Bobby Travis · NASCAR/IndyCar-Korrespondent
Sixth season win for the Spaniard as an extreme weekend unfolds across the field: Lundgaard's comeback from the back to the points, Rahal's collapse, and Armstrong's next engine failure.
The OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland delivered across three days exactly what has defined the 2026 IndyCar season for weeks: Álex Palou operating in a class of his own, while the rest of the field reshuffles from session to session. Those running up front on Friday weren't guaranteed anything by Sunday, and drivers deep in qualifying could still claw their way up through the race. In the end, Palou's name was on the trophy again, but the real story of the weekend played out across the entire grid.
Armstrong's Best Lap to Rosenqvist's Pole
Palou set the early tone in first practice, narrowly ahead of Kirkwood and VeeKay. Second practice belonged to Marcus Armstrong, who posted the weekend's quickest lap at 58.2981, well clear of Palou and Dixon. On paper, that looked like a Meyer-Shank car ready to fight for the win.
Qualifying rewrote that script entirely. Armstrong fell back to 21st, while his teammate Rosenqvist took pole by the slimmest margin over Palou and Power. Ericsson and VeeKay filled out a top five that looked competitive. Christian Lundgaard, meanwhile, sat dead last in 25th after hybrid system issues left him unable to progress beyond that spot despite solid pace in practice.
Palou Pulls Away, Podium Blasts Lapped Traffic Rules
Rosenqvist led from pole at the start, building a comfortable advantage through lap 28 before the first caution. Once pit stops cycled through, Palou moved to the front and simply drove away, stretching his lead to nearly seven seconds at one point. He crossed the line for his sixth win of the season 4.1 seconds clear of Rosenqvist. Power rounded out an all-Honda podium in third after fending off VeeKay and Kirkwood in the closing laps.
After the checkered flag came louder voices than on track. Rosenqvist and Power didn't hold back in their post-race media duties, directly criticizing IndyCar's rules regarding lapped cars. The catalyst: Palou and Rosenqvist lost several seconds per lap to backmarkers like Foster during their final-lap battle. Rosenqvist said it was time for the series to grow up on the issue. Power bluntly agreed, noting the rulebook read like it was written in the seventies. Expect this debate to linger as IndyCar addresses it in coming weeks.
Lundgaard Climbs from the Back, Rahal Crashes Out of Contention, Armstrong's Engine Curse Continues
The real drama unfolded in the midfield and beyond. Lundgaard started 25th and worked his way through the entire field to ninth at the finish, a 16-position gain. Yet he sounded unsatisfied afterward, suggesting where he really should have ended up, a fair assessment given how strong the car actually ran. McLaughlin (14th to 7th) and Newgarden (15th to 8th) echoed that sentiment, each gaining seven spots and putting Penske back on the map at least for this weekend.
Graham Rahal traveled the opposite direction. From a solid eighth on the grid, he fell to 23rd, a lap down, the biggest loss of anyone in the field. Malukas (9th to 12th) and Grosjean (11th to 17th) also lost ground. Then there was Armstrong, whose day summed up his entire season: quickest time in practice two, 21st on the grid in qualifying, and another Honda engine failure in lap 33, his third in four races. Zero points and mounting frustration over reliability that doesn't match his speed.
For the championship picture, little changes at the macro level: Palou extends his lead over Malukas with his sixth win and inches closer to historic single-season victory marks. But Portland proved there's still plenty of movement in this field with five races left, in both directions, and that's what makes the remaining weekends worth watching.
