Written By Fleur Rogerson
Will Power and Penske took a dominant win at the Grand Prix of Portland, leading the field by an impressive ten seconds from championship leader Alex Palou.
The Portland International Raceway marked the final road course of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR season. The season, however, is far from over, with the standings still wide open. Alex Palou, the championship leader, was starting third with one of his championship contenders, Will Power, starting ahead of him in second. Portland was vital for Power to take a bite out of Palou's lead.
However, it was an equally important day for Santino Ferrucci, starting on the front row for the first time in his career and trying to deliver for AJ Foyt.
Portland had faced some big accidents in the first turns in previous years, so staying out of trouble was vital for drivers. Ferrucci's AJ Foyt lead the field as the flag went green, but Will Power went side by side into turn one, taking the lead from Ferrucci.
Caution
Further down the grid, Dixon ran off into the grass, quickly losing places. When he rejoined, he made contact with Pietro Fittipaldi, sending the Chip Ganassi of Dixon straight into the metal barriers. The championship contender climbed out of the car unscathed, but his race and championship fight were over.
The contact was debatably avoidable, and Pietro Fittipaldi had a penalty looming over him into the green flag.
Green Flag
On Lap 6, Power held off Ferrucci in the restart, and Alex Palou was closing quickly on the AJ Foyt ahead. Pietro Fittipaldi received a drive through penalty for the incident with Dixon, which damaged his race.
On Lap 8, Alex Palou made the pass on Santino Ferrucci and made it stick, moving himself up to second, and into vital potential points for the championship. Slightly further down the Andretti of Herta moved up into fifth after overtaking teammate Kirkwood, moving up five places in just eight laps.
The Chip Ganassi of Linus Lundqvist ran off into the grass after hitting the curb on lap 17, luckily he maintained control and rejoined into 25th.
On lap 19, Pato O'ward headed down Pit Lane. Following suit, Kirkwood, Rosenqvist and Vips all went into Pit Lane on lap 20. Kirkwood put on a set of red tyres - allowing him to use black tyres for the rest of the race after the next stop.
O'ward showed the strength of a new set of primary's as he made a move on Felix Rosenqvist, who had put on the red alternate tyres.
There was contact at turn one, between Conor Daly and Pietro Fittipaldi on lap 24. Fittipaldi locked up into the first turn after going for the inside line, hitting the rear wheel of Daly and causing both to spin. Fittipaldi's race weekend in Portland going from bad to worse as he faced yet another penalty for causing a collision.
Lap 26 saw Palou closing in on Power as Fittipaldi had come out of the pits ahead of the leaders. Will Power was being held up by Fittipaldi and Palou made a move down the side of Power, but he wasn't quite close enough to get the move done. Luckily for Power, Fittipaldi's Rahal Letterman dove back into Pit Lane to serve his second drive through penalty.
Leaders First Pit Stops
On Lap 32, Ferrucci headed into the pits, making him the first of the leaders. The AJ Foyt driver put on a set of red alternate tyres. Power went in the following lap also choosing the alternate tyres. Lap 34, saw Palou head into the pits to put on the primaries, but it was a slow stop for the Chip Ganassi team, which allowed Will Power to keep the lead.
Colton Herta lost a place after making contact with Grosjean while trying to make a pass. Herta then found himself in the way of Ferrucci, who got ahead of the Andretti driver.
On Lap 49, Pato O'ward came in for his second stop, coming out on the red walled tyres and a lap down. The pace lacking for the Arrow McLaren's all weekend.
Kirkwood headed into pit lane on lap 51. However, as he emerged from the pits, instead of the desired clean air, he was fighting for position against Rookie, Toby Sowery. Sowery taking the 13th position.
Half Race Distance
Half race distance saw Christian Rasmussen run off the track, being forced to take the escape road to rejoin the track.
Lap 57, Palou made the move down into pit lane, pulling the trigger as the first leader to make a second pit stop. Power came in a lap later, putting on used reds, saving new reds for the final stint. Ferrucci opted for the black primary tyres during his second pit stop.
Will Power's Penske came out of pit lane ahead yet again, putting a much larger gap between him and Alex Palou than before. A gap that was two seconds before the pits were up to five seconds after.
Lap 60, saw 19-year-old Nolan Siegel make a bold move on Toby Sowery, unfortunately for the McLaren Rookie he ran wide, going into the grass and rejoining after losing places.
Close Call from Grosjean
Lap 62, saw Romain Grosjean stopped on track facing the wrong way. The Frenchman restarted his car thanks to the hybrid system. However, he rejoined the track dangerously, putting himself in the path of Christian Rasmussen, damaging the driver's front wing. No doubt putting himself in the position to receive a penalty.
Marcus Armstrong's Chip Ganassi was ready to make the most of a possible yellow flag or caution, diving into the pits. Unluckily for Armstrong, Grosjean was going again and no yellow flag was waved.
The battle at the front was continuing as the gap was down to 1.4 seconds between the two drivers. Moving through the backmarkers had held Power up briefly, but not enough to allow Palou to make a move. Grosjean received a drive-through penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct because of the incident with Rasmussen.
The Final 30 Laps
Alex Palou's Chip Ganassi was the only driver in the top four without sticker red tyres. This would give Power, Ferrucci and Herta an advantage if there was a yellow flag in the final stint.
Lap 81 Ferrucci dove into pit lane, putting on the sticker reds. Herta, Palou and Power all stayed out. Stuck behind the lapped Linus Lundqvist, Herta found himself at the back of Newgarden. Herta was frustrated by Newgarden holding him up.
Finally, on Lap 86, Herta headed into pit lane, disaster for the Andretti driver as he stalled the engine after his pit, losing a vital 5-6 seconds. The next lap was when Newgarden and Power dove into the pit lane, both putting on the red alternate tyres, giving Power the advantage and lead into the final stint.
Alex Palou pitted a lap after Power but despite a fast stop, he didn't have a fast enough pit stop to get ahead of Power, remaining two seconds behind the Penske driver, who had a tyre advantage.
Marcus Armstrong found himself in up in fifth after the final rounds of pit stops, getting ahead of Ferrucci, Ericsson and McLaughlin. Despite a quiet race for the kiwi, Armstrong got right up to Colton Herta's gearbox with 17 laps to go when Herta gave up a place following his questionable hybrid restart in pit lane.
Ten Laps to go
In the closing laps of the Portland Grand Prix, Will Power seemed primed to take the win with a six gap to Alex Palou in second. Palou was the only driver in the top five on the black walled tyres and the disadvantage was clear from the growing gap.
Will Power crossed the line with a ten second lead at The Portland International Raceway. It was a dominant display from the driver, making him the first driver to take a third win in the 2024 season. Power led 101 of 110 laps, taking 54 points for his championship fight.
The championship is far from over and despite Alex Palou being eerily consistent, Power's Penske has shown the fight has just begun as INDYCAR heads into Penske's strength - the Ovals.
Comments