The 2024 BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland will take place from Friday, August 23 to Sunday, August 25 at Portland International Raceway. This event marks the 30th time in 40 years that Indianapolis 500 cars have come to Portland to race.
The first Indy races in Portland took place under Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) from 1984-2003, and then Champ Car World Series (Champ Car) from 2004-2007. The event is now sanctioned by IndyCar, and this year's race marks 40 years since Al Unser Jr. won the inaugural Portland race in 1984.
Ten total races from five different open-wheel racing series will be featured on the weekend schedule. The schedule includes the IndyCar Series and the IndyNXT by Firestone minor league associated with the IndyCar series. The schedule also includes appearances by the USF Pro 2000, USF 2000, and the USF Juniors series, all presented by Continental Tire.
The Portland race marks round 14 of 17 total for the U.S.-based NTT IndyCar Series Championship. The IndyCars will race over 216.04 miles in 110 laps of the track. Among the drivers coming to Portland for the race is Alexander Rossi, currently in 9th place in the year's championship standings.
"I love coming to this part of the world," Rossi said. "I grew up on the West Coast and being back in the mountains and such is always a nice change of pace from the cornfields where we're usually racing at this time of year in the Midwest. The fan base is amazing, and just incredibly knowledgeable. I remember when we returned to Portland I was just blown away with how much knowledge everyone had, even though the series had been away from the track for quite some time."
Asked if there's anything special to watch as the IndyCars race on Portland's mostly flat and smooth surface, Rossi said, "It's a short lap, but it's fairly high speed with pretty high grip. High-speed corners are kind of my strong suit, if I had to choose something. You're never really going straight for too long and the laps tick off very quickly. I think quick times are 57, 58 seconds, so anytime you're doing something under a minute, it's pretty busy. Portland makes you work out there and it's something I enjoy."
Rossi will be appearing in Portland as part of the Arrow McLaren team, and hopes to finish well here.
"Portland is one of the road courses that, for the way our car performs, is where we expect to excel the most. Ending this part of the season at Portland is something that we're all very much looking forward to."
The complete event schedule for the week is available at RacePortland.com/indycar , along with ticket purchase options. Children 12 and under receive free general admission with a ticketed adult. Paid parking is available at the track, or fans can ride the MAX to Portland International Raceway for convenient access.
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