IndyCars - Portland: Reconnecting with an old friend

The Sports Roundtable and Bar
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It was 2007 when the IndyCars last raced at Portland International Raceway but this weekend the series makes a return to one of their favorite circuits and the place where a lot of great races had the fans on their feet. We’re going to do the Grand Prix of Portland.

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The pic above is from the 2007 Champ Car race when Sebastien Bourdais WON for Newman Haas. That is Seb in the red and yellow McDonald’s car in P3 at the start behind pole-sitter Justin Wilson. Since then, the track has changed very little, except for a re-pave and a flattening of one corner where there used to be a slight rise. It is still a 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural road course with a very long and speedy front straight funneling down to the “Festival Curves” at Turns 1, 2 and 3, creating a danger zone for a huge pile-up that has bitten many over-exuberant cars in the past.
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This will be an all-IndyCar-sanctioned event featuring no less than NINE races for area fans to enjoy and the weather outlook is good for the whole weekend. Racing this weekend will be:

  • Mazda MX-5 Global Cup - two races, on Saturday and Sunday
  • USF2000 - two races, on Saturday and Sunday
  • Pro Mazda - two races, on Saturday and Sunday
  • Indy Lights - two races, on Saturday and Sunday

…and, of course, the IndyCars will race on Sunday. For the 3 Mazda Road to Indy series - USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights - these two races each are their series finales for the season.

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Let’s take a look at that support racing…

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Mazda MX-5 Global Cup - This is an IndyCar-sanctioned series but is the first step for SportsCar drivers from all over the world to learn their craft. The cars are race versions of the venerable Miata SportsCar, inexpensive but fast and competitive in the one-make spec series. The fields are always HUGE because of the low cost to run a season. No IndyCar folks are in this series, however, so we will wish them safe and happy racing and concentrate on the rest.

Global MX5 Cup cars in action

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continued…

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Support series (part 2)…

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USF2000 - This is the first step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system that develops IndyCar drivers and the cars will often be the first winged car with slicks that these young drivers will try. Despite their size, the racing is fast and furious with typically huge, international fields. Such will be the case at Portland. The cars were replaced with an entirely new version in 2017, the Tatuus USF-17, and it has been a wonder, breaking records at all the series venues. Gifted with 175 hp from its 2.0 liter Mazda MZR inline 4 cylinder, the transmissions are paddle-shifted 6-speed sequential boxes and the brakes are Performance Friction Brakes ZR24 4-piston calipers, front and rear, with a driver-adjustable bias - It’s all great stuff to learn to race with.

At the last outings at Mid-Ohio, Floridian Kyle Kirkwood for Cape Motorsports took the Championship and a $325,000 scholarship to advance to Pro Mazda in 2019 by WINNING the 1st of three races at the track, that weekend. Kirkwood went on to WIN the other two races, as well. He now has a remarkable 10 WINS this season - with 9 of them in a row - and he is trying this weekend to match the 12-WIN season of young JR Hildebrand in 2006. The real fight this weekend will be for Vice-Champion and Team Champions.

Kyle Kirkwood.

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Pro Mazda - This is the middle car on the ladder. Entirely new for this year, it uses the same chassis as the Tatuus-USF17 but comes equipped with a much more powerful engine, much bigger tires and brakes and more wings, creating more downforce. In this iteration the car is the Tatuus PM-18. Even MORE than the USF2000 car, the PM-18 is heads and tails above the car it replaced and it too is shattering track records - sometimes by more than 4 seconds! The field is FULL of very talented kids from all over the globe, wanting to get in on the new car. Any one of ten series drivers at a minimum is capable of a WIN on any given weekend.

The points-leader coming to Portland is Rinus VeeKay from the Netherlands, driving for Juncos Racing. The WINNER of the last 5 races, Rinus is on a hot streak, and his closest rival, Parker Thompson for Exclusive Autosport, is 47 points behind - almost an insurmountable deficit, at this point. VeeKay would have to have disaster befall him, this weekend, and Thompson would need to WIN big…but Thompson is capable of that, so this one is NOT officially over, yet. Up for grabs is the almost- $800,000 scholarship to advance to Indy Lights, next season.

Rinus Veekay

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Indy Lights - The Lights are the top step on the ladder and a fitting stepping stone to the big cars. The Dallara IL-15 was new in 2015, replacing a decades-old chassis. It has a 450 hp Mazda 2.0 liter turbo-charged engine that is equipped with “push-to-pass” - the button on the steering wheel that releases additional turbo boost for a limited time, adding 50 additional ponies to the engine - just like on the big cars. The tires, wheels, brakes and downforce are all bigger and more than Pro Mazda, as are all the electronics, making the IL-15 a great place to not only train drivers but also their race engineers. The series drivers are superb talents and the proof of that is that so many current IndyCar drivers are very recent Indy Lights drivers.

The current points leader is 19-year-old Mexican Patricio O’Ward, driving for Andretti Autosport, with an impressive 7 WINS this season - his last 5 in a row. His nearest rival is his 17-year-old teammate, Colton Herta for Andretti Steinbrenner, who has 4 WINS and is 25 points in arrears. Any number of combinations of finishes can get Herta to the title, depending on a slip-up by O’Ward. This one is going to be the real fight and up for grabs is a $1,000,000 scholarship and a guaranteed 3 IndyCar starts in 2019 - including the Indy 500.

