Portland International Raceway (PIR) delivered another memorable race weekend August 7–9 as the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland brought the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, INDY NXT, USF Pro Championships and ARCA Menards Series West to the Pacific Northwest.
PIR opened in 1961 on the former site of Vanport, and its first INDYCAR SERIES race was won by Al Unser Jr. in 1984.
The circuit is also home to one of the most remarkable finishes in IndyCar history. In 1997, Mark Blundell edged Gil de Ferran by 0.027 seconds and Raul Boesel by 0.055 seconds in a three-wide finish—the closest two-car and three-car finish on a road course in INDYCAR SERIES history.
Alex Palou claimed victory in Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES feature race, adding another chapter to Portland’s long Indy car legacy. Felix Rosenqvist finished second, followed by Will Power in third. The 110-lap, 216.04-mile race took place on PIR’s 1.967-mile, 12-turn road course, where the fast front-straight chicane and heavy-braking Turn 7 again created plenty of opportunities for decisive racing. Palou’s 2026 win follows recent Portland victories by Will Power in 2024 and 2025, Palou in 2023 and 2021, and Scott McLaughlin in 2022.
The INDY NXT’s Portland race was won by Alessandro de Tullio, while G3 Argyros and Leonardo Escorpioni split the pair of USF Pro 2000 races at PIR. Oliver Wheldon earned his first USF2000 win in Race 1 after race leader Eddie Beswick retired with a suspension failure, then controlled Race 2 to complete the weekend sweep.
On Saturday, the ARCA Menards Series West returned road-course stock car racing to Portland for the Portland 112, part of a diverse weekend that gave fans the chance to see emerging racing talent alongside some of the sport’s biggest names. Mason Massey took the white flag in fourth position but moved to second when the top two, leader Sam Corry and Ethan Tovo made contact into turn five and momentarily slipped off the track into the grass. He then slipped past then-leader Kyle Steckly in the final corner when Steckly dipped his left-side tires off into the grass. Massey finished first, Steckly second and Hailie Deegan third. Local Eric Johnson, Jr. finished fifth, his third top-five finish of the season and second consecutive top-five on a road course; he finished third at Sonoma Raceway in June.
The OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland once again highlighted PIR’s place as one of the Pacific Northwest’s signature motorsports destinations, combining major-league competition with a proud history that spans more than four decades of IndyCar racing.
Photo Courtesy of Gus Perez
