Grand Prix of Portland
IndyCar Series
VenuePortland International Raceway
Corporate sponsorBitNile.com
First race1984
First ICS race2018
Distance216.04 mi (347.68 km)
Laps110
Previous namesStroh's/G.I. Joe's 200 (1984–1985)
Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 (1986–1990, 1996)
Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 (1991–1995, 1998–1999)
Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco/Havoline (1997)
Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco (2000–2001)
G.I. Joe's 200 (2002–2003)
Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland (2004)
G.I. Joe's Grand Prix of Portland (2005–2006)
Mazda Grand Prix of Portland (2007)
Grand Prix of Portland (2018-2019, 2021-2022)
BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland (2023)
Most wins (driver)Michael Andretti (3)
Al Unser Jr. (3)
Most wins (team)Newman/Haas Racing (8)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chassis: Lola (12)
Engine: Honda (7)
Chevrolet (7)

The Grand Prix of Portland (known as the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland for sponsorship reasons) is a race in the IndyCar Series held at the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The race was an annual event from 1984 to 2007, initially as a race in the CART series, and later as part of the Champ Car World Series. After a ten-year hiatus, the race made its return to the IndyCar Series in the 2018 season.[1]

Portland is best-remembered as being the site of two of the closest finishes on a road course in Indy car racing history. In 1986, Michael Andretti lost fuel pressure on the final turn of the final lap, which allowed his father Mario to catch up and beat him to the finish line by 0.070 seconds. At the time, it was the closest finish of any race in Indy car history. In 1997, in a three-wide finish, Mark Blundell beat second place Gil de Ferran by 0.027 seconds, and beat third place Raul Boesel by 0.055 seconds. For a road course race, it was the all-time closest finish in CART series history, as well as the closest three-car finish in series history.

For nearly its entire existence, the title sponsor of the race was G.I. Joe's sporting goods and auto parts store, and the event was held during or around the Portland Rose Festival. Numerous times, the race was held on Father's Day. Beginning in 2018, the race was held in September on Labor Day weekend, promoted by Green Savoree Racing Promotions.

Race winners

IndyCar Series

Season Date Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
CART/Champ Car World Series[2]
1.915 miles (3.082 km) course
1984 June 17 United States Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing March 84C Cosworth 104 199.16 (320.516) 1:53:17 105.484 Report
1985 June 16 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 104 199.16 (320.516) 1:51:35 107.083 Report
1986 June 15 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T8600 Cosworth 104 199.16 (320.516) 1:50:53 107.759 Report
1987 June 14 United States Bobby Rahal Truesports Lola T8700 Cosworth 104 199.16 (320.516) 1:50:02 108.59 Report
1.922 miles (3.093 km) course
1988 June 19 United States Danny Sullivan Penske Racing Penske PC-17 Chevrolet-Ilmor 104 199.888 (321.688) 1:57:17 102.253 Report
1989 June 25 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing Penske PC-18 Chevrolet-Ilmor 104 199.888 (321.688) 1:55:20 103.984 Report
1990 June 24 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T9000 Chevrolet-Ilmor 104 199.888 (321.688) 1:48:22 110.643 Report
1991 June 23 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T9100 Chevrolet-Ilmor 104 199.888 (321.688) 1:44:06 115.208 Report
1.95 miles (3.14 km) course
1992 June 21 United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T9200 Ford-Cosworth XB 102 198.9 (320.098) 1:53:25 105.219 Report
1993 June 27 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Penske Racing Penske PC-22 Chevrolet-Ilmor C 102 198.9 (320.098) 2:03:54 96.312 Report
1994 June 26 United States Al Unser Jr. Penske Racing Penske PC-23 Ilmor D 102 198.9 (320.098) 1:50:43 107.777 Report
1995 June 25 United States Al Unser Jr. Penske Racing Penske PC-24 Mercedes-Benz-Ilmor 102 198.9 (320.098) 1:54:49 103.933 Report
1996 June 23 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 96i Honda 98 191.1 (307.545) 1:50:25 103.837 Report
1.967 miles (3.166 km) course
1997 June 22 United Kingdom Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Reynard 97 Mercedes-Benz-Ilmor 78* 153.426 (246.915) 2:00:12 76.575 Report
1998 June 21 Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 98i Honda 98 192.766 (310.226) 1:54:06 101.355 Report
1.969 miles (3.169 km) course
1999 June 20 Brazil Gil de Ferran Walker Racing Reynard 99i Honda 98 192.962 (310.542) 1:47:44 107.457 Report
2000 June 25 Brazil Gil de Ferran Penske Racing Reynard 2Ki Honda HRK 112 220.528 (354.905) 2:00:46 109.564 Report
2001 June 24 Italy Max Papis Team Rahal Lola B1/00 Ford-Cosworth 76* 149.644 (240.828) 2:00:20 74.606 Report
2002 June 16 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Lola B2/00 Toyota 110 216.59 (348.567) 2:03:19 105.381 Report
2003 June 22 Mexico Adrián Fernández Fernández Racing Lola B02/00 Ford-Cosworth XFE 100 196.9 (316.879) 1:56:16 101.602 Report
2004 June 20 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola B02/00 Ford-Cosworth XFE 94 185.086 (297.867) 1:45:50 104.923 Report
1.964 miles (3.161 km) course
2005 June 19 Brazil Cristiano da Matta PKV Racing Lola B02/00 Ford-Cosworth XFE 105 206.22 (331.878) 1:51:51 110.616 Report
2006 June 18 United States A. J. Allmendinger Forsythe Racing Lola B03/00 Ford-Cosworth XFE 105 206.22 (331.878) 1:48:32 113.989 Report
2007 June 10 France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Panoz DP-01 Cosworth XFE 103 202.292 (325.557) 1:45:42 114.816 Report
2008

