Paddock Buzz: Another Portland Podium Keeps Good Times Rolling for Will Power

Will Power stood on the podium at Portland International Raceway for the fifth time.

This time, it wasn’t the top step.

Still, Power (photo, top) has become a regular visitor to the awards platform at the Pacific Northwest racetrack after finishing third Sunday in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda for Andretti Global at the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.

Power inherited the lead when race leader Alex Palou made his final pit stop at the end of Lap 82. Power was later called by strategist Ron Ruzewski to pit on Lap 86 but stayed out since he didn’t hear the command, leaving him on track for an extra lap and costing him valuable ground behind slower cars.

He was 23 seconds ahead of Palou and 26 seconds ahead of Felix Rosenqvist before the stop. He exited the pits 7.5 seconds behind Rosenqvist.

Power quickly closed to Rosenqvist, but he couldn’t get by as his Firestone Firehawk alternate tires began to wear.

“I think we would have had a better shot at Rosenqvist because the reds (alternate tires) were really good at the first part of the stint,” Power said. “I heard something when I went through (Turn) 10, and I wasn't sure if that was pit or not. So, I usually wait for him to say something else, but I never heard it. So, I think I missed a call there.

“But we certainly lost a lot on that next lap because we were battling with some back markers. I think we would have had a reasonable shot at Rosenqvist, but I don't think the win at all.”

Power has three Portland wins, all with Team Penske, including the previous two years. This was his first start on the 1.964-mile, 12-turn road course with Andretti Global.

Two-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Power appears to be finding momentum with the team.

His start was rocky, with one top-10 finish in the first eight races -- a third place March 15 at Arlington. He entered the June 7 race at World Wide Technology Raceway 18th in points with a 17th-place average finish.

That’s where his season turned.

Power climbed from 21st to eighth, sparking a run of four top-10 finishes in the last five races. His average finish in that span is 10th.

He has climbed from 14th to 11th in points entering this Sunday’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham (noon ET, FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

Kirkwood Has Another Points Day; Malukas Falters

Kyle Kirkwood had another solid points day, but unfortunately for the Andretti Global driver, Palou was that much better.

Palou started second and won his sixth race of the season, extending his points lead to 110 over Kirkwood (photo, above), who inherited second in the standings following a fifth-place finish in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.

David Malukas entered the weekend second, 83 back, while Kirkwood was third.

Malukas qualified ninth but dropped to 15th on the starting grid following a six-position penalty for an unapproved engine change at the previous round in Nashville. He was handed a two-position penalty on Lap 9 for blocking Alexander Rossi, dropping him to 17th. Malukas rallied to finish 12th and enters Markham 118 points back of Palou in third.

Just like the last permanent road-course event at Mid-Ohio, where Kirkwood charged from 10th to earn his first series podium on a permanent road course, he climbed from seventh to fourth Sunday.

Kirkwood went off-strategy early, running the Firestone Firehawk alternate tires on his first two stints and choosing the softer, faster but less-durable tire to gain ground. That netted him three spots. He lost fourth to Rinus VeeKay in the final stint as he battled a vibration.

It was still Kirkwood’s best PIR finish. His previous best was 10th in 2024. He finished 20th last year.

Kirkwood has six career wins, five of which have occurred on street courses. That’s where the series heads next, with Markham (Aug. 16) and Washington, D.C. (Aug. 23). Both are inaugural races.

Arlington was an inaugural street race in March, a race Kirkwood won over Palou.

VeeKay Caps Consistent Weekend With Top Five

VeeKay was part of a five-car test July 29 at PIR that included all three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers – Palou, Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson – as well as VeeKay and Juncos Hollinger Racing teammate Sting Ray Robb.

VeeKay (photo, above) was second quickest in that test. That speed carried over to this weekend, where he qualified a season-best fifth.

He finished the job Sunday, finishing fourth for his third fourth-place finish in the last five races. VeeKay was also fourth June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway and July 5 at Mid-Ohio.

“I’m really enjoying this,” VeeKay said. “Racing's fun when you perform, but it's so tough. INDYCAR SERIES is such a competitive sport, especially around a place like this.

“Really incredible job by Juncos Hollinger Racing and the 76 crew for giving me the car I need to be quick and be comfortable and, of course, giving me pit stops and a strategy to not even stay with but also pass other guys up front. I feel like Kyle (Kirkwood) and I are basically going back and forth every race the last three. So, I think it's a great sign.”

VeeKay is 10th in points with five races remaining.

He has three top-five finishes this season. Juncos Hollinger Racing had four combined in its previous 104 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races.

Odds and Ends

• Marcus Ericsson began the race by passing Palou for second on Lap 3 but finished sixth for his fourth top-eight finish in the last six races in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda for Andretti Global.

• Andretti Global still hasn’t won at PIR, and its last road-course victory came in 2022 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, it left PIR today with three of the top six finishers with Power third, Kirkwood fifth and Ericsson sixth.

• Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Sonsio Vehicle Protection Chevrolet) finished seventh the third consecutive year at PIR. This was also his fourth top-seven finish in the last five races this season. He had four in the previous eight races. The Kiwi has six top-10 finishes in as many Portland starts.

• Josef Newgarden earned his fifth top-10 finish in the last six races by bringing home the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet in eighth. He has four top-10 finishes in five permanent road-course starts this season. He had one in seven starts last season.

• Christian Lundgaard provided a thrill show by climbing from 25th, the last starting position, to ninth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. His car experienced numerous problems Saturday during the first round of NTT P1 Award qualifying. Lundgaard immediately made up for that in the race, climbing from 25th to 15th in the opening three laps.

• This was Honda’s fourth podium sweep of the season but first on a permanent road course. The engine manufacturer swept the podium at the street circuits in Arlington, Long Beach and Detroit. This is Honda’s first permanent road-course podium sweep since 2021 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

• Palou tied Power, Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr. with his third win at Portland, tied for the most in series history.

• The INDY NXT by Firestone race saw 140 on-track passes and 97 passes for position, mainly outside of the top six. Both were series records at Portland.