By: Spencer Neff
August 9, 2025

Following a slight hiccup in the final round of qualifying, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was fastest in Saturday afternoon’s final practice for the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland.

Palou, the points leader and two-time Portland International Raceway winner (2021 and 2023), turned a best lap of 59.1766 seconds on the 1.964-mile, 12-turn road course in Oregon. He’ll start the 110-lap race in fifth on Sunday.

Andretti Global’s Colton Herta was second, .2358 of a second back of Palou and starts 14th. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal was third (starts 20th), with outside pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist. of Meyer Shank Racing was fourth in a 1-2-3-4 for Honda.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was best among the Chevrolets in fifth and starts 15th following his engine change penalty.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward finished 24th and 19th in the session after their 1-2 in qualifying. O’Ward starts on the pole following th e engine change penalty for Lundgaard, who lines up seventh.

PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman was the highest-placing rookie in 16th as he looks to cut into Louis Foster of RLLR’s four-point lead in the Rookie of the Year standings.

The only major incident during the session was a flat tire for Scott Dixon, who made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1.

Up Next

Here is the race day schedule at Portland International Raceway. Stay with IndyCar1909.com and our social media platforms for the latest on the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Sunday, Aug. 10
10:01 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland “Drivers, start your engines”
10:06 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland (35 laps / 68.74 miles / 55 minutes), FS1 (live)
Noon – FOX on air
12:15 p.m. – BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI “Drivers, start your engines”
12:22 p.m. – BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI (110 laps/216.04 miles), FOX (live)

Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR