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DEAR RACE FANS:
On behalf of the entire Green Savoree Racing Promotions team, we’d like to welcome you to the 2024 BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland! It’s great to have BITNILE.COM back as the title sponsor of this big NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend for the second year. INDYCAR’s championship chase reaches its final stages with a stop in Portland, and in some of the support series, new champions will be crowned. We thank BITNILE.COM for helping make this memorable weekend possible.
We have a jam-packed schedule in store for you. The USF Pro Championships stop in Portland for their series finales of not one, not two but THREE series. Champions will be honored in the USF Juniors Championship, USF2000 Championship and USF Pro 2000 Championship.
The next generation of INDYCAR drivers will compete Sunday morning in the INDY NXT by Firestone race leading into the pre-race festivities for the 2024 BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland. With past race winners Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and 2-time winner Alex Palou all vying for control of the championship, this race promises to be hotly contested to the finish!
It takes over 250 volunteers to showcase this world-class event here in Portland, Ore. We thank every single one of them for their hard work, dedication and invaluable contributions. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all of our dedicated partners and sponsors for their spectacular support. A special thanks goes to the City of Portland, Portland Parks and Recreation, Friends of PIR and the Portland International Raceway staff for helping us put on a great show.
Have a fantastic weekend! We hope that you’ll consider joining Green Savoree Racing Promotions again for an event next season, whether it’s back here at PIR, or at our races elsewhere like Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course or on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. and Toronto, Canada.
See you at the green flag!
STAFF LISTING
GREEN SAVOREE RACING PROMOTIONS EXECUTIVES
Kim Green Chairman & CEO
Kevin Savoree President & COO
Michael Morrisey Executive Vice President & CFO
Jeff Atkinson Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Craig Kersey Vice President, Operations
EVENT STAFF
Jerry Jensen
General Manager and Vice President, Green Savoree Portland
Deven Keady, Christopher Kersey, Chad Seufert, Ben Valentine Operations & Event Control
Weston Bell, Kris Boatwright, Nathan Long, Nathan Young Track Operations
Matthew Borkan, Ryan Cash, Giles Dowden, Jared Rose, Nethu Srikanthan Sales & Client Services
Steve Bidlack, Alexis Boyer, Jack Carney, Jenna Hood, Christian Ryan Marketing & Communications
Gwen Duffy, Anita Karklins, Mike Raven, Tammi Sipes Customer Service & Ticketing
Paul Alterio Safety & Security
Nathan Savoree, Jacob Morrisey Accounting
Scott Ellsworth Race Control
Bobby Corser, Phil Martelli PA Announcer
EXECUTIVE
Tim Rutledge Group Publisher & CEO
EDITORIAL
Anna Rutledge Special Projects Editor
Adam Gordon Associate Editor
George Webster Motorsport Editor
DESIGN + PRODUCTION Queue Gonzalez Creative Director
Patrick Dinglasan Production / Senior Art Director
Edward Shintani Senior Art Director
Patrick Beltijar Senior Art Director
Julia Neukom Design
SALES + ADMINISTRATION
Richard Robles Director, Client Services
Jason Redmond Motorsport Marketing Manager
IMAGE & STORY CREDITS INDYCAR Media, USF2000, USF Pro 2000, MX-5, SRO, GSRP
ADVERTISING
sales@ppmghq.com Phone: (416) 922-7526 Toll Free: 1-800-667-7223 www.ppmghq.com
DEAR INDYCAR FANS:
Welcome to the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ only visit to the Pacific Northwest in 2024. INDYCAR is committed to delivering a comprehensive fan experience through outstanding entertainment and thrilling competition as our drivers take on the challenges presented by Portland International Raceway’s 1.964-mile road course.
Whether this is your first time at an INDYCAR race weekend or you have been attending this race for years, we are excited for you to witness the spectacle of the sport. This weekend has an atmosphere like few others, so we urge you to take in as much as possible and enjoy it all.
The BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland is part of an INDYCAR SERIES season for the 30th time. All weekend, you’ll see close and unpredictable competition on the track that makes for a true proving ground for our elite drivers as they compete for the most challenging championship in motorsports.
But you’ll also see that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is well on the way to being one of the most sustainable racing series in the world.
Our partners at Shell have created a 100% Renewable Race Fuel and last month, we added hybrid technology to all the INDYCAR SERIES cars. Firestone used a tire made with rubber produced by the sustainable desert shrub guayule as the alternate tire on street circuits this season.
You should find that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES offers some of the most daring athletes in sports, including reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou, back-to-back Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, young stars like Pato O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard and Scott McLaughlin and record-chasing legends in the making such as Scott Dixon and Will Power. You’ll also see a future INDYCAR star as our development series, INDY NXT by Firestone, will also be on track this weekend as it concludes a thrilling, competitive season.
While at the racetrack, we invite you to download the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA on your smartphone to get behind-the-scenes driver features, live timing and scoring, in-car cameras and more information to help you follow the action. Also, follow the NTT INDYCAR SERIES online at INDYCAR.com, on Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok (@INDYCAR).
Thank you for your continued support. INDYCAR appreciates your attendance this weekend. We are glad you can experience the speed, action and excitement that defines the series.
Enjoy the weekend!
Mark Miles
President
and CEO, Penske Entertainment
Parent company of INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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SCHEDULE
Friday, August 23 Time
9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.USF Juniors
9:45 a.m.-10:15 a.m.USF2000 Championship
10:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.USF Pro 2000
1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m.INDY NXT
2:55
Saturday, August 24
12:40 p.m.-1:10 p.m.USF Juniors
2:15 p.m.-2:55 p.m.USF Juniors
Session in Speed Zone
2:15 p.m.-3:00 p.m.INDY NXT by Firestone Autograph Session in the Speed Zone
3:10 p.m.-4:00 p.m. USF Pro 2000 Race 2
4:20 p.m.-4:50 p.m.INDY NXT by Firestone
5:15 p.m.-5:45 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES
6:05 p.m.-6:45 p.m.USF2000 Championship
Sunday, August 25
10:20 a.m.-11:15 p.m.INDY NXT by Firestone Race (35 laps or 55 minutes)
11:40 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Introductions
12:30 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES
USF2000 CHAMPIONSHIP
Discov
the keys to evate yo life and busine
Speakers from left to right: Scott Clary, Greg Reid, Aoife Roche, John Rossman, Charles Payne, Todd Ault, Ben Mallah, Paul Hutchinson, Bill Walsh, Bigg Vinny, Adam Cory...More speaks TBA
USF JUNIORS
Words by Bruce Martin, NBCSports.com and Images provided by INDYCAR
When Alex Palou arrived at the BITNILE. COM Grand Prix of Portland in 2023, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver was in firm control of the NTT IndyCar Series Championship. The only other driver in contention for the title was teammate and six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, but he was 74 points behind with two races remaining.
When it comes to style points, Palou is a master of the moment. By the end of the weekend, Palou had clinched the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series Championship by winning the race at Portland. It was an exclamation point to an outstanding season.
“I thought we had an amazing mid-season. I wanted to continue the form. I really didn’t think it would be easy, and it wasn’t easy, it was super hard,” Palou said afterwards. “I’m super happy to finish at Portland and clinch the championship with a win.
The popular Spaniard could have played it safe by sticking to Dixon’s gearbox and staying out of trouble. Forget about racing for points or playing it safe. Palou displayed the ultimate racer’s mentality by going for the win.
In fact, that’s what he told his boss, Chip Ganassi. “Just before the race I said to Alex, ‘Hey, let’s go wrap this thing up today,’” Chip Ganassi recalled after he claimed his 15th IndyCar Series Championship. “He said, ‘For sure. We’re going to wrap it up with a win.’” Palou backed up his promise to the boss with his series-high fifth victory of the season. It was important to Palou to get the most wins in the season to go along with his title.
“It’s super hard to get wins in IndyCar,” Palou said. “I can’t believe we got five wins this year. It’s amazing. I know we have been really consistent throughout the year, but I didn’t want to win a championship through consistency like I did in 2021. I wanted to show we were capable of winning races – not 1 or 2, but five and that is a phenomenal number.”
REPEAT INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP IN SIGHT FOR PALOU
One year later, Palou returns to Portland and is once again in command of NTT IndyCar Series Championship.
IndyCar returned to action after a three-weekend break because of the Olympic Games in Paris in last weekend’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
The BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland is the final road or street course race of the 2024 IndyCar season and will play a pivotal role in determining the championship. The final three races of the season will be on short ovals, beginning with the Labor Day Weekend Hy-Vee Milwaukee Miles 250.
Palou can help his cause for a third career IndyCar Series championship – and second in a row – by hitting the road at Portland before a dizzying final
three races on the ovals.
“It’s going to be tough,” Palou admitted. “It’s always tough to repeat such a special and magical season like what we had last year. It’s crazy. It’s going to be tough to repeat or to be close to that. But we’ve done it once, so yeah, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to do it twice.”
Another major change to the IndyCar dynamic is the introduction of the Hybrid engine, which went into
competition for the first time at the July 2 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Honda Racing Corporation USA designed and manufactured the Energy Storage System while its counterparts at Ilmor Engineering and General Motors developed the Motor Generator Unit of the Hybrid. The hybrid is a quickly charged and rapidly deployed system that brings an element of electrification to the IndyCar Internal Combustion
with Another Spectacular PIR Performance
Engine for the first time in IndyCar history.
Entering Portland, this will be the sixth race for the Hybrid Engine as teams are determining how best to use the additional charge and increase in horsepower that that unit provides.
“We’re a lot busier now than we were before,” Palou said. “You need to deploy -- like every time you deploy, you can deploy it 10 times if you want, you can deploy one big one. So, every time you need to hit the buttons, the paddles, whatever systems the drivers have.
“The engineers have the ability to focus on what is really important. There’s
stuff that is more important than others, but having that said, it’s always going to be a talking point for -- I think for you guys on media, for TV, and for us as drivers because it keeps on changing. There’s always a way to try and improve it and try and make it suit better for the car or for the driver.”
There is another key difference for Palou in 2024 than his second championship season in 2023.
One year ago, his worst finish was an eighth place in the season opener at St. Petersburg and the first race of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader. By contrast in 2024, Palou’s worst finishes are a 16th at Detroit in June and a 23rd in
the first race of the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway when he crashed.
Less than 18 hours later, Palou finished second – his best-ever finish on a short oval.
If he is successful in winning the 2024 IndyCar Series Championship, it will be his third since 2021 and the first back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti of Chip Ganassi Racing won three-straight from 2009-2011.
“I think it’s more of a shock if we see a champion repeating than if we don’t see him repeating,” Palou said. “I think that the opportunity I have in front of me, it’s great. The team is the same. The key people in my car are the same. The colors are different. But that gives us also another opportunity to try and give them some wins and some excitement on track.
“I don’t really feel the pressure of trying to defend a title because every time we step on the track, we need to win. Even if you are a champ or you’re not, you need to win.
“The good thing is we know we can be champions, that we can win after a season, so we just need to repeat and try and work a little bit harder than what we did last year.”
The next challenge for Palou comes this weekend in the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland.
with Another Spectacular PIR Performance
ONE STEP AWAY
The 2024 USF Pro Championships
Presented by Continental Tire season will culminate this weekend with the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland – for all three series on the highly acclaimed open-wheel driver development ladder, which, uniquely in the world of motorsports, awards scholarships to enable each champion to move on to the next level in the ultimate quest for a career in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
A total of more than $1.6 million is on stake, including, for the top rung on the ladder, USF Pro 2000, a package valued at $681,500 to advance to INDY NXT, in 2025.