Pato O’Ward (left) and Colton Herta - battle for a million dollars

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NOTE: the IndyCars, Pro Mazda and USF2000 all had two pre-weekend open test sessions EACH on Thursday at Portland. Those results can be found in the Off-Season thread, posts # 140, 141 and 142.

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Friday will be a day of practice for all 5 series racing this weekend and the 3 MRTI series will also qualify for Race 1 of their weekend. Let’s GO!

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Friday morning at Portland - Pro Mazda come out for their practice session…

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Practice is that time when the driver and the car’s race engineer work together to maximize the car for the particular track configuration, the condition of the track on the weekend and the expected weather on the weekend. The cars have an infinite number of tailor-able things that allow the teams to maximize each car for those three variables. Practice is essential to running at the maximum performance during the race.

The middle series of the Mazda Road to Indy, Pro Mazda, will be the first guys on track for practice today. This will be their one practice session before qualifying later today.

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Here was the order of speed for the P-1 session for Pro Mazda, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:06.5428s for a speed of 106.253mph

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2 - David Malukas [R], BN Racing - time of 01:06.6995s for a speed of 106.004mph

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3 - Oliver Askew [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:06.7141s for a speed of 105.981mph

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4 - Rob Megennis [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:06.7991s for a speed of 105.846mph

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5 - Parker Thompson [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:06.8932s for a speed of 105.697mph

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6 - Sting Ray Robb, Team Pelfrey - time of 01:06.9409s for a speed of 105.622mph

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7 - Nikita Lastochkin, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:07.4403s for a speed of 104.839mph

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8 - Moises de la Vara [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:08.3268s for a speed of 103.479mph

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Notable:

  • This is the smallest field for Pro Mazda of the year. We are down to the most committed drivers with the resources to run to the end of the season, or in the case of Moises de la Vara, someone intending on running the full season in 2019.

  • The level of talent here is great. The times reflect that, as the TOP SEVEN are all within 0.4 seconds of each other.

  • Moises is the true rookie here, with only the last three Pro Mazda races started, but the young Mexican is a champion, taking the 2017-2018 FIA Formula 4 Nacam Championship with an impressive 9 WINS, 16 podiums, 4 poles and 9 Fastest Laps.

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Pro Mazda will return to the track this afternoon to qualify for Race 1 of the weekend. Next, the Indy Lights practice…

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Friday morning at Portland - The Indy Lights practice…

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The Lights were the next to practice. This will be critical to the guys because unlike USF2000 and Pro Mazda, the Lights did NOT have a two-session series test on Thursday. This will be their only chance to get it right before qualifying, later today.

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Lights P-1 session, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Pato O’Ward [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:03.9334s for a speed of 110.590mph

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2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Steinbrenner - time of 01:04.019s for a speed of 110.442mph

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3 - Aaron Telitz, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:04.2346s for a speed of 110.072mph

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4 - Victor Franzoni [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:04.2629s for a speed of 110.023mph

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5 - Ryan Norman, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:04.4445s for a speed of 109.713mph

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6 - Santiago Urrutia, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:04.6925s for a speed of 109.292mph

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7 - Dalton Kellett, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.1846s for a speed of 108.467mph

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8 - Heamin Choi, Juncos Racing - time of 01:28.1681s for a speed of 80.192mph

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Notable:

  • The field is tight. The TOP SIX drivers were with 0.75 seconds of each other.

  • Aaron Telitz is the only guy here with some previous practice on the track, as he tested a Pro Mazda car for Team Pelfrey in both test sessions on Thursday.

  • Heamin Choi only put in 3 laps in this practice, due to going off early in the session, doing damage to his car. The Korean SportsCar 2-time Champion hasn’t been in a Lights car for two years so he needs more seat time - not less.

  • Ryan Norman is the latest Indy Lights race WINNER. collecting the P1 at Gateway Motorsports Park, last weekend.

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The Lights will hold qualifying for Race 1 later this afternoon. Next, the IndyCars hold their first of 3 practices scheduled for the weekend…

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Friday mid-day at Portland - The IndyCars take to the track for their first practice…

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The IndyCars put in their first of three scheduled practice session on the weekend. The skies were overcast but no rain fell.

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Here was the order of speed for the P-1 session of IndyCars, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser/Sullivan - time of 00:57.3975s for a speed of 123.183mph

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:57.4221s for a speed of 123.130mph

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3 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:57.5836s for a speed of 122.785mph

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4 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:57.7114s for a speed of 122.513mph

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5 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:57.7663s for a speed of 122.397mph

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6 - Jordan King [R], Ed Carpenter Racing
7 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
8 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
9 - Ed Jones, Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport

11 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with SPM
12 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
13 - Max Chilton, Carlin
14 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
15 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
16 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
17 - Gabby Chaves, Harding Racing
18 - James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
19 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises

21 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin
22 - Carlos Munoz, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
23 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
24 - Alfonso Celis [R], Juncos Racing

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Notable:

  • Sebastien Bourdais is a two-time race WINNER at Portland, in 2004 and 2007, so his speed is no surprise. He is the only previous Portland race WINNER competing, though other WINNERS Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr, Michael Andretti and Mario Andretti are all on the other side of the pit wall, this weekend.

