Andretti INDYCAR and INDY NXT Take on Final Road Course in Pacific Northwest
The Andretti INDYCAR and INDY NXT teams will head to the Pacific Northwest this weekend for the final road course race of the season at Portland International Raceway. The 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural road course is relatively flat, but offers several prime 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. With just a few races remaining and the INDY NXT Championship title on the line, both Andretti teams are focused on finishing the year strong.
Race Details
| INDYCAR BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland – Portland International Raceway |
| Round | 15/17 |
| Track Type | Road Course |
| Turns | 12 |
| Laps | 110 Laps |
| Track Length | 1.964 Miles |
| INDY NXT Grand Prix Portland – Portland International Raceway |
| Round | 12/14 |
| Track Type | Road Course |
| Turns | 12 |
| Laps | 35 Laps |
| Track Length | 1.964 Miles |
Notes
INDYCAR
- This year’s BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland marks the 31st NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the road course, dating back to 1984, and the seventh since INDYCAR returned in 2018. Since coming back to the Pacific Northwest circuit, Andretti INDYCAR has earned three podiums, 11 top-10 finishes and led 55 laps.
Colton Herta
- Following a podium finish at the last round’s race in Laguna Seca, Colton Herta returns to Portland International Raceway for the sixth time. Herta made an impressive rookie debut at the track in 2019, when he went on to capture the pole and lead 36 laps of the race. Since then, the California native has only finished outside the top 10 once in Portland.
- At last year’s race, Herta ran consistently in the top five and led four laps on the Portland road course. During the team’s final pit stop, the No. 26 stalled and was later issued a penalty for an unapproved hybrid engine start on Lap 91. Despite losing a position, Herta took the checkered flag in fourth and earned his 16th top-five finish on a road course at the time.
Kyle Kirkwood
- Returning for his fourth start at Portland International Raceway, Kyle Kirkwood will aim to add a road course victory at a circuit where he’s already earned two top-10 finishes.
- During his 2024 appearance in Portland, Kirkwood took a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and worked his way up to run as high as third. A blocking penalty on Lap 55 set the Florida native back, but he recovered in the closing laps to finish 10th and earn his 11th top-10 result of the season at the time.
- In addition to his INDYCAR experience on the Portland circuit, Kirkwood led all but one lap on his way to a win and a podium finish at the 2021 Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader before going on to claim the 2021 INDY NXT by Firestone Series Championship.
Marcus Ericsson
- Set to make his fifth start at Portland International Raceway, Marcus Ericsson has only finished outside the top 10 once and has completed 100% of the laps since his debut at the track in 2021.
- Last year, Ericsson used his experience on the Portland track to move the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda up the field, running as high as third, before going on to score his career-best Portland result in sixth.
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Driver Championship Standings |
| Colton Herta | 313 points | 7th |
| Kyle Kirkwood | 377 points | 4th |
| Marcus Ericsson | 200 points | 20th |
INDY NXT
- In Andretti INDY NXT’s six appearances at Portland International Raceway, the team has collected four wins (O’Ward – 2018 R1 & R2, Kirkwood – 2021 R2 and Foster – 2023), four poles, 12 podiums and 117 laps led.
- Portland International Raceway was a permanent fixture on the INDY NXT by Firestone calendar until 2001, before returning to the schedule in 2018. That year, Andretti INDY NXT swept the doubleheader weekend with back-to-back wins following the series’ 17-year hiatus from the track.
Lochie Hughes
- Lochie Hughes will make his INDY NXT career race debut at Portland International Raceway this weekend. Although this track holds special significance for the Australian driver after last year, when he clinched the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship title, helping him reach that final step on the development ladder before moving up to the INDY NXT Series.
- During last year’s doubleheader weekend in USF Pro 2000, Hughes secured a top 10 finish in Race 1 and a podium to end the triumphant weekend in Race 2.
Salvador de Alba
- Making his second INDY NXT appearance at Portland International Raceway this weekend, Salvador de Alba will return to the track that saw him finish in 12th place last year during his Series debut after getting caught in the mix of an incident in Lap 1 Turn 1, a notoriously difficult area of the track for drivers.
- While in USF Pro 2000, de Alba competed at Portland International Raceway in a tripleheader weekend, taking home a podium finish in Race 3, a top-10 finish in Race 1 and a result just outside of the top 10 in Race 2.
Dennis Hauger
- Current Championship leader Dennis Hauger will make his racing debut this weekend at Portland International Raceway.
- Hauger’s road course experience this year in INDY NXT has been successful, collecting three wins (Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Race 2 and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), three poles, two additional podium finishes and leading 113 laps.
James Roe
- Making his third INDY NXT start at the Grand Prix of Portland this weekend, James Roe will return to this year with the aim of improving upon his result last year, that saw him take the checkered three laps down due to a competitor making contact with him in Lap 1 of the race, unfortunately hindering his strong starting spot of P3.
- His 2023 start at the track saw the Irish driver secure a top-10 result after making up four positions throughout the race.
