Alex Palou moved one step closer to title No. 5.
As he’s done multiple times in 2026, the driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda took the lead during a green flag pit cycle and drove on to victory in the OnlyBull Grand Prix of Portland.
“Yeah, I would say the race in general was incredible for us,” Palou said. “I think pretty much nobody expected those reds and soft tires to be that fast and to be that good, especially so many laps. That’s why we went a bit let’s say in that moment as well, also because Barry (Wanser) and Julian said, ‘We’re going to hit some traffic.’ It was a time to try and open the gap. It worked incredible.
“But that was like, man, those tires are the best. I wanted to have them more towards the end to avoid Felix (Rosenqvist) or (Will) Power or whoever we were going to be fighting with.”
It’s his 25th career victory in 110 NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts, sixth of the 2026 season and third at Portland International Raceway.
Felix Rosenqvist started on the pole and led the first 31 laps, but always cycled out behind Palou and brought his No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda home second.
“He just drove better, to be honest,” Rosenqvist said. “Not a lot quicker, but he was a little bit quicker, especially on the blacks. That first stint he outsmarted us, did one lap longer. I didn’t know he did that, so maybe we need to work on communication. I don’t think I could have kept up with that pace he did anyways, if I saved that much fuel.
“He got us in a sequence. I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.
“Some stints we looked really good. The last one we were struggling a little bit. Yeah, it’s hard to pass. I think they did the right move there.
“Y”eah, from there it was just like a lapped car race, I guess. Sometimes you’re getting three seconds because of a lap car, the next time you lose three seconds.
“I think without sounding salty, I don’t think I would have won the race anyway, but I think it’s kind of time for us as a series to grow up and not have the lapped car situation. I think it makes us all look stupid.
“When you work hard and all of a sudden you lose five seconds behind a lapped car, I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think anyone wants to see that.
“Again, I don’t think I would have won anyways. I think all drivers probably agree with me.”
Will Power led with 25 laps to go, but missed pit road and cycled out over seven seconds behind Palou. Despite a soft tire advantage, the driver of the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda couldn’t pass Rosenqvist and settled for third.
“Yeah, great day for us,” Power said. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a 10th off. But yeah, solid day.
“Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now. That’s why it’s green. People are so good.”
Rinus VeeKay and Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top-five.
Marcus Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Christian Lundgaard and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top-10
Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland
Race summary
Felix Rosenqvist led the field to green at 4:26 p.m. ET. Unlike in six of the last seven visits to Portland International Raceway, nobody wrecked in Turn 1 on the first lap. After four laps, Christian Lundgaard drove his way from 25th to 15th. Caution flew on Lap 7 when Graham Rahal went off track in Turn 12, into the tire barrier. Six drivers pitted during the caution. Also during the caution, David Malukas received a two-spot penalty for blocking on the second lap.
Back to green on Lap 10, the field settled into a green flag rhythm. Louis Foster kicked off a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 20. Rosenqvist pitted from the lead on Lap 31. Alex Palou pitted from the lead on Lap 32 and cycled out ahead of Rosenqvist. Josef Newgarden, who pitted under the first caution, cycled to the lead. He pitted from the lead on Lap 37 and Palou, on soft tires, cycled to the lead, 4.7 seconds ahead of Rosenqvist, on hards.
Ten laps after Palou took the lead, he pulled out to 6.7 seconds ahead of Rosenqvist. Pato O’Ward kicked off another cycle of green flag stops on Lap 49. Palou pitted from the lead on Lap 55, and took scuffed hard tires. Rosenqvist pitted from the lead on Lap 59, and took soft tires. Will Power pitted from the lead on Lap 60, and took hard tires. Newgarden pitted from the lead on Lap 66 and Palou cycled back to the front of the field.
With 40 laps to go, Palou’s gap to Rosenqvist progressively shrank to 3.3 seconds. With 39 to go, it shrank to 2.5 seconds. By Lap 76, the gap shrank to 1.9 seconds. Three laps later, it shrank to 1.5 seconds. During this, Kyle Kirkwood kicked off the final cycle of pit stops on Lap 78. With 31 laps to go, the gap shrank to 1.2 seconds. When Foster rejoined the race after his stop, he slowed up Palou and Rosenqvist pulled to within half a second. Then he ducked onto pit road with 30 to go, took hard tires. Palou followed suit with 29 to go, took scuffed hard tires and cycled off pit road ahead of Rosenqvist by roughly two seconds. Power, who missed pit road with 25 to go, pitted from the lead with 24 to go, took soft tires, and Palou cycled to the front with a 2.9 second lead.
With 22 laps to go, Palou stretched the lead to 4.2 seconds. With 21 to go, the gap grew to 4.4 seconds. With 10 to go, Palou pulled out to a 5.8 second lead and drove onto victory.
Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland
What else happened
On Lap 31, Ericsson, who ran second before pitting on Lap 24, went off track in Turn 1.
Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland
Nuts and bolts
The race lasted one hour, 55 minutes and three seconds, at an average speed of 112.661 mph. There were nine lead changes among four different drivers and one caution for two laps.
Palou leaves with a 110-point lead over Kirkwood.
The NTT INDYCAR Series returns to action, August 16, on the streets of Markham, Ontario, for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham.