  • The late Justin Wilson owns the track record from 2005 - 00:57.597 seconds.- but the TOP THREE in this practice unofficially broke that record. This will be a fast race.

  • There are only 3 Chevys in the TOP 12 - Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Jordan King, who is also the best performing rookie. King has been fast on natural road courses all year.

  • Other great performing rookies are Zach Veach, Jack Harvey and Santino Ferrucci, with Harvey and Ferrucci especially impressive, given how little time in the car both have this season.

  • Not able to run was Pietro Fittipaldi in the # 19 for Dale Coyne Racing, as he was experiencing brake problems.

  • A number of cars went off, testing the limits, but no one hit anything.

left to right, Sebastien Bourdais, Jordan King and Santino Ferrucci

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The IndyCars will hold another practice later today. Next, USF2000 hold their practice…

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Friday afternoon at Portland - USF2000 hold their practice session…

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As with Pro Mazda and the Indy Lights, the kids from USF2000 will only have this one practice today before qualifying for Race 1 late in the day. They all do have the benefit of Thursday’s two test sessions, however.

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Here was the order of speed for the P-1 session of USF2000, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Rasmus Lindh [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.0134s for a speed of 99.564mph

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2 - Kaylen Frederick, Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.0594s for a speed of 99.500mph

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3 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:11.3124s for a speed of 99.147mph

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4 - Lucas Kohl, Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.3614s for a speed of 99.079mph

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5 - Julian Van der Watt [R], Team Pelfrey - time of 01:11.4376s for a speed of 98.973mph

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6 - Braden Eves [R], Newman Wachs Racing
7 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
8 - Calvin Ming, Pabst Racing
9 - Igor Fraga [R], Exclusive Autosport
10 - Dakota Dickerson, ArmsUp Motorsports

11 - Kyle Dupell [R], Team Pelfrey
12 - Colin Kaminsky, DEForce Racing
13 - Bruna Tomaselli, Team Pelfrey
14 - Jose Sierra [R], DEForce Racing
15 - Russ McDonough [R], BN Racing
16 - Oscar DeLuzuriaga [R], Newman Wachs Racing
17 - Kellen Ritter [R], Exclusive Autosport
18 - Max Peichel [R], ArmsUp Motorsports

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Notable:

  • Augie Pabst of Pabst Racing is looking to capture the Team Championship for 2018 and also wants to get at least 1 WIN on the season. His “Speed Boys” have many podiums on the year but that first WIN is eluding them. Rasmus Lindh, Kaylen Frederick, Lucas Kohl and Calvin Ming are all trying to get it for him.

  • South African Julian Van der Watt has improved measurably over the season. He is now a TOP FIVE driver in virtually every session.

  • Very impressive is Braden Eves, making his series debut, this weekend, but then Eves is one of the Team USA Scholarship finalists.

  • Max Peichel had an off during the practice and may have done some damage to his # 14 Tatuus for ArmsUp Motorsports.

Braden Eves (left) and Max Peichel

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USF2000 will qualify later today for Race 1 of the weekend. Next up, Pro Mazda holds theor 1st qualifying of the weekend…

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Friday afternoon at Portland - Pro Mazda qualify for Race 1 of the weekend…

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In the Mazda Road to Indy each race of a multi-race weekend gets its own qualifying session, rather than use the 2nd best lap of a session to grid a 2nd race. That takes a little more time, but it also gives the teams a chance to adjust their car between race qualifying sessions. Pro Mazda was the first to qualify for their first race of the weekend.

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Here is the way that Pro Mazda will grid for Season Round 15, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Rinus VeeKay [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:06.3317s for a speed of 106.592mph

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P2 - Oliver Askew [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:06.4202s for a speed of 106.450mph

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Row 2

P3 - Parker Thompson [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:06.4210s for a speed of 106.448mph

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P4 - David Malukas [R], BN Racing - time of 01:06.5361s for a speed of 106.264mph

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Row 3

P5 - Sting Ray Robb, Team Pelfrey - time of 01:06.7348s for a speed of 105.948mph

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P6 - Rob Megennis [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:06.8428s for a speed of 105.777mph

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Row 4

P7 - Moises de la Vara [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:07.8593s for a speed of 104.192mph

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P8 - Nikita Lastochkin, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:08.1303s for a speed of 103.778mph

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Notable:

  • This is Rinus’ 5th pole of the year and adds 1 more valuable point to his season points lead.

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Pro Mazda will run this race on Saturday, mid-day. Next, the Indy Lights qualify for Race 1 of the weekend…

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Friday afternoon at Portland - The Indy Lights qualify for Race 1 of the weekend…

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The Lights guys were the next guys to qualify and they were given a full 50 minutes to do so, allowing the teams a lot of time to make adjustments during the session.