Seb Murray
- Representing the Andretti Cape INDY NXT team, Seb Murray will take on the Grand Prix of Portland for the first time.
- Murray recently secured his INDY NXT career-best race result on a permanent road course in Race 2 of the Grand Prix of Monterey, with a fifth-place finish.
Michael d’Orlando
- Making his 2025 INDY NXT season debut this weekend, piloting the No. 3 Rising Star Racing/Priority Dallara, Michael d’Orlando will return to compete with Andretti Cape this weekend after doing a partial season with the team in 2024.
- Although the American driver has never made an INDY NXT start at Portland International Raceway, he did compete on the road course in 2023 while driving in the USF Pro 2000 Series. During the tripleheader weekend, d’Orlando captured a win in Race 2, a top-five finish in Race 3 and a top-10 finish in Race 1 after starting on the pole for all three races.
| INDY NXT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Andretti INDY NXT Driver Championship Standings |
| Lochie Hughes | 381 points | 3rd |
| Salvador de Alba | 291 points | 6th |
| Dennis Hauger | 470 points | 1st |
| James Roe | 181 points | 13th |
| Andretti Cape INDY NXT Driver Championship Standings |
| Seb Murray | 183 points | 12th |
| Michael d’Orlando | 0 points | NA |
Team Quotes
Colton Herta
No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
“It’s great to be heading back to Portland International Raceway this weekend. It’s a fun and challenging track. You’re always compromising on setup, which makes it tough because you’re never completely happy with the balance. With only a few races left, hopefully we can get our first win of the season.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 JM Bullion Honda
“Portland is a wild one. It has a few high-speed sectors that almost feel like a karting track, and the old pavement also creates a lot of tire deg, which tends to switch up the strategy during the race. This weekend is our last chance to get a road course win this season, and I’m excited to get going with the JM Bullion crew.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Delaware Life Honda
“Portland is one of the shortest laps on the calendar, which makes precision really important. There aren’t many corners to gain lap time, so you have to be nearly perfect in both your driving and car setup to be competitive. What really stands out is that first chicane. It’s tricky and is especially chaotic at the start of the race. That makes qualifying up front even more important to stay out of trouble. We had a strong weekend there last year, and hopefully we can build on that and go after the win.”
Rob Edwards
Chief Operating Officer
“It’s time to go back to the Pacific Northwest. We had a productive test in Portland the Tuesday after Laguna Seca, and we’re looking to turn that into a solid weekend for all three drivers. It’s hard to believe that we are heading into the last three races, and by the end of August, we will be turning the page on the 2025 season. Looking forward to our last road course race of the year.”
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“Portland is a very unique track because most of the corners are right-handers, so the car setup at this one is a bit different than what we’re used to. It usually brings out some interesting racing for sure. This is also our last road course race of the season, so it’ll be important to have a good result to try and set ourselves up well for the final two races of the year.”
Salvador de Alba
No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“Portland is one of my favorite tracks. I’ve done well here in USF, but I still have some prep work to do to try and be faster in qualifying to get some better race results. This will be our last chance to push on road courses before we switch over to ovals for the rest of the season, so I’m hoping to make it count.”
Dennis Hauger
No. 28 Rental Group Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“This will be my first time out in Portland, so I’m looking forward to making the most of this new experience this weekend. I’ve heard that Turn 1 is really tricky, and there are a lot of long combination corners in the mid-section. So, it’s not usually super easy to pass here, which means qualifying is going to be very important for us. This is the last road course on the calendar too, so I’m sure that it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
James Roe
No. 29 Topcon Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“We’re into the final three races of the season, so things are heating up. Portland is a very technical track with lots of areas that tend to catch some people up, like Turn 1. It’s going to be super important to survive the first lap of the race through there. So, qualifying is going to be key to keeping a clean race, and hopefully we can come away with some strong results.”
Seb Murray
No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
“We’re heading to our final road course stop of the season, so I’ll make sure it’s a good one. We faired pretty well in Laguna, so I’m hoping to take that experience into this weekend and push on with more of those kinds of results. I trust the No. 2 team and am looking forward to trying my hand at racing here.”
Michael d’Orlando
No. 3 Rising Star Racing/Priority Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
“I’m so excited to get back in the driver’s seat again, I’ve missed it. I’m happy to be back with the great crew at Andretti Cape. I’ve always been close with them, and I’m looking forward to working with them again. It’s been really tough to sit on the sidelines for the majority of this year, but the hard work seems to have paid off. I’m super thankful to Priority and Rising Star Racing for their efforts to help me get back on track. Let’s go get it at Portland!”
Don Lambert
Team Manager
“We’re all looking forward to Portland this weekend and heading to another iconic West Coast racetrack. After a lackluster Laguna Seca weekend, where we did not quite execute in either race, we know we have some work to do in Portland. The entire team needs to focus on stepping up the performance this weekend to accomplish what we come to do, which is win, and there can only be one winner.”
