NTT IndyCar Series Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – An all-around solid weekend in the Pacific Northwest for Felix Rosenqvist was capped off with a career equal runner-up finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland. Rosenqvist’s second career podium finish can be summarized as mastering the Firestone red compounds, solid fuel conservation and excellent teamwork by the No. 10 NTT Data squad that propelled him from the fifth starting position to the second, trailing a strong Will Power for most of the race. It appeared that Power was on cruise control ofRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Lap 1. Turn 1. Chaos ensues yet again in the Grand Prix of Portland. The story was a field of 23 hungry wolves storming into the Shelton Chicane, eyeing on gaining as many spots as possible. However, like a year go, some drivers didn’t make it past the corner as a multi-car crash took out both ARROW Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers Conor Daly and James Hinchcliffe, Zach Veach and Graham Rahal. Other drivers involved were championship contender Simon Pagenaud, Spencer Pigot and defendingRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Locking up the brakes heading into the Shelton Chicane during Saturday’s Firestone Fast Six cost Will Power a shot for his second straight Grand Prix of Portland pole. Instead, he’ll start as the outside pole sitter for Sunday’s 105-lap race as the trailblazing rookie Colton Herta scored his second NTT IndyCar Series pole of 2019, beating Power by 0.0192 seconds. “Not good. I flat spotted a tire and had a flat spot the next lap. It’s disappointing,” a dejected Power commented on hisRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Despite already having a championship to his name, NTT IndyCar Series points leader Josef Newgarden is anything but comfortable heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland. One of the showstoppers from last year’s 105-lap contest due to his daring passes heading into the Shelton Chicane, the man with a 38-point advantage over his Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud knows the task at hand in these final two races. The gap between the two Penske teammates could favor the leader as his 38 points isRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Colton Herta continues to show his strong pace after topping the final practice charts Saturday for the Grand Prix of Portland. Herta’s No. 88 Capstone Turbine Honda was the only competitor to hit the 57 second mark with a time of 57.9939 seconds (121.916 mph), beating NTT IndyCar Series points leader Josef Newgarden by 0.1083 seconds. He did this while running on fresher tires with four minutes remaining and said that was all the difference as he continues to struggle with handling thatRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Testing is hard to come by in all across motorsports disciplines these days and the NTT IndyCar Series are no different. When those testing opportunities are given, teams make the most out of their time trying different setups and gain a competitive advantage heading into the circuit’s race weekend. This was the case for Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi, who both tested at Portland International Raceway in early August alongside their teammates Zach Veach and Marco Andretti. Also, Indy Lights driversRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Two-time Grand Prix of Portland winner Sebastien Bourdais went from putting on a flyer one lap to crashing the Turn 12 barrier the very next lap. Bourdais ran 12 laps during Friday afternoon’s practice session, with the last one being his best with a time of 57.9123 seconds (122.069 mph), knocking Will Power off the top the charts by 0.0289 seconds with just over two minutes remaining. Then a little de ja vu struck when the right front of his No. 18 SealMasterRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Colton Herta starts his Grand Prix of Portland journey by setting the early tone during Friday morning’s opening practice session at Portland International Raceway with a time of 57.4293 seconds. Herta, who’s currently 14th in the NTT IndyCar Series points standings, was the only man to hit the 123 mph mark at 123.115 mph and out ran second place Alexander Rossi by 0.1245 seconds. While it should be all smiles, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Herta’s fastest time occurred in his first stintRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Marcus Ericsson has been given the nod to be Alfa Romeo Racing’s reserve driver in Formula One for the Belgian Grand Prix, forgoing IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Portland. With the sudden news coming out of left field, ARROW Schmidt Peterson Motorsports issued a brief statement regarding Ericsson’s absence at Portland. “Following a request from Alfa Romeo Racing of Marcus Ericsson to be on the ground at this weekend’s Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, ARROW Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has granted Marcus a release fromRead More