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Here is the way that Indy Lights will grid for Season Round 16, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Pato O’Ward [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:03.1808s for a speed of 111.907mph

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P2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Steinbrenner - time of 01:03.1808s for a speed of 111.907mph

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Row 2

P3 - Aaron Telitz, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:03.3171s for a speed of 111.667mph

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P4 - Victor Franzoni [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:03.4523s for a speed of 111.429mph

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Row 3

P5 - Santiago Urrutia, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:03.5933s for a speed of 111.182mph

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P6 - Ryan Norman, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:03.6108s for a speed of 111.151mph

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Row 4

P7 - Dalton Kellett, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:04.6874s for a speed of 109.301mph

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P8 - Heamin Choi, Juncos Racing - No Time, No Speed

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Notable:

  • This is Pato’s 9th pole of the season - a new Indy Lights record. He killed it, with an almost 0.4-second advantage on Colton. It adds one more valuable point to his points lead over Colton, too. He also destroyed Townsend Bell’s 2001 qualifying record, but so did all the other qualifiers.

  • Dalton Kellett went off twice during the session with damage on the 2nd trip into the weeds. It will be repairable.

  • Heamin Choi did enough damage to his car in the P-1 practice session that he was not able to put in any time during qualifying.

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This race will be run on Saturday. Next, the big cars return to the track for their P-2 session of practice…

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Friday afternoon at Portland - The big cars run their P-2 practice session…

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The IndyCars held their 2nd practice in perfect but hotter weather than the morning’s P-1 session, and some rookies went really, really fast.

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Here was the order of speed for the P-2 session of IndyCars, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:57.4053s for a speed of 123.166mph

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2 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:57.4668s for a speed of 123.035mph

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3 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing - time of 00:57. 4818s for a speed of 123.002mph

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4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:57.5662s for a speed of 122.822mph

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5 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with SPM - time of 00:57.6984s for a speed of 122.541mph

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6 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
7 - Gabby Chaves, Harding Racing
8 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport
9 - Jordan King [R], Ed Carpenter Racing
10 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser/Sullivan

11 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
12 - James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
13 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
14 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin
15 - Ed Jones, Chip Ganassi Racing
16 - Carlos Munoz, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
17 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
18 - Max Chilton, Carlin
19 - Pietro Fittipaldi [R], Dale Coyne Racing
20 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
22 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises
23 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
24 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises
25 - Alfonso Celis [R], Juncos Racing

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Notable:

  • Sebastien Bourdais’ time from the P-1 session was the fastest time of the day, but the weather was cooler, as was the track, and he was only 0.0078 seconds faster that Will Power in this session.

  • There are now 4 Chevys in the TOP TEN - including Gabby Chaves in the Harding Racing car, joining Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Jordan King. Santino Ferrucci was the top rookie.

  • Everyone is talking about the track configuration and noting that it is a flowing, highly technical track - one that requires precise placement of the car, lap after lap, to get the most speed out of it, much like Mid-Ohio. The most challenging corners to get right are the 10, 11, 12 complex that sets one up for the run up the long front straight.

Will Power

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The IndyCars will be back on the track in the early afternoon on Saturday for their last practice before qualifying, later in the day. Next, the kids from USF2000 qualify for Race 1 of the weekend…

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Friday afternoon at Portland - USF2000 qualify for Race 1 of the weekend…

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The last guys on track today were the kids from USF2000 out to set the grid for their first race of the weekend, to be run on Saturday.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 16, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:10.9581s for a speed of 99.642mph

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P2 - Kaylen Frederick, Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.1686s for a speed of 99.347mph

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Row 2

P3 - Rasmus Lindh [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.1896s for a speed of 99.318mph

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P4 - Igor Fraga [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:11.3280s for a speed of 99.125mph

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Row 3

P5 - Lucas Kohl, Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.3535s for a speed of 99.090mph

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P6 - Braden Eves [R], Newman Wachs Racing - time of 01:11.4794s for a speed of 98.915mph

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Row 4

P7 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
P8 - Julian Van der Watt [R], Team Pelfrey

Row 5

P9 - Calvin Ming, Pabst Racing
P10 - Colin Kaminsky, DEForce Racing

Row 6

P11 - Jose Sierra [R], DEForce Racing
P12 - Kyle Dupell [R], Team Pelfrey

Row 7

P13 - Dakota Dickerson, ArmsUp Motorsports
P14 - Russ McDonough [R], BN Racing

Row 8

P15 - Bruna Tomaselli, Team Pelfrey
P16 - Kellen Ritter [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 9

P17 - Oscar DeLuzuriaga [R], Newman Wachs Racing
P18 - Max Peichel [R], ArmsUp Motorsports

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Notable:

  • Rasmus Lindh held pole for most of the session but Kirkwood, the 2018 Champion, took over with about ten minutes left in the session and held it to the end - his 5th pole of the year. Kyle really wants to match that 12-race record WINS of JR Hildebrand and he is also fighting to give the Cape Brothers the Team Championship. He was the only driver to bust into the 01:10s on time.

  • Kaylen Frederick took a late stab at the pole but only managed to eclipse teammate Ras Lindh.