This year’s 18-race title-chase has ensured an
emotional roller-coaster for the major protagonists as fortunes have ebbed one way and then another.
After finishing a close third in the 2023 USF2000 standings, Australia’s Lochie Hughes began his rookie USF Pro 2000
campaign with Turn 3 Motorsport in style with a victory and a second-place finish on the streets of St. Petersburg. But a substandard weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park saw him slip to sixth in the title-chase, 66 points – twice the
Words by Jeremy Shaw and Images provided by GavinBaker Photography
Jace Denmark has been inching closer to a first USF Pro 2000 win.
Lochie Hughes has won five times for Turn 3 Motorsport.
ONE STEP AWAY
maximum possible score for each race – behind runaway leader Nikita Johnson, who had claimed four wins, a second and a fourth from the opening six races for VRD Racing.
Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla., continued his run of success with another victory to commence the tripleheader event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May. At that stage the 16-year-old seemed like an irresistible force. But then came a colossal switch in momentum.
A second apparent win at Indianapolis for Johnson was overturned by a technical infraction which also brought a 30-point deduction. That disappointment was followed by a crash in the only oval race of the season at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and a difficult weekend at Road America where Johnson struggled to secure a pair of top-10 results.
Hughes, by contrast, took a second and two thirds at Indianapolis, followed by another runnerup finish on the oval and a magnificent sweep of all three race wins in Wisconsin. The streak took the Australian into a relatively comfortable 50-point lead heading into the final three doubleheader events of the season.
But then came another momentum change last month at Mid-Ohio, where Johnson thrust himself back into the fight with two more victories while Hughes had to settle for a fourth and a seventh.
The two most recent races on the streets of Toronto saw Hughes bounce back with another race win – his fifth of the season – and ensure a 35-point advantage heading into this weekend’s final pair of races.
Johnson, meanwhile, suffered a nightmare weekend north of the border, slipping to third in the points table behind Pabst Racing’s Jace Denmark, who is enjoying a rich vein of form. Denmark is still in search of his first USF Pro 2000 victory, but after four podium results in 2023 and nine more this year, including the last five consecutive races, he will be striving to set that record straight this weekend.
Nikita Johnson began the year on a tear for VRD Racing
New Zealand’s Liam Sceats has won once for TJ Speed Motorsports.
PABST ON TOP AGAIN
Words by Jeremy Shaw and Images by Gavin Barker Photography
The last four seasons of USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire have ended with a different team at the top of the pecking order. Jay Howard Driver Development was top dog in 2020 with Christian Rasmussen, who subsequently went on to claim championships in both USF Pro 2000 and, last year, INDY NXT before securing a ride in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for 2024 with Ed Carpenter Racing. The following year it was DEForce Racing to the fore with Brazilian Kiko Porto. Then in 2022 Cape Motorsports capped its remarkable run of 10 championships in 12 years through the efforts of Michael d’Orlando before calling time and heading off to fresh pastures in INDY NXT. Last year, finally, after falling agonizingly short on a regular basis over the course of the past decade, Pabst Racing broke through in style for its first driver’s championship as Simon Sikes scored six race wins, seven poles and nine fastest race laps. Sikes also took home a scholarship valued at $433,200 to make the step up to USF Pro 2000. Coincidentally, Pabst also secured its first
USF Pro 2000 crown, providing Myles Rowe with the springboard to ascend to INDY NXT in 2024. It has therefore come as no surprise to see Augie Pabst’s Wisconsin-based team once again leading the way this season. Max Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., proved to be the class of the field early on, scoring three straight victories – two of them even before his 15th birthday. Since then he has added a string of consistent finishes to ensure he still maintains a relatively comfortable 35-point advantage over teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., heading into
this weekend’s Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland tripleheader season finale.
