Circuit Length–1.967 miles
Number of Turns–12
Race Distance–110 laps
Where to Watch
NBC, Peacock, SiriusXM and INDYCAR Radio
Portland International Raceway, a 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural road course, is relatively flat but contains several spots for passing opportunities, including a quick chicane at the end of the frontstretch, a hard-braking right-hander (Turn 7) leading onto the sweeping backstretch and a three-turn complex leading back onto the frontstretch.
The Andretti name has a history in Portland dating back to 1985, when Mario Andretti won the 1985 and 1986 CART races. Four years later, team owner Michael Andretti followed in his father’s footsteps winning three consecutive Portland CART races from 1990-1992.
Since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ return to Portland in 2018, Andretti Autosport has collected three podium finishes and led 51 laps.
Colton Herta is set to make his fourth appearance at the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland. During his 2019 NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut at Portland International Raceway, Herta secured his second pole position of the season and went on to claim his best Portland finish taking the checkered in fourth. In addition to his INDYCAR starts, Herta made three INDY NXT appearances in Portland where he claimed a third-place finish in 2017. During a doubleheader weekend the following year, Herta secured a second-place finish in Race 1 and a fourth-place finish in Race 2.
Kyle Kirkwood will make his second INDYCAR start in Portland after his 2022 rookie debut. In the 2021 INDY NXT Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader, Kirkwood claimed a second-place finish in Race 1 before driving to a win in Race 2.
Devlin DeFrancesco will also make his second INDYCAR start in Portland. In 2022, DeFrancesco moved up eight positions from his starting spot to secure a P16 finish. While competing in the INDY NXT series, he made one start in Portland where he captured a seventh-place finish.
This will be Romain Grosjean’s third start in Portland. In his first start in 2021, Grosjean secured a P22 finish, and in 2022 improved upon his previous finish by taking the checkered at P19.
Earlier this year on the Portland road course, Avalanche Andretti Formula E’s Jake Dennis scored a podium finish before going on to win the Drivers Championship.
“Portland is always an interesting race. It seems like a yellow always comes out right at the end of it to shake things up. The racing is exciting, and the fans are great. It’s obvious that the fans in the Northwest have a real love for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I’m looking forward to getting back on a road course and hopefully leaving Portland with a strong result.”
“Portland reminds me of a karting track with the high-speed section that you have at the end before coming down the front straight and are pretty much going from 190 mph to stopped. It’s definitely a hectic race, but we’re feeling good heading into Portland.”
“There is no room for mistakes in Portland. It’s a very short circuit with difficult corners. Last year Portland was a hard race for me, but we’re hoping that we can take what we learned and finish up front.”
“Portland is quite a tight track with a short lap – it’s a very fast road course. It’s definitely one of the most enjoyable laps of the year. I am excited to get back on track and kick off the final two races of the season in the No. 29 Sapphire Gas Solutions Honda.”
“It’s time to head West for the last two races of the 2023 season. We’re hoping for better weather than we experienced at World Wide Technology Raceway this past weekend. As a team, we already enjoyed a successful event at Portland in June with the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team when Jake Dennis secured a second-place finish on his way to the Drivers Championship. We’ll be looking for Colton, Kyle, Romain or Devlin to go one step better than Jake on the podium this weekend!”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