  • 19-year-old Braden Eves, making his series debut, is a multi-Champion kart driver from Ohio who tried both F1600 and FIA F4 US and WON races in both series, and now wants to try USF2000. He is a product of the Jay Howard driver development team. This guy belongs.

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This race will be run on Saturday afternoon. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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IndyCar has released a Friday highlights reel…

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Racer magazine’s Marshall Pruett and Robin Miller speak of Friday at Portland…

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Saturday morning at Portland - USF2000 comes out for another qualifying session…

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Before any wheels turn in anger in their Race 1 of the weekend the kids from USF2000 came out this morning to qualify for Race 2, which will be run on Sunday afternoon - the very last race of the day and their last race of their season.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 17, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Rasmus Lindh [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:10.9038s for a speed of 99.718mph

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P2 - Kaylen Frederick, Pabst Racing - time of 01:10.9128s for a speed of 99.706mph

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Row 2

P3 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:10.8263s for a speed of 99.827mph

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P4 - Braden Eves [R], Newman Wachs Racing - time of 01:11.2240s for a speed of 99.270mph

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Row 3

P5 - Lucas Kohl, Pabst Racing - time of 01:11.2975s for a speed of 99.168mph

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P6 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing - time of 01:11.4408s for a speed of 98.969mph

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Row 4

P7 - Jose Sierra [R], DEForce Racing
P8 - Julian Van der Watt [R], Team Pelfrey

Row 5

P9 - Igor Fraga [R], Exclusive Autosport
P10 - Colin Kaminsky, DEForce Racing

Row 6

P11 - Dakota Dickerson, ArmsUp Motorsports
P12 - Calvin Ming, Pabst Racing

Row 7

P13 - Bruna Tomaselli, Team Pelfrey
P14 - Kyle Dupell [R], Team Pelfrey

Row 8

P15 - Kellen Ritter [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Russ McDonough [R], BN Racing

Row 9

P17 - Max Peichel [R], ArmsUp Motorsports
P18 - Oscar DeLuzuriaga [R], Newman Wachs Racing

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Notable:

  • Initially, Kyle Kirkwood took pole, breaking his own new track record, but when the checkered flag on the session came out, Kyle FAILED to observe it and come into the pits, motoring around for another lap. He was thus penalized two grid positions, putting Rasmus Lindh on the pole and Kyle back in P3.

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This race will be run on Sunday - the last activity on the track. Next, the OIndy Lights qualify for their Race 2 of their weekend…

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Saturday morning at Portland - Indy Lights qualify for their 2nd race of the weekend…

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The top step of the ladder boys came out for their 2nd qualifying session to grid for their final race of the year, which will be the first race of the day on Sunday, and this session was surprising.

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Here is the way Indy Lights will grid for Season Round 17, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Ryan Norman, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:04.069s for a speed of 110.357mph

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P2 - Aaron Telitz, Belardi Auto Racing - time of 01:04.077s for a speed of 110.343mph

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Row 2

P3 - Santiago Urrutia, Belardi Auto Racing - time of time of 01:04.189s for a speed of 110.149mph

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P4 - Colton Herta, Andretti Steinbrenner - time of 01:04.798s for a speed of 109.114mph

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Row 3

P5 - Victor Franzoni [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:05.184s for a speed of 108.468mph

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P6 - Dalton Kellett, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.225s for a speed of 108.399mph

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Row 4

P7 - Pato O’Ward [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.250s for a speed of 106.723mph

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P8 - Heamin Choi, Juncos Racing - time of 01:24.302s for a speed of 83.869mph

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Notable:

  • Pato O’Ward was P1 early in the session when he went off in Turn 4 and hit the wall hard. He was okay but the car took a lot of front-end damage. At the same time, Ryan Norman was losing gear-box oil and it is possible that O’Ward slid in his oil.

  • The damage to the wall needed time to repair and the cars had only a few minutes to lay down a flyer and Ryan Norman, the latest race WINNER, was able to beat Aaron Telitz by only 0.0079 seconds.

  • Colton Herta, Pato’s points rival, was unable to take advantage of Pato’s misfortune and could only post a P4 time. The only question now is if Pato’s car can be repaired in time for Race 1 today.

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This grid will be used on Sunday’s Indy Lights finale. Next, Pro Mazda goes for their final qualifying…

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Saturday mid-day at Portland - Pro Mazda hold their final qualifying session of their season…

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The Pro Mazda gang were the last guys to qualify from the 3 MRTI series, with this session gridding Race 2 of the weekend, to be run right after the IndyCar race on Sunday.

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Here is the way that Pro Mazda will grid for Season Round 16, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Rinus VeeKay [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:05.8973s for a speed of 107.294mph

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P2 - David Malukas [R], BN Racing - time of 01:05.9412s for a speed of 107.223mph

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Row 2

P3 - Oliver Askew [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:06.2530s for a speed of 106.718mph

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P4 - Parker Thompson [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:06.3236s for a speed of 106.605mph

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Row 3

P5 - Rob Megennis [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:06.5066s for a speed of 106.311mph

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P6 - Sting Ray Robb, Team Pelfrey - time of 01:06.6957s for a speed of 106.010mph

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Row 4

P7 - Nikita Lastochkin, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:06.9735s for a speed of 105.570mph

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P8 - Moises de la Vara [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:07.6463s for a speed of 104.520mph

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Notable:

  • Rinus Van Kalmthout takes his 6th poke of the season and sets the new Portland Pro Mazda track record in the process, beating the old record by almost 3 seconds.

