Chip Ganassi Racing driver firmly in commander of Rookie of the Year race; teammate Marcus Armstrong will again be behind the wheel of the red No. 11 American Legion Honda.
Fresh off his second podium finish of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) rookie Linus Lundqvist is hoping the momentum carries over to this weekend’s Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway.
Lundqvist came up with two passes over the final seven laps to take third in the Bommarito Auto Group 500 last Saturday. He said the finish came at a perfect time for the rookie – as did the lengthy break in the INDY season leading up
“Coming to the summer break, that first weekend was my first free weekend since, like, middle of April maybe,” Lundqvist said during a press conference earlier this week. “It felt nice to kind of take it a little bit easy and actually have some time to go through the lessons that we learned throughout the year. I think we showed a little bit of that on Saturday, as well, the things that we picked up throughout the year. We were able to have a very, very solid race. Hopefully more of that come the last four races.
“It feels good. I feel energized. I think every time you come off a good result, it makes the days go by a little bit easier, faster.”
Lundqvist’s late surge last weekend put him in full command of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year standings. With just four races remaining, he now has a 71-point lead over CGR teammate Kyffin Simpson. But he’s not just looking at the Rookie of the Year standings.
“I still like to think, obviously, Rookie of the Year championship would be nice, to be able to win that, because you can only win it once,” Lundqvist said. “It's great if you can do it. At the same time … it's not really what I'm here to do. I'm here to win championships, not rookie championships.”
Also carrying American Legion branding will be NTT INDYCAR SERIES champ Alex Palou in the No. 10 DHL Honda and Marcus Armstrong, who again is driving the red No. 11 American Legion that he drove to an eighth-place finish last weekend in the livery’s debut. Armstrong has three top-five and six top-10 finishes this season.
Palou finished fourth last weekend, building his series lead to 59 points over Colton Herta with just four races remaining.
The Grand Prix of Portland is a 110-lap, 216-mile traversing the 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural road course that is relatively flat but contains several spots for passing opportunities, including a quick chicane at the end of the frontstretch, a hard-braking right-hander (Turn 7) leading onto the sweeping backstretch, and a three-turn complex leading back onto the frontstretch.
This weekend’s broadcast schedule (all times ET):
· Friday, Aug. 23 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, 5:55-7:10 p.m. (Peacock)
· Saturday, Aug 24 – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2, noon-1 p.m.; NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifications, 3:30-5 p.m.; NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, 8:15-8:45 p.m. (all Peacock).
· Sunday, Aug 25 – Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland, 3-6 p.m. (USA and Peacock).
- Be the One