A win and a third-place finish last month on the streets of Toronto kept Corry firmly in contention for the championship, with a total of 99 points still up for gabs, although the “form man” of late has been VRD Racing’s Max Taylor. The 16-year-old from Hoboken, N.J., has won three of the last six races and only once has failed to finish among the top five since the opening weekend of the season.
Taylor, who is also leading the USF Juniors title-chase, now lies only seven points adrift of
Corry in an unprecedented quest to secure both championships.
Greek-American Evagoras Papasavvas, who was born in Kirkland, Wash., but is now based in Ohio, kept alive his hopes of lifting the crown by winning the most recent race at Toronto for Jay Howard Driver Development. Papasavvas, who began his season with five straight podium finishes, also won at his home track, Mid-Ohio. Other contenders likely will include Exclusive Autosport’s Joey Brienza, from Golden, Colo.; Indianapolis native Elliot Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development); 2023 USF Juniors champion Nicolas Giaffone (DEForce Racing), from Sao Paulo, Brazil; and a pair of drivers who have earned coveted Team USA Scholarships – Thomas Schrage (VRD Racing), from Bethel, Ohio, and Ayrton Houk (DC Autosport), from McCordsville, Ind. – and are following in the footsteps of an illustrious list of alumni including this year’s Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden.
TAYLOR TURNS THE TABLES
USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire is the first rung on the USF Pro Championships driver development ladder. Now in its third season, USF Juniors already has provided some spectacular action this year as a record-sized field chased a scholarship valued at $263,700 to ensure graduation to the next step, USF2000, in 2025. This weekend’s Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland tripleheader represents the third opportunity to compete on the same bill as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the culmination of a 16-race season that has boiled down to a four-man scrap for top honors.
Max Taylor (VRD Racing), from Hoboken, N.J., Israel’s Ariel Elkin (InterMS), Sebastian Wheldon (VRD Racing), from St. Petersburg, Fla., and Englishman Liam McNeilly (Jay Howard Driver Development) have earned one victory apiece from the four most recent races,
and are currently separated by 50 points with a total of 99 points still on the table.
Taylor trailed the other three contenders for the majority of the season, but a blend of outright pace and admirable consistency – he is the only driver to have completed every racing lap and finished among the top 10 in all 13 starts – has catapulted him to a 40-point advantage over Elkin prior to this final weekend.
Taylor has continued to build upon the platform he established in 2023, which netted one race win at Road America. The 16-year-old has also benefited from additional track time in USF2000, and scoring race wins in both disciplines has certainly provided a welcome boost in confidence.
Elkin and the InterMS team are both new to USF Juniors, although prior experience in a variety of F4 series has enabled them to take the fight to the front-runners. Elkin was
Ariel Elkin narrowly heads Jack Jeffers and a snarling pack of USF Juniors.
Words by Jeremy Shaw and Images by Gavin Barker Photography
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the class of the field at Barber Motorsports Park in April, sweeping both race victories, while at VIR he qualified on pole for all three races and was unfortunate to emerge with merely one top-10 finish.
Former standout karter Wheldon, 15, has slipped to third in the points table after leading the way for the majority of the season. Wheldon emerged triumphant in last year’s Skip Barber Formula Race Series, securing a $100,000 scholarship to make the step up to USF Juniors, and continued his prodigious form by romping to victory in two of the opening three races at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Some unfortunate incidents and a couple of penalties have blunted Wheldon’s challenge lately, but he rebounded impressively
to draft past Elkin and claim the narrowest of victories in the most recent race at Road America, so will arrive in Portland with momentum on his side.
McNeilly also has experienced some misfortune during his rookie season in North America. A hat-trick of podium finishes and two pole positions at NOLA set him off on the right foot, although since then he has been involved in several scrapes – mostly not of his making. Despite that he remains firmly in the title mix.
Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, and InterMS’ Augusto Soto-Schirripa, from Miami, Fla., also have displayed their talents on a regular basis this season and can be expected to mix it with the title favorites this weekend.
Max Taylor holds a healthy points lead with three wins to his credit.
DIFFERENCES