  • This field is very close on talent and this will be the last race of the season. The TOP SEVEN are all within 1 second of each other, so expect an all-out war for the win.

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This race will run on Sunday, just after the IndyCar race. Next, the IndyCars hold their P-3 and final practice session…

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Saturday afternoon at Portland - the IndyCar hold their final practice session…

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The big cars held P-3 right after 1:00pm in good weather. A P-3 session is always hard to read, because one cannot know what program each car is trying to follow. Are they trying to check a qualifying set-up? Are they trying to confirm a race set-up? Are they doing both, at one time or the other? Are they throwing the kitchen sink at the car, trying to make it any better than it has been? With that in mind, we present the results of all three practice sessions combined.

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Here is the order of speed for the IndyCars with all three practice session COMBINED, and times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser/Sullivan - time of 00:57.3975s for a speed of 123.183mph (1)

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2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:57.4053s for a speed of 123.166mph (2)

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3 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 00:57.4221s for a speed of 123.130mph (1)

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4 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:57.4668s for a speed of 123.035mph (2)

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5 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing - time of 00:57.4818s for a speed of 123.002mph (2)

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6 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (3)
7 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (1)
8 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport (3)
9 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (3)
10 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing (3)

11 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport (3)
12 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with SPM (2)
13 - Gabby Chaves, Harding Racing (2)
14 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport (2)
15 - Jordan King [R], Ed Carpenter Racing (1)
16 - James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (2)
17 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske (2)
18 - Ed Jones, Chip Ganassi Racing (3)
19 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin (2)
20 - Carlos Munoz, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (3)

21 - Max Chilton, Carlin (2)
22 - Pietro Fittipaldi [R], Dale Coyne Racing (3)
23 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises (2)
24 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises (2)
25 - Alfonso Celis [R], Juncos Racing (2)

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Notable:

  • Sebastien turned in the TOP TIME in the P-3 session, but it is his P-1 session time that remains the fastest of the weekend. Right after turning in the TOP TIME in P-3 Seb stuffed the car into the tire barriers on the back half of the track, doing substantial damage to the rear. The crew is working hard to get it ready for qualifying, later today.

  • 2nd Fastest in P-3 was Graham Rahal and 5th fastest was Takuma Sato, so Rahal Letterman Lanigan has found the speed they were missing.

  • Alexander Rossi and Spencer Pigot turned in P4 and P6, respectively in the P-3 session, while Will Power was the P3 guy in the session.

  • Also finding a wall early in the session was James Hinchcliffe. Initially, it looked only like some suspension pieces, but eventually they found that the steering rack also was damaged. They are getting the car ready for qualifying.

  • The grass off-track is dry and that means that anyone going off sends dust and dirt onto the track and that has caused a number of spins. It will be a huge factor in the race.

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The IndyCars will qualify later this afternoon. Next up, USF2000 hold Race 1 of the weekend! The grid for this race is in post # 10…

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Saturday afternoon at Portland - USF2000 complete Race 1 of the weekend…

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It took most of the race to set the full podium at the end, with changes late in the contest, but in the end the pole-sitter, 2018 Champion Kyle Kirkwood, captured his 11th WIN for Cape Motorsports and 10th in a row. P2 was Brazilian Igor Fraga for Exclusive Autosport and P3 was Guyana’s Calvin Ming for Pabst Racing, in a race that was in a constant state of hard battling.

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On the opening lap Rasmus Lindh for Pabst Racing was able to nip Kirkwood in Turn 1, while Kaylen Frederick for Pabst was bumped out of his P2 start by his teammate, Lucas Kohl in Turn 1. Frederick would have to go through the barriers just past the Festival Curves to get back on track, but he was able to rejoin in P3, behind Kyle. Kohl dropped to P7. On lap 2 Kirkwood reclaimed P1 from Lindh and was never challenged again. Calvin Ming was able to take the P7 spot from teammate Kohl.

Lap 6 saw Julian Van der Watt for Team Pelfry take P8 in Turn 2 by bumping Kohl, who would spin off and drop top P11. Kohl would then set Fastest Lap of the race 3 laps later, trying to recover. Lap 10 saw Calvin take the P6 spot from Braden Eves for Newman Wachs. On lap 13 Van der Watt was called into the pits for a drive thru on his bump of Kohl on lap 6. He would rejoin in P11. One lap later Calvin was by Kory Enders for DEForce Racing to take P5. Lap 15 saw Lucas get by Russ McDonough for BN Racing for P8.

An incredible 5-way battle then developed for P9 between Russ, Julian, Colin Kaminsky for DEForce, and Kyle Dupell & Bruna Tomaselli both for Team Pelfrey. For four laps this quintet parried and thrusted at each other until on lap 19 they were almost all in the same place at the same time, in Turn 1. Russ, Julian and Colin all spun out trying to do Turn 1 together. They forced Bruna off the track to avoid them, doing damage to her car and taking her out, bringing out a full-course caution.

