Round 13 of the 2026 IndyCar season has been completed at Portland, view the full race report here.
Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist started on pole position for the second time in 2026, pipping championship leader Alex Palou to it. The Andrettis of Will Power and Marcus Ericsson were on row two, ahead of the very impressive Rinus VeeKay, with Kyffin Simpson a fine P6.
Kirkwood (P7), Malukas (P15), O’Ward (P17) and Lundgaard (P25) had a mountain of work do to keep their championship hopes alive.
Green flag for the 2026 IndyCar Portland race
At the start, Ericsson cleared Power for for P3, with Kirkwood also passing Simpson for 6th. Dixon overtook Rahal and the two DCRs, with Foster and McLaughlin also clearing the #18 and #19.
Christian Lundgaard had an astonishing start, gaining six spots on the opening tour. He then gained a further four places in the next couple of laps to be 15th. Fellow Dane Ramsussen also had a great beginning, moving up five to 14th.
On the fourth lap, Marcus Ericsson used push-to-pass and made a big move on Alex Palou into turn 1 for 2nd.
A mistake from Rahal leads to a caution
Running in 9th, Graham Rahal went off at turn 11 on lap 7 and dropped to the back of the field. The RLL driver got wide, had a snap, ended up in the grass and found the tyres. Remarkably, there was no significant damage.
Newgarden, Ferrucci, Armstrong, Siegel, Robb and Rahal boxed under the caution period.
Restart
The top 8 stayed in order, with Scott McLaughlin getting around the outside of Louis Foster into turn 1 for P9. As the Brit attempted to try and fight back out of turn 2, he was escorted to the kerb and Grosjean came through. Meanwhile, the two Danes cleared Hauger to be now P12 and P13.
Before the restart, Malukas was moved back multiple spots for a late block on Rossi as they fought down to turn 4.
On lap 15, Rosenqvist led Ericsson, Palou, Power, VeeKay, Kirkwood, Simpson, Dixon, McLaughlin and Grosjean.
The first of the front runners to pit were Marcus Ericsson, Kyle Kirkwood and Scott Dixon on lap 24 as they got rid of their first set of softs. The #28 and #9 switched to primaries, with the #27 staying with the reds.
Unfortunately for the Swede in the Andretti, a moment when running close to Sting Ray Robb saw him lose spots to Palou, Kirkwood and VeeKay.
Palou strikes in the pit cycle
On lap 31, Rosenqvist and Power boxed from P1 and P3, with the #10 extending a further tour. Going an extra lap was perfect for the Spaniard, jumping the Swede for the net lead.
Marcus Armstrong pulled into the pits at the end of lap 32 as his engine packed up once again.
Once Newgarden and Ferrucci pitted, Palou led Rosenqvist, Power, Kirkwood, VeeKay, Ericsson, McLaughlin, Simpson, Lundgaard and Dixon. The #2 rejoined in 11th as his stop under caution early on gave him critical clean air to push before his second stop.
On lap 45, Newgarden moved himself into the top 10 as he used push-to-pass and claimed the high ground into turn 10 on Scott Dixon.
Race leader Alex Palou boxed at the end of lap 56, going back to the blacks after a mega stint on reds. Rosenqvist extended three laps, with the Swede going to softs. Power, who was running in a very solid 3rd, then came in a tour after the #60.
In the fight for 10th, Kyffin Simpson got his elbows out against Lundgaard. The CGR driver got side-by-side out of turn 2 and after a bit of wheel-to-wheel rubbing, the #8 got through on the outside at turn 4.
The front 3 close up in 2026 IndyCar Portland race
As Newgarden extended again, Palou regained the lead once the #2 pitted. Rosenqvist, Power, Kirkwood, VeeKay, Ericsson, McLaughlin, Newgarden, Simpson and Lundgaard completed the top 10.
As the final stops approached, Felix Rosenqvist closed in significantly to Alex Palou. A gap of 7s before the second stops dropped down to 1s.
At the end of lap 81, Rosenqvist boxed as the top 2 found themselves in a crazy amount of traffic. Palou responded a lap later, staying in front and actually holding a 2s gap after that pit cycle.
Will Power missed a call to pit at the end of lap 86, eventually getting in a lap later. Unfortunately for the Australian, Sting Ray Robb fought him like it was title decider despite being virtually a lap down on the Andretti. He lost multiple seconds on that tour. Nonetheless, he came out in a comfortable P3 on brand new softs.
Behind that, Rinus VeeKay overcut Kyle Kirkwood for 4th as the JHR driver continued to have an unbelievable weekend. Ericsson, McLaughlin, Newgarden, Simpson and Lundgaard was the top 10 with 20 laps left.
With three laps left, Lundgaard reclaimed 9th from Simpson off camera.
As the flag fell, Alex Palou took a comfortable victory, with Rosenqvist and Power completing the podium.
In 4th was Rinus VeeKay as the Dutchman produced another stunning drive on a road course in 2026. Kyle Kirkwood was 5th for Andretti.
