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Portland International Raceway

from NASCAR Pole Position - 2022 Preview

from NASCAR Pole Position - 2022 Preview, page 48

LET’S CALL IT A THROWBACK

For the first time since 2000, NASCAR will host a national series race in the Pacific Northwest. Portland International Raceway, a 1.964-mile, 12-turn road course in the track’s namesake city, hosts the Xfinity Series on Saturday, June 4.

IndyCar fans should be very familiar with the Oregon track, which plays host to the Grand Prix of Portland each Labor Day weekend.

But despite being primarily known as an open-wheel venue, NASCAR surprisingly does have a history at PIR.

The first major stock car event at PIR was an ARCA West race in 1986, which was won by Oregon native Herschel McGriff. The now-defunct NASCAR Northwest Series then visited the track in 1995, with Mark Martin (yes, that Mark Martin) taking the checkered flag.

PIR got its first taste of NASCAR’s larger series when the Camping World Truck Series visited for the first time in 1999. Local favorite Greg Biffle won the maiden event. The trucks made one more visit to PIR in 2000 – the last national series race at the track.

While many of the other road courses feature elevation changes, the Portland track is very flat. It has multiple turns that promote passing, including the sharp corner in Turn 7 and the final three corners (Turns 10-12) leading back onto the frontstretch.

Of course, the most famous corner at Portland is the Turn 1 chicane. The 90-degree turn sits at the end of the long frontstretch. This corner is the most popular seating location for fans due to cars often making contact when attempting to pass.

The first lap will practically guarantee a multi-car collision in the chicane. Every driver in the field will come flying down the frontstretch for the race start and then need to immediately slam on the brakes to navigate the narrow chicane.

While the chicane is Portland’s most popular corner, there truly is no bad seat in the house. Walking paths circle the entire track, an alternative to reserved seats is purchasing general admission tickets and viewing the race from multiple vantage points.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PIR

1While 2022 marks the first Xfinity Series event at PIR, June’s race will still feature a former Portland winner. A.J. Allmendinger won a Champ Car event at the track in 2006.

2The track was constructed on the site of Vanport, a public housing project built for workers in nearby shipyards during WWII. Vanport was destroyed during a flood in 1948.

3Portland’s MAX light rail system has a station directly across the street from the track’s entrance, offering an alternative for fans looking to beat traffic.

4The 1997 IndyCar race at PIR holds the series record for closest finish on a road course (0.027 seconds).

5Portland’s frontstretch also hosts drag racing and the facility has an infield motocross track.