Will Power quickly snatched the lead from pole-sitter Santino Ferrucci into Turn 1 and was relatively uncontested en route to winning the Grand Prix of Portland.
The 43-year-old Aussie’s closest competition was championship leader Alex Palou, who started third and quickly made his way to second, but was unable to mount a run either on-track or through pit sequences to overtake Power. In the end, Power had his No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet out front for 101 of 110 laps and bested Palou by 9.8267s around the 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural terrain road course to take his third victory of the season and 44th of his career. Additionally, he moved back into second in the title race, now trailing Palou by 54 points (484-430) with three races to go.
“Very rewarding,” Power said, of the win. “I came here determined, so did the whole team. I came here very determined. … Get qualifying right and then executing the race as kind of our, no last ditch effort, but really if Palou finished ahead of us today then it was going to be very difficult. An absolute team effort. Very lucky to drive for this team. Very lucky that I have a sponsor like Verizon and Chevrolet. Gonna keep fighting ahead here. A couple of bad races before this but yeah, I really, really love this series. I feel lucky to be a part of it and race all these great drivers, and see if we can get a championship.”
Power was joined on the podium by teammate Josef Newgarden, who took third. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta finished fourth, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong in fifth.
The Race
Pole-sitter Ferrucci launched out of the final corner to lead the field to the green flag, but frontrow mate Power tucked in behind and drafted off before sending a move to take the lead on the inside of Turn 1.
Ferrucci settled into second, ahead of Palou. Moments later, though, trouble broke out as Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon was forced off track by an aggressive lunge by Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. The outcome resulted in Dixon dropping wheels and getting back on course, but finding Pietro Fittipaldi’s No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda. The two collided wheel-to-wheel, which sent Dixon hard into the Turn 8 barrier to become the first retirement of the race.
Race Control handed Fittipaldi a drive thru penalty for avoidable contact as a result.
The restart on lap 5 saw Power hold firm at the top spot, with moves happening further back in the field as Colton Herta pulled a move on Christian Lundgaard to take over fifth. Meanwhile, the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Honda of Romain Grosjean, who started on a set of used softer alternates, progressed up to fourth after starting sixth.
Palou got by Ferrucci with a calm inside pass entering Turn 1, and trailed Power by 0.8864s.
It wasn’t long after the restart that Kirkwood called about an unsettling left-rear issue following the collision with Dixon. Kirkwood pitted on lap 20, dropping from sixth to 16th and switching to a set of new alternates from used alternates.
Power continued to lead on lap 26, holding a 0.4649s gap to Palou. On lap 31, Ferrucci dove to pit lane from third and elected to change from the harder primary compound to a set of used alternates.
Power pitted on lap 32 and changed from primaries to a set of used reds, handing the lead to Palou, who went for the overcut and pitted a lap later. Power cycled back to the lead after a slow pit stop by Palou, who faded to 1.7s back and on a set of used primaries on lap 34.
Ferrucci, who was mired further back in the field after his initial pit stop, managed to get by Herta in Turn 4 to take sixth, which was aided after Herta and Grosjean made contact while battling for fifth on lap 34. Herta called over the radio that “Grosjean just pushed me off” but Race Control took no action.
.@ColtonHerta vs @RGrosjean ⚔️ 👀 #IndyCar
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) August 25, 2024
🎥 @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/nJWJ8yDhQM
Palou trailed Power by 1.6699s on lap 40. Power’s stranglehold on lead widened to 2.6821s over the Spaniard just five laps later. Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi, running an alternate strategy after an initial pit stop earlier on lap 13, pitted on lap 45 and opted for a set of used alternates.
By lap 50, Power managed to extend to a 3.6078s lead over Palou, while Kirkwood and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist pitted. Grosjean pitted on lap 53.
The top five at the halfway mark was led by Power, followed by Palou, Newgarden, Ferrucci and Herta.
Newgarden and Palou pitted on lap 56, with the former taking used alternates and the latter switching to a set of fresh alternates.
Power pitted from the lead on lap 57, handing the lead to Herta. Power took on another set of used alternates. Ferrucci also pitted, taking on the harder primaries before coming out - and settling in - at roughly 4s behind Grosjean.
Herta continued to hold the top spot on lap 60, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong by 2.1645s. However, Herta relinquished the lead the following lap after coming down pit lane for service and taking a set of used alternates.
Moments later, Grosjean spun coming out of Turn 1. He managed to get going as the caution was withheld, but cut back across the racing line and made contact with Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Christian Rasmussen. Grosjean appeared to sustain right-front damage, drifting off track once more briefly before pitting. Grosjean was handed a drive thru penalty by Race Control for unsportsmanlike conduct/unsafe behavior as a result of the incident.
.@RGrosjean has been handed a drive-through penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct due to this incident 🫣 #IndyCar
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) August 25, 2024
🎥 @IndyCaronNBC pic.twitter.com/7fBESnyhq5
Armstrong pitted on lap 62, cycling Power back to the lead.
The completion of green flag stops by lap 65 saw Power back atop the field, with Palou 1.0040s back. Newgarden, Herta and Ferrucci held the rest of the top five.
Power led Palou by 1.3410s by lap 70. Shortly after, the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of David Malukas was forced to give up four positions after shortcutting the opening corner while pushing from 14th.
The lead once again widened by lap 76, with Power up by 2.1216s over Palou. Four laps later, the advantage was 2.1106s for Power.
Ferrucci was the first among the frontrunners to pit, which came on lap 80 as he changed to a fresh set of alternates after a solid 7.75s pit stop. Kirkwood and Rosenqvist also pitted.
Armstrong pitted from sixth on lap 81 and ended up cycling ahead of Ferrucci. Meanwhile, Herta began to press Newgarden for third as the two battled more than 14s behind Power.
Final round of stops
Palou trailed Power by 1.3406s on lap 85, which was the same lap Herta and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin dove to pit lane. Herta, who took on alternates, stalled it and lost valuable seconds.
Power pitted the next lap and took on a set of fresh alternates, with Newgarden also coming in and opting for a used set of alternates.
Palou came into the pits on lap 87 and took on a set of used primaries after a 6s stop, but Power cycled well ahead by over 2s and re-assumed the lead on lap 88.
The margin for Power widened to 3.4644s by lap 90 and then 4.7564s by lap 95.
With 10 laps to go, the field spread out as Power held a 6.0379s lead over Palou. Five laps to go saw Power extend the gap over Palou to 8.9315s.
Power continued to coast off from the field, beating Palou by nearly 10s as Newgarden was more than 23s off the mark.