On the lap 22 restart, teammates Rasmus Lindh in P2 and Kaylen Fredderick in P3 took each other for a spin in Turn 1, allowing Igor Fraga into P2 and Calvim Ming into P3. Lap 24 saw Lucas Kohl take over P6 from Braden Eves, Russ McDonough take P9 from Dakota Dickerson for ArmsUp Motorsports and Colin Kaminsky take P13 from Kellen Ritter for Exclusive Autosport. Those were the last passes of the race. One lap later it ended in relative peace.

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Notable:

  • The late P2 finish for Igor Fraga put him into 2nd in the points over Rasmus Lindh.

  • The collision by Pabst Racing teammates Kaylen Frederich and Rasmus Lindh robbed the team of the P2, P3, P5 and P6 points they were going to collect, They ended up getting P3, P5, P6 and P8 points instead. That won’t go as well with Augie Pabst, fighting for a team Championship.

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Here is your happy podium - That’s Igor Fraga in P2 on the left, Kyle Kirkwood in P1 in the middle and Calvin Ming in P3 on the right:

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USF2000 will have one more race in their season on Sunday - last on-track action of the weekend. Next, the Indy Lights go for Race 1 of their weekend. The grid for this race is in post # 8…

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.UPDATE! - Post race, Igor Fraga was issued a 30-second penalty for avoidable contact at the start of the race, and he fell to P15 as a result. Calvin Ming thus gets P2 and Kory Enders for DEForce racing is elevated to P3.

Kory Enders - P3 in Race 1

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Saturday afternoon at Portland - The Indy Lights race…

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It was important for Colton Herta to beat his Andretti teammate Patricio O’Ward, today to keep the championship alive, and though he made a great bid for it. It was O’Ward for Andretti Autosport who came home P1 and with that WIN, became the 2018 Indy Lights Champion. Herta for Andretti Steinbrenner would settle for P2 in the race and 2nd in the points while P3 in the race went to Victor Franzoni for Juncos Racing.

O’Ward dons a Mexican sombrero for the WIN and the title

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From pole, O’Ward led Colton in P2 and the rest of the field through the first few turns, with Aaron Telitz for Belardi going in too deep from his P3 start and locking up his front end, while teammate Santiago Urrutia had to bail out and run through the chicane, instead of the Festival Curves. He would rejoin in P4, improving on his P5 start, while Aaron would drop to P5. Victor Franzoni slotted into P3. Colton quickly pursued Pato and with Push-to-Pass available, he was able to force him out of the way in Turn 1 on lap 5 and take the lead. By lap 9 he had set Fastest Lap in his effort to get away from O’Ward who might use his own Push-to-Pass to counter. (Push-to-Pass only works for the pursuing driver in the Lights, and only if he is within 1 second of the defending driver.)

A race-long battle for P5 developed between Ryan Norman for Andretti and Aaron Telitz. By lap 14 Pato had slowly caught up to Colton and as the two entered Turn 1 Pato dove to the inside as Colton pushed him onto the curbing, but then O’Ward reciprocated and pushed Colton onto the curbing in Turn 2. As Herta bounced over the curbs O’Ward re-took P1. He would then take off and give himself the 1-second + gap he needed to keep Herta back. Lap 16 saw Ryan try to take Aaron in Turn 1 but he braked too late and had to run into the run-off chicane. He would rejoin behind Telitz, again.

On lap 29 Ryan again tried Aaron in Turn 1 and made it stick, taking the P5 spot. That would be the last pass of the race. O’Ward took the checkered flag one lap later, a clear 1.6867 seconds ahead of Herta.

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Here is your happy podium - That’s Colton Herta in P2 on the left, Pato O’Ward in P1 in the middle and Victor Franzoni in P3 on the right:

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Pato O’Ward takes the championship in his first full season of the Lights, with 1 race left to run. He now has 8 WINS and 12 podiums in 16 starts, with 9 poles and 2 Fastest Laps. Add to this his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2017, taking the PC class with 7 WINS and 8 podiums in 8 races, and his Vice-Championship in Pro Mazda in 2016, with 7 WINS and 9 podiums. Add to all that his 8 national karting titles and 3 karting Vice-Championships and you have one great young driver.

Patricio will not quite be 20 years old when he begins his IndyCar career in 2019, utilizing the last-ever Mazda-sponsored Indy Lights 1 million-dollar scholarship.

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Left to right, Dan Anderson, head of the Mazda Road to Indy, John Doonan, head of competition for Mazda, Patricio O’Ward, 2018 Indy Lights Champion and Chris Pantani, head of Cooper Tires Racing:

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On Sunday morning the Lights will run their final race of the season and final points and WINS will be awarded. The grid for that race is in post # 14. Next, the IndyCars qualify!..

