Power Snaps Year-Long IndyCar Drought In Portland

Will Power celebrates in victory lane Sunday at Portland Int'l Raceway. (James Black/Penske Entertainment photo)

PORTLAND, Ore. – Will Power and Team Penske ended their collective NTT IndyCar Series winless droughts with a statement victory Sunday at Portland Int’l Raceway.

In dominating the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland, the 44-year-old made the best case possible for the future of his Hall-of-Fame Indy car career.

After starting third, Power drove to the front and held control for 78 of the 110 laps to go back-to-back at Portland, scoring the 45th Indy car victory of his career and his third at the 1.944-mile road course.

Power inherited the lead under yellow, when polesitter Pato O’ Ward came to pit lane, after a quick series of frightening early crashes and off-track excursions by various drivers.

The restart came on lap 20, and a lap later, O’Ward suffered electrical issues that eliminated him from contention. With a major threat out of the way, Power essentially maintained the lead between pit cycles afterwards; his last stop came on lap 80 for scuffed Firestone alternate tires.

The No. 12 Verizon Chevy was greatly challenged after a caution on lap 84, where Power was forced to stretch the limits of his tires to the finish, while Christian Lundgaard and Alex Palou both stayed within striking distance.

Power survived the pressure – with the help of some lapped cars who kept the chaos at bay, including potential Penske prospect David Malukas – to win by 1.538 seconds over Arrow McLaren’s Lundgaard.

The Toowoomba, Australia driver was finally able to put Team Penske back on the top step of the podium, an organization that has not been winless for a full season since 1999.

Sunday marked Power’s first Indy car win since Portland a year ago, and it was Team Penske’s first American open-wheel triumph in 11 months, dating back to Sept. 1, 2024, with Scott McLaughlin at the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile.

With Power’s own driving future still in limbo, a return to victory lane was a huge sigh of relief.

“I think it’s just a big win for all the team. We’ve had a rough year, and it’s not really because we’ve been off the pace, it’s just been unfortunate circumstances. I’ve had two engine failures, a tire failure,” Power said.

“Just stoked. I’ve had a great career with Verizon and [Team] Penske. I really, really enjoy winning for the guys and everyone I’ve worked with for a long time,” he added.

Another back-to-back stat came from Lundgaard. It was the 24-year-old’s second runner-up finish in a row, and his sixth podium overall on the season.

The Danish driver also once again wheeled his No. 7 Velo Chevrolet up five positions on the grid from seventh, the exact same refrain as his effort two weeks ago at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Lundgaard won the NTT P1 Pole Award Saturday, but was hit with an engine penalty that placed him back to seventh to start the race. However, he never lost faith in his equipment.

“I knew the pace was in the car, I think if we would have started further off, the result would have been a little different today. I think we could have had Power. We gave it everything we had, obviously,” Lundgaard said.

The second-place finish for Lundgaard made it 12 total podiums for Arrow McLaren this season.

Third place went to the man who also took his fourth Astor Cup, as Alex Palou pulled off a wild save in the closing laps to maintain the final step on the podium after a fierce battle with Lundgaard.

Thanks to O’Ward’s issues early, the Spaniard was able to stretch his championship lead to an insurmountable 151 points, clinching the title with two races remaining.

The third-most laps led all day went to RLL’s Graham Rahal, who finished a season-best fourth. Rahal was also the biggest mover of the race, up 18 spots from the 22nd starting position.

Alexander Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, completed the top five.

Callum Ilott had another solid run with Prema Racing in sixth, and Scott McLaughlin was seventh in a second Penske-owned entry. Marcus Armstrong, Felix Rosenqvist, and Colten Herta rounded out the top 10.

Malukas, Kyle Kirkwood, Kyffin Simpson, Marcus Ericsson, Jacob Abel, Josef Newgarden, and O’Ward all finished off the lead lap.

Two scary incidents occurred early, including an uncharacteristic hit into the pit entry attenuator for Santino Ferrucci before he completed lap one. A frustrated Conor Daly later collided hard into the turn 12 tire barrier after a lap-long squabble with Christian Rasmussen.

The NTT IndyCar Series takes another weekend off before the final two races of the year, with trips to Milwaukee and Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway both on tap.

The Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 is slated for Sunday, Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the IndyCar Radio Network, and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218.