Christian Lundgaard has been nearly unbeatable on permanent road courses this season. He’ll have to be nearly perfect Sunday to continue that trend at Portland International Raceway.

The Dane (photo, top) starts Sunday’s OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland last – 25th – in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet after numerous technical problems during the first round of NTT P1 Award qualifying, but his record suggests he’s the driver to watch from the back. Lundgaard has scored a series-best 185 points on the four permanent road courses this season, winning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America and finishing runner-up at Barber Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

He has nine podium finishes in his last 11 permanent road-course starts and an average finish of 1.5 in four such races this season.

“As soon as we came in for the change from prime (tires) to alternates, my dash froze,” Lundgaard said. “So, we tried to re-cycle the car, and that didn't really seem to work. Then the car didn't want to fire up, and then the hybrid didn't work after that. So, a lot of unfortunate events, I guess.”

Lundgaard has proven he can overcome adversity. At Road America, opening-lap contact dropped him to 25th and forced an unscheduled pit stop. He rallied to the front for his third career victory.

But Arrow McLaren, which has won three of the four permanent road course races this season, has lacked speed this weekend, leaving the team seeking answers overnight. At the most recent permanent road course, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lundgaard and teammate Pato O’Ward shared the front row and finished 1-2, with O’Ward winning.

The pair also qualified first and second last year at Portland, but a six-position grid penalty dropped Lundgaard from the pole to seventh.

Pato O'Ward

This time, O’Ward (photo, above) starts 17th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his worst starting spot of the season, while teammate Nolan Siegel starts 16th.

O’Ward said Arrow McLaren believed it could advance to the second round with one set of the softer, faster Firestone alternate tires. The team used just one set, but O’Ward fell short of advancing.

The Mexican driver said the car isn’t handling poorly; it’s simply lacking speed.

Romain Grosjean

Coyne Cars Turn Heads

Romain Grosjean didn’t show much speed in practice, finishing 23rd and 24th in the two sessions this weekend in the No. 18 BMax Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. Neither did teammate Dennis Hauger, who didn’t turn a lap Friday while battling mechanical problems and was 23rd quickest in practice Saturday.

But qualifying was a different story.

Grosjean (photo, above) advanced to the second round and will start 10th in Sunday’s 110-lap race (4 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls), marking the fourth time this season he has advanced past the first round. The last came May 9 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, where he started 11th.

The result is an even bigger surprise considering Grosjean’s Portland history. He had started 22nd, 19th, 27th and 27th, respectively, in his four previous races at the track.

Grosjean used two sets of Firestone Firehawk alternate tires in the opening round. By using so many sets, he was concerned he wouldn’t have enough for the remaining rounds.

“We didn't have enough rims to mount new tires, so not thinking we were going to be competitive,” Grosjean said. “We put two red sets of tires in the first round, and then I didn't know we would be on scuffs (used tires) for the second round. Just positive that we found pace in the car. Both cars, (teammate) Dennis (Hauger) did a great job. But, yeah, I mean that's the first in my life, and I've been racing for a long time.”

Hauger will start ninth. It is the first time since the St. Petersburg season opener that Hauger has advanced past the first round.

“Yeah, did not expect this, to be honest,” Hauger said. “Yesterday was really rough. Didn't get any laps in. We got a couple earlier today but still wasn't really sure where we were at. We didn't get to run any red (alternate) tires. Again, didn't expect it, but I would take that any day.”

Marcus Ericsson

Ericsson Running Special Livery

Marcus Ericsson's partnership with patient ambassadors from Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis continues this weekend with a special livery.

Throughout the season, patients have designed custom hats worn by Ericsson. This weekend, artwork featuring the patients' handprints and signatures appeared on the rear wing of Ericsson's No. 28 Delaware Life Honda.

One of those handprints belongs to 7-year-old Chloe Creger, who was born with congenital kidney failure and later received a kidney transplant. Chloe designed Ericsson's Portland hat (photo, above) earlier this season. When Andretti Global learned her kidney donor, a close family friend, lives in Portland, the team and sponsor Delaware Life invited Chloe and her family to attend their first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race together and see the car in person.

