Portland Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — The biggest concern happened at Portland International Raceway Sunday, first lap chaos. Not at the grueling chicane known as the Festival Curve, but at the entry of Turn 3. INDYCAR’s return to Portland saw a dramatic six-car crash right out of the gate, and it began when Zach Veach pinched James Hinchcliffe, resulting into contact and caused a huge ripple effect on several competitors, and potential championship implications. Once Hinchcliffe spun around, Sebastien Bourdais ran into the front of Hinchcliffe, and collected Jones,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — The nature of track room and practice laps didn’t reflect qualifying at Portland International Raceway, and defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden acknowledged it before and after the session. Newgarden is among the 18 drivers who have never competed in an INDYCAR race at the 1.964-mile circuit, but among the more consistent top drivers on the leader board, ending up in third, sixth and ninth in the three practice sessions. He backed up his consistency by making it to the FirestoneRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — The two-car team of Ed Carpenter Racing showed promising speeds before qualifying for Sunday’s Portland Grand Prix, notably rookie and road course driver Jordan King. The 24-year-old from Warwick, England, had a solid result in the two Friday practice sessions, ending up sixth and ninth quickest, respectively, outpacing full-time driver Spencer Pigot. Then on final practice, King continued to show solid speed and ended up 12th. With those positive runs, he saw himself being a possible contender of making the Firestone FastRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Opportunities come in the strangest of forms. For Carlos Muñoz, the thought of his next chance in the Verizon IndyCar Series wasn’t supposed to come at the expense of an injury of another – Robert Wickens. After spending time over the last few seasons racing for Andretti Autosport and A.J. Foyt Racing, Muñoz saw himself without a full-time ride this season. The 26-year-old has only competed in the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 7th for Andretti. This past Wednesday, it’ll change as he’llRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Off the track, Juncos Racing driver Alfonso Celis, Jr. of Mexico City is an avid soccer fan,  rooting for Real Madrid and Tigres UANL. On the track, though, he’s all business and looking to make a name in open wheel racing as he’s set to make his second career Verizon IndyCar Series start at Portland International Raceway Sunday. However, the former Force India test driver has seen himself waiting on the sidelines, eager to run as many races possible. The task hasRead More