Preview – 2019 Grand Prix of Portland
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
The INDYCAR season continues this weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Portland and the Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The Open Wheel will be covering the action on site all weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all of the latest news.
Photo by Riley Bridges/The Open Wheel
Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map – Tickets
Indy Lights Preview: Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products (Entry List), Race 1 – Saturday, August 31, 2019 4:50PM (ET) & Race 2 – Sunday, September 1, 2019 12:35PM (ET) – Results from 2018 Race 1 and Race 2 at Portland show Andretti Autosport domination as Patricio O’Ward won both races. Combine that with Oliver Askew’s unbelievable hot streak and there’s not much of a need to predict anything more than another Oliver Askew double victory in Indy Lights. My pick to win: Oliver Askew (x2)
NTT IndyCar Series Preview: Grand Prix of Portland – Sunday, September 1, 2019 3:00PM (ET) NBC – Previous driver experience at Portland shows just the two winners in the field in Sebastien Bourdais (2) and Takuma Sato (1). The active Top 5 in laps led in this event are Bourdais (146), Alexander Rossi (32), Sato (25), Ryan Hunter-Reay (19), and Will Power (14). Here is the box score from the NTT IndyCar Series’ return to Portland in 2018. That race was won by Sato and he was joined by Hunter-Reay, Bourdais, Pigot, and Dixon in the Top 5. My pick to win: Josef Newgarden – The Penske cars were fast last year in Portland (as they are almost everywhere) and Newgarden will be eager to grab as big of a championship lead as possible heading into the finale at Laguna Seca. I get the feeling he grabs another win this weekend to put himself in perfect position to win his second NTT IndyCar Series championship.
My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais, James Hinchcliffe, & Conor Daly – It’s hard to build a trustworthy team with Newgarden’s big salary this weekend. Will Power gives you a fast Penske car. Bourdais has the best history in the field at Portland. I like the Arrow SPM duo of Hinch and Daly this weekend. They get along well and will be eager to show how well they perform together before McLaren joins the team next year.
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