"This has been an incredible experience for our family," said Lauren Creger, Chloe's mother. "Seeing Chloe's artwork and story become part of Marcus' race while supporting Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, where they saved her life many times during her medical journey, means more than we can put into words."

Ericsson said spending time with the patient ambassadors has become one of the highlights of his season.

"Getting to know Chloe and the other patient ambassadors this year and seeing what it means to them to have their handprints and signatures on my car is what makes it really special," Ericsson said.

He starts fourth Sunday.

Malukas Dealing With Wrist Flare-Up in Portland

David Malukas’ knee injury from a practice crash at Nashville Superspeedway has healed, but the Team Penske driver is dealing with another lingering ailment this weekend at Portland International Raceway.

Malukas crashed his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet on Saturday, July 18, in an impact so severe that he knocked the steering wheel off with his knee. He said adrenaline got him through the race weekend, but he felt the effects during the following off week.

Back in the car this weekend, Malukas revealed he is dealing with a flare-up of a wrist injury that dates to a mountain biking accident in February 2024. The accident left him with a fractured and dislocated wrist and torn ligaments.

Malukas had just joined Arrow McLaren after spending his first two INDYCAR SERIES seasons with Dale Coyne Racing when he suffered the accident. The injury lingered into the season, and Malukas was released by McLaren without making a start for the team. He returned to competition midway through the 2024 season with Meyer Shank Racing, then moved to AJ Foyt Racing for the 2025 season before joining Team Penske this year.

Chicago native Malukas has acknowledged he will have to deal off and on with his wrist injury, and Portland is one of those weekends. He has been wearing wrist wraps and said the team made adjustments to the steering wheel to help.

“Just dealing with a little bit of some wrist flare-up, but the guys did a really good job in the car with some repositioning with the steering wheel how I wanted it to be.”

Malukas was eighth fastest in Friday’s practice and fifth Saturday. He qualified ninth but starts 15th following a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change at the previous round in Nashville. He enters second in points, 83 behind four-time series champion Alex Palou.

Teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin will start 13th and 14th, respectively. Team Penske has won an event record nine times at PIR, including three of the last four.

Odds and Ends

  • Will Power is a three-time Portland winner, including the last two races. He starts third Sunday in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda for Andretti Global, his first start at the track with the team. Power won from third last year with Team Penske. Andretti Global has never won at PIR but has three drivers in the top seven of the lineup with Ericsson fourth and Kyle Kirkwood starting seventh in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
  • Palou, Kyffin Simpson and Rinus VeeKay were three of the five drivers who tested July 29 at PIR. All three advanced to the Firestone Fast Six. Palou starts second in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while VeeKay and Simpson will start a season-best fifth and sixth, respectively. Simpson was sixth and seventh, respectively, in this weekend’s two practice sessions, while VeeKay was third and 14th.
  • Louis Foster starts 12th Sunday but admitted his No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Honda missed the setup. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver struggled with the handling in qualifying and missed advancing to the second round by .0216 of a second. Foster started 14th and finished 13th as a rookie last year.
  • Graham Rahal overshot Turn 10 on his push lap in the Top 12 and starts eighth in the No. 15 MiJack Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Rahal credited teammate Foster for helping him find speed after his car got worse as the weekend progressed. Rahal reverted to Foster’s setup for qualifying.
  • Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan was at the track Saturday taking in the action. He visited with Juncos Hollinger Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing.
  • Scott Dixon and engineers from Chip Ganassi Racing met with students from Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, and Portland State University before qualifying Saturday. The students received a behind-the-scenes look at the CGR garages as part of a program designed to introduce them to STEM career opportunities and inspire the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers.
  • Oliver Wheldon, the 15-year-old son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, swept the USF2000 weekend at Portland for VRD Racing, winning both poles and races. Wheldon became the fifth-youngest winner in USF2000 history.