Race Weekend Central

Will Power Wins IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland

The NTT IndyCar headed to the Pacific Northwest and Portland International Raceway for the penultimate event of the 2019 season, the Grand Prix of Portland, with Team Penske’s Will Power claiming the checkered flag.

Teenage rookie Colton Herta started from the pole,  while a six-car pileup in the first turn on the opening lap quickly ended the days of Conor Daly, James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal and Zach Veach. Takuma Sato also received quite a bit of damage in that wreck, while points leader Josef Newgarden barely slipped through the carnage.

The race restarted on lap 13, and the next lap Ryan Hunter-Reay was battling Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi, taking out Jack Harvey and essentially ending his own race as well.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon sailed past Herta on lap 37, while by lap 40 Newgarden had stealthily moved up into the top five after starting 13th in the 23-car field.

After briefly giving up the lead during a pit cycle, Dixon reassumed the top spot before a battery issue left him with no power on lap 55, which dropped him three laps down in 17th, giving Power the lead.

From there on, the Australian was never challenged, despite a late caution for a stalled Santino Ferucci with seven laps left.

Of the championship contenders, Rossi did best to finish third, while Newgarden was fifth and Simon Pagenaud was seventh.

The win was Power’s second in the past three races, as he also won at Pocono Raceway, and his fifth podium of the year.

The 2019 IndyCar champion will be crowned following the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterrey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in a race that pays double points at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 22, with TV coverage on NBC.

About the author

Wesley has been with Fronstretch since October 2017. He loves well-told stories in whatever format he finds them. Aside from NASCAR, he enjoys reading, country music and OKC Thunder basketball. He has a BA in Liberal Arts/English and currently lives in eastern Oklahoma, where he works as a freelance writer/editor.

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