Championship Leader Alex Palou on Point in Opening Portland Practice

Alex Palou’s path toward history became just a bit smoother Friday after he led the opening practice for the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.

Series leader Palou, aiming for his record-tying fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship and fifth overall, was quickest at Portland International Raceway with a best lap of 58.5716 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou and CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson tested July 29 at the 12-turn, 1.964-mile circuit, a decision that’s paying dividends.

SEE: Practice Results

“Good day, great start,” Palou said. “I think there’s some work to do with the alternates (Firestone Firehawk tires), but we were really good on primaries, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“It’s good that we tested here because it allowed us to start with good speed already in the No. 10 DHL Honda. But, yeah, some work to do still. We just need more speed.”

Kyle Kirkwood was second overall in the 64-minute session divided into three groups, turning a best lap of 58.6602 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global. Kirkwood is third in the series standings, 87 points behind Palou and four points behind second-place David Malukas of Team Penske. Kirkwood’s engineers made significant changes to the car setup that resulted in him qualifying 19th and finishing 20th last year at this race.

“We definitely came here with a much different car than we’ve ever ran here, and hopefully it’s paying off,” Kirkwood said. “Early days here, but it’s promising. Compared to where we were last year, this is a big step in the right direction.”

Rinus VeeKay continued his strong season by ending up third at 58.7996 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. VeeKay is 10th in the standings for one of the smallest teams in the series.

Two-time reigning Portland winner Will Power was fourth at 58.9096 in the No. 27 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global, which he joined this season after 15 full-time seasons with Team Penske. Louis Foster rallied from technical problems early in the session that forced extended repair time in the paddock, rounding out the top five at 58.9274 in the No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Malukas, 83 points back of Palou, stopped the clocks eighth at 58.9888 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet that Power drove to victory the last two years at Portland.

Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian and Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren needed extended time in the pits for repairs after clouting the Armco barrier at the apex of the circuit’s tricky Turn 1 with their respective right-front wheels in separate incidents.

Up next is the second practice at 1 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 7 p.m. ET (FS1). Expect a close chase for the pole and first few rows of the starting grid, as less than one-half second separated the top 10 on the speed chart Friday.

The 110-lap race starts at 4 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX and FOX Deportes. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also will broadcast all sessions this weekend.