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It’s time for the IndyCar to qualify…

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…and that means it’s time for the obligatory IndyCar qualifying explanation page. This is our attempt to explain the complex ways that IndyCar qualifies races on road and street courses. We don’t try to pretend that it actually does anyone any good but we do have a sadistic streak that forces us to force this upon everyone. If you already know this stiff…MOVE ON!..by all means. If not, we can only suggest you take two aspirin and lie down, following your trip into hell…

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So, how does this work? Around ovals qualifying is simple: One car at a time runs the fastest they can for 2 hot laps (after a warm-up lap) and the fastest average speed is the pole sitter, but…

On road and street courses it gets complicated - The Firestone Fast Six
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Qualifying is done in three segments of TEN MINUTES for the first two and SIX MINUTES for the last. Today, there are 25 cars attempting to qualify. In Segment One, the first 12 cars will be sent out for ten minutes. During that time they will run as fast as they can, being timed. The fastest SIX advance to Segment Two. Then, the 13 remaining cars are sent out for ten minutes to do the same. The fastest SIX from that group also advance to Segment Two. The 13 cars that did NOT advance line up in grid spots P13 through P25, based on their times.

In Segment Two, the 12 that advanced once again run as fast as possible for ten minutes. The fastest 6 of this group advance to Segment Three. The other 6 line up on the grid on spots P7 through P12, based on their times.

Segment Three is also known as The Firestone Fast Six. These cars go out and run as fast as they can for only six minutes and then line up P1 through P6 on the grid, based on their times, and that is how pole is set.

Don’t screw it up! - You have to go as fast as you can but you CANNOT afford to over-cook it: If a car causes a red or full course yellow condition in any segment, the car’s best two timed laps of the segment will be disallowed and that car will not be allowed to advance to the next segment. If a car causes two red or full course yellow conditions in any segment, all segment times shall be voided and the car shall not be permitted to participate in the remainder of qualifying.

Qualifying can be very exciting to watch, as it looks like a very fast race going on, but the cars try to stay separated from each other, so as to get the best possible time without someone mucking up their hot laps. You will see the pole switch SEVERAL TIMES from car to car, as the time runs down.

The pole winner not only gets to start on pole but wins the Verizon P1 Award and the valuable series point that goes with it.

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The last time someone in an IndyCar took pole for a race at Portland was in 2007 and it was the late, great Justin Wilson in the # 9 CDW Panoz DP01 with a Cosworth engine, driving for RSports - a merger of the teams RuSport and Rocketsports. Wilson had a time of 58.000 seconds flat with a speed of 121.903 mph, not quite beating his own 2005 record, 00:57.597 seconds, for a speed of 122.756 mph

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Wilson would go on to finish P2…behind Sebastien Bourdais - the only current driver to WIN at Portland in the past.

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The IndyCars are qualified for the Grand Prix of Portland!..

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Here is the way the IndyCar will grid for the Grand Prix of Portland, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 00:57.3467s for a speed of 123.292mph

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P2 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 00:57.6877s for a speed of 122.563mph

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Row 2

P3 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:57.7361s for a speed of 122.461mph

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P4 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser/Sullivan - time of 00:57.8881s for a speed of 122.139mph

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Row 3

P5 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 00:57.9699s for a speed of 121.967mph

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P6 - Zach Veach [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 00:58.1057s for a speed of 121.682mph

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Row 4

P7 - James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
P8 - Ed Jones, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 5

P9 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
P10 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 6

P11 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
P12 - Jordan King [R], Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 7

P13 - Jack Harvey [R], Meyer Shank Racing with SPM
P14 - Carlos Munoz, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Max Chilton, Carlin
P16 - Pietro Fittipaldi [R], Dale Coyne Racing

Row 9

P17 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing
P18 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing

Row 10

P19 - Matheus Leist [R], A.J. Foyt Enterprises
P20 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 11

P21 - Gabby Chaves, Harding Racing
P22 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske

Row 12

P23 - Alfonso Celis [R], Juncos Racing
P24 - Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt Enterprises

Row 13

P25 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin

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Notable:

  • This is Will Power’s 54th pole of his career, placing him 2nd on the all-time list behind only Mario Andretti, with 67 poles. He also set the new track record during the Q1 session at 00:57.2143 seconds. He was a remarkable 0.34 seconds faster than Josef Newgarden.

  • Sebastien Bourdais’ car was fully repaired within 3 hours of a practice shunt that normally would have taken him out of qualifying. He was aided by the fact that Dale Coyne Racing is running 3 cars at Portland, as there were mechanics from all three squads helping. Still, the car looked like Frankenstein, with different colored body panels.

  • Andretti Autosport put 3 of their 4 driver in the Fast Six, but Marco Andretti, who has been TOP FIVE in all practice sessions, fell on his face.

  • The is rookie Zach Veach’s first Fast Six this season. While going all out for the pole he bobbled on the back stretch, but managed to keep the car on the island.

  • Most qualifiers said that the heat on the track - the hottest so far, this weekend - affected their cars more than they expected.

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The Race is schedule for LIVE broadcast on NBC-SN on Sunday, starting with Pre-Race at 2:30pm EASTERN time and 11:30am PACIFIC time. Next, Pro Mazda hold Race 1 of their weekend. The grid for this race is in post # 7…

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