Palou Completes Weekend Sweep for Honda
Portland International Raceway
・Alex Palou claims his third win of 2021 at the Grand Prix of Portland, reclaims Drivers’ Championship points lead.
・Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon complete Honda podium sweep.
・Acura also wins on Sunday, claiming victory at Laguna Seca IMSA event.
Alex Palou led a Honda sweep of the top four finishing positions Sunday at the Grand Prix of Portland, as Honda drivers and teams dominated the finishing order, despite being delayed by a multi-car crash in the opening moments of today’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES event at Portland International Raceway.
Palou, second-finishing Alexander Rossi, third-place Scott Dixon and Jack Harvey, who rounded out the top four, were all caught up in a multi-car incident seconds after the green flag for today’s 110-lap race, when Felix Rosenqvist overshot the entry to the first turn and tagged Dixon’s left-rear tire, scattering nearly half the 27-car starting field.
All four quickly resumed, but now were in the back half of the field for the restart, leading to the thrilling comeback drives that ensued. Behind the lead four, Honda drivers claimed eight of the top-10 finishing positions with Marcus Ericsson, Colton Herta and Graham Rahal finishing seventh, eighth and 10th, respectively.
In addition to Honda’s Indy car win in Portland, Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor took their Acura ARX-05 prototype to the overall victory today in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance sports car race in Monterey, California.
I need to see a replay [of the multi-car accident just after the race start], but we kept our head down. We knew the race was really long, and our strategy was amazing. HPD gave us the power we needed, and I’m super proud of our partners, and our team. The whole team was amazing today: the strategy, the pit stops, everything. With all the bad luck we had [at the start], we still won. I’m proud about that.
It wasn’t a win, which is always the goal, but a podium is still a good reward for the team. It’s been a frustrating year. Speed has never been the issue, but we haven’t been getting the results and getting it done. But I think we definitely have had the performance coming back from our summer [three-week] break. Today was a good boost, and we still have two more to go.
Today’s result was a great rebound for both Alex [Palou} and HPD after our disappointment two weeks ago in St. Louis [when Palou and Dixon were eliminated in a mid-race crash]. Eight of the top 10 today are Hondas, and we’re looking forward to extending our lead at Laguna Seca with the goal of winning our fourth consecutive manufacturers’ title. Congratulations to Alex and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing, and thanks as always to all the hard-working men and women at HPD.
Fast Facts
・Today’s win by Alex Palou is the third for him this season, and came in his 28th INDYCAR start. The win propels Palou from second in the Drivers’ Championship by 10 points into the lead by a 25-point margin (477-451). Palou also becomes the first driver to win three races this season.
・It is the eighth win of the season for Honda, including the Indianapolis 500, and sees the manufacturer increase its points lead in the battle for the Manufacturers’ Championship by 70 to 105 over Chevrolet (1,210 to 1,115).
・This win marks the 260th win for Honda in Indy car competition, and the 119th for Chip Ganassi Racing.