2017
Not held
IndyCar Series
1.967 miles (3.166 km) course
2018 Sept. 2 Japan Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara UAK-18 Honda 105 206.535 (332.386) 2:00:09 102.971 Report
2019 Sept. 1 Australia Will Power Team Penske Dallara UAK-18 Chevrolet 105 206.535 (332.386) 1:58:43 104.225 Report
2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 Sept. 12 Spain Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara UAK-18 Honda 110 216.04 (347.683) 2:07:04 102.011 Report
2022 Sept. 4 New Zealand Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Dallara IR18 Chevrolet 110 216.04 (347.683) 01:56:15.6892 111.493 Report
2023 Sept. 3 Spain Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara IR18 Honda 110 216.04 (347.683) 01:57:01.9814 110.758 Report
Notes

Support races

Race summaries

CART PPG Indy Car World Series

Al Unser Jr. won his first career Indy car race at Portland in 1984. Unser would go on to win three times at Portland.
Mario Andretti won the 1986 race at Portland, the closest finish in Indy car history on a road course at the time.
Michael Andretti won at Portland three consecutive years (1990, 1991, 1992).

CART Fedex Championship Series

Mark Blundell's dramatic victory in 1997 was the closest 1-2-3 finish in CART series history at the time.

Champ Car World Series

Sébastien Bourdais is a two-time winner at Portland (2004, 2007).
Alex Palou has won twice since IndyCar's return to Portland (2021, 2023).

IndyCar Series

References

  1. ^ Blue, Molly (October 12, 2017). "IndyCar racing will return to Portland International Raceway on Labor Day weekend 2018". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  2. ^ "Portland International Raceway". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  3. ^ "2022 Season Rounds 16/17/18 Results".
  4. ^ "Portland International Raceway".
  5. ^ "2022 Championship Rounds 16/17/18 Results".
  6. ^ "Portland International Raceway".
  7. ^ "Portland International Raceway (Atlantic)". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  8. ^ Vondersmith, Jason (September 5, 2019). "Power's win has him on track with greats". Portland Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Mario sets pace for Portland race". The Indianapolis Star. June 16, 1984. p. 32. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ "Lolas fastest for CART go at Portland". The Indianapolis Star. June 17, 1984. p. 68. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  11. ^ "Unser Jr. captures first Indy-car race". The Indianapolis Star. June 18, 1994. p. 17. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  12. ^ "Mario overhauls Unser at Portland". The Indianapolis Star. June 17, 1995. p. 17. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  13. ^ Miller, Robin (June 15, 1986). "Mario gets gift, title from Michael (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 21. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  14. ^ Miller, Robin (June 15, 1986). "Mario gets gift, title from Michael (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 22. Retrieved February 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  15. ^ Benner, Bill (June 17, 1995). "Rahal gets 1st victory of season (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 17. Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  16. ^ Benner, Bill (June 17, 1995). "Rahal gets 1st victory of season (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 21. Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  17. ^ "Sullivan captures CART race in pits". The Indianapolis Star. June 20, 1988. p. 18. Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  18. ^ "Fittipaldi (again) wins at Portland (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. June 26, 1989. p. 13. Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  19. ^ "Fittipaldi (again) wins at Portland (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. June 26, 1989. p. 14. Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  23. ^ Baum, Bob (June 22, 1992). "Michael earns first '92 win at Portland". The Indianapolis Star. p. 13. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  27. ^ Harris, Mike (June 27, 1994). "Say it again: Penske-owned cars finish 1-2-3 (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 9. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  29. ^ a b Harris, Mike (June 26, 1995). "Unser Jr. bumped from victory (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 27. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  30. ^ a b Harris, Mike (June 26, 1995). "Unser Jr. bumped from victory (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  31. ^ Miller, Robin (June 27, 1995). "Excuse me, sir, but you won the race". The Indianapolis Star. p. 13. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  33. ^ "Still no decision on Portland". The Indianapolis Star. September 20, 1995. p. 59. Retrieved February 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  36. ^ Mittman, Dick (June 24, 1996). "Zanardi wins easily at Portland (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 28. Retrieved February 14, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  37. ^ Mittman, Dick (June 23, 1997). "Blundell slips to his first CART victory (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 13. Retrieved February 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  39. ^ Baum, Bob (June 22, 1998). "Strategy in pits helps Zanardi win 4th race this year". The Indianapolis Star. p. 20. Retrieved February 19, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  40. ^ Harris, Mike (June 21, 1999). "Risky strategy in pits plays off for de Ferran". The Indianapolis Star. p. 10. Retrieved February 19, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  42. ^ Miller, Robin (June 26, 2000). "De Ferran strategy pays off in victory (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 26. Retrieved February 20, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  43. ^ Hall, Landon (June 25, 2001). "Papis starts up front and finishes there". The Indianapolis Star. p. 20. Retrieved February 20, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  44. ^ "Da matta goes to battle with Junqueira for win". The Indianapolis Star. June 17, 2002. p. 28. Retrieved February 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  45. ^ Hinkleman, Andrew (June 23, 2003). "Fernandez helps his cause (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 21. Retrieved February 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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  52. ^ Odom, Joel (July 27, 2020). "2020 Grand Prix of Portland canceled as IndyCar adjusts schedule". OregonLive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
Preceded by
Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (Gateway)
IndyCar Series
Grand Prix of Portland
Succeeded by
IndyCar Monterey Grand Prix

45°35′49″N 122°41′45″W / 45.59694°N 122.69583°W / 45.59694; -122.69583