four of the last six.
Graham Rahal (No. 15 Hendrickson International Honda)
Only one top-five in seven PIR starts, but Rahal has led 59 laps over the last four and earned three top-10s. He also won the NTT P1 Award in 2023 at Portland.
Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda)
Herta has mixed results at PIR (four top-eights in five starts) but shows speed; 36 of his 40 PIR laps led came in one race. He also has produced four top-seven finishes on natural road courses this season.
Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda)
Underrated consistency: Armstrong finished fifth last year at Portland and has five top-10s on natural road courses this season – all seventh or better.