Musing From the Weekend: About Two Weeks Ago...

Colton Herta continued his Laguna Seca dominance and Álex Palou has a championship in his grasp. The Indy Lights champion continues to flip. MotoE had a championship decider for the ages. World Superbike had another championship leader with allegedly four race weekends left, but only two we can count out. Mercedes and Red Bull are still bickering. Andrea Dovizioso will return to MotoGP full-time with Yamaha's satellite team next year. NASCAR had a banner weekend at Bristol for all its national touring series. Chase Elliott needs some thicker skin. It is raining calendars, and that is where we will start this week. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.

About Two Weeks Ago...

Two weeks ago, I wrote about IndyCar's 2022 schedule and what we knew, what we didn't and what we could expect. Let's just say the actual 2022 schedule had a few more shifts and changes than first expected.

IndyCar will have its earliest start since the 2003 CART season when St. Petersburg was the first round on February 23. In 2022, St. Petersburg opens the IndyCar Series season on February 27, the first time IndyCar has raced in February since Sam Hornish, Jr. won on Leap Day in 2004. 

Texas makes a surprise leap forward to March 20, the second round of the season after being ending April and starting May with a doubleheader this year. This move has raised the most eyebrows, as Texas moves to find an open network television window, but this race would fall the day after the 12 Hours of Sebring, a race many IndyCar, crew and other team personnel have participated in. 

Those are two of the bigger schedule shifts. Long Beach will be April 10. Barber shifts back to May 1, its latest date in event history but it shifts back due to Easter Sunday and the NASCAR Talladega race being the final two weekends in April. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indianapolis 500 remain on their respective May weekends, May 14 and May 29. Belle Isle returns to being a single race for the first since 2012 and it moves back to the weekend after the "500" on June 5. Road America concludes the first half of the season on June 12. Road America will also conclude a five-consecutive week stretch at a racetrack for the teams. 

IndyCar will get a slight break before starting the second half on July 3 at Mid-Ohio. Toronto's tentative return is scheduled for July 17 and that is the first of four consecutive weekends on track. The Iowa doubleheader follows Toronto on July 23-24. The IndyCar/NASCAR combination weekend on the IMS road course moves up to the final weekend of July before the Nashville street race on August 7. 

The final three races remain the same. Gateway is scheduled for Saturday August 20. Portland moves back to Sunday of Labor Day weekend on September 4. The Laguna Seca season finale shifts up to September 11. 

Fourteen of the 17 races will air on network NBC. Belle Isle and Gateway will be on the USA network with Toronto streaming exclusively on Peacock. While the broadcasting schedule is the best IndyCar has ever had, it is more of the same for IndyCar but even when things are the same, they are not quite identical, and some people are angry. Some of those things are out of IndyCar's control. 

IndyCar is not a series that can just add four to six race weekends and fill out the spring window and pad the schedule into October. This is what IndyCar is at the moment, but there are still puzzling moves. 

For a series that preaches the importance of date equity, it does change its race dates a lot. I am not talking about one- or two-week shifts. Those shifts are understandable. Road America is the same time of year, as are Portland and Laguna Seca, but Texas has gone from an early June date from 1997 through 2019 to May in 2020 and now March in 2021. Part of that move was facilitated when NASCAR moved its All-Star Race to Texas and what had been the IndyCar weekend this year. The IndyCar race had to move somewhere. Now it is moving for the second time in as many years. 

June was never going to be an option for IndyCar in 2022, as Texas will host the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 22 and IndyCar's June is packed, but we have seen this play before with IndyCar and oval races in particular. The race bounces to three different race weekends in a three-year span and then it falls off the schedule. 

We saw it with Kentucky over its final three years go from its traditional August date to Labor Day weekend and ending up the first Sunday in October the year after that. We saw it with the Fontana's second stint on the IndyCar schedule when it had four different race weekends in four different months in four years. Milwaukee could not find a suitable weekend in its final years, and it went from Father's Day weekend to July to August. Texas is repeating those same steps. 

Next year is the final year of the Texas contract. One year after IndyCar returns to Iowa, it appears the series will be searching for another oval in 2023 because unless mid-March is a hit. A lackluster showing March date likely means 2022 will be the final time IndyCar visits the Dallas Metro Area for a while. 

Even the St. Petersburg move is a little questionable. The race was originally planned for March 13. I get that Florida is just as warm in February as it is in March, but we have been sold that St. Petersburg is a spring break race. It is when people can take off from work and travel with their families. February is not spring break time. It seems like St. Petersburg is sacrificing its identity and one of its main drawing points to maintain its identity as the IndyCar season opener, the wrong identity for the long-term health of this event. 

We all want the IndyCar schedule to start a little earlier but moving St. Petersburg up to create a two-week gap doesn't really solve the problem. It just creates another. It makes more sense for St. Petersburg to remain March 13 with Texas on March 20 and have a back-to-back to build momentum early in the season. March 6 would even be a better date for St. Petersburg than the last Sunday of February. 

These schedule changes are the consequences of a good thing. NBC is putting 14 IndyCar races on network television in 2022, one more than its contractual agreement states. It has fewer options and cannot pick the races that best fit the windows to show on big NBC. This contract required races moving around. As I have been saying, IndyCar must get along with all the other sports properties. NBC has many golf tournaments, it has NASCAR, the French Open, Premier League, Notre Dame football and Sunday Night Football. IndyCar will get the weekend it wants for the Indianapolis 500, and a few other events, but other weekends will have to fit in with NBC's other tentpole events.

We saw this year how tough it is for sports properties to fit in. The men's French Open final went five sets. The first half of the second Belle Isle race was seen on CNBC. The Olympics put IndyCar on break for two weeks in August. The Long Beach finale will not be on NBC next week because the Ryder Cup will take place. There are some weekends that will be out of the question. NBC has the U.S. Open golf tournament the third weekend in June. The Tour de France takes place over three weeks in July and there is also the British Open in July. 

These conflicts will still exist in 2022 and IndyCar will have races that follow tennis, golf, lacrosse, and many other sports. There will be races pre-empted, but there will also be times when IndyCar runs long into another event's time, like we saw with the first Belle Isle race this year. It will even out, but we cannot lose sight of IndyCar's position in NBC's portfolio. 

Fourteen races on network NBC are a great thing for IndyCar, but IndyCar had to meet the network halfway. If that means moving St. Petersburg to February, Texas to March, Road America up a week in June and Portland and Laguna Seca up a week in September, IndyCar plays the game hoping to come out a winner. Some of these moves could turn out to be big gains for the series, but some tracks will be forced to adjust and battle to maintain successful events.

However, if IndyCar is going to end the season on the first NFL Sunday, it should move the final races up sooner and end on Labor Day weekend. Nearly a decade ago, Mark Miles preached how he wanted IndyCar's championship decider synonymous with Labor Day weekend. Since Miles took over, IndyCar has ended on Labor Day weekend once and that was in 2014. Since 2016, the IndyCar finale has fallen during the NFL season.

I want IndyCar to race into October and there are many lovely weekends in autumn for races, but there are not enough weekends for IndyCar to justify going deep into autumn. On top of Laguna Seca, IndyCar needs at least three, if not four more weekend to justify running into football season. Until then, IndyCar should just jam in the end of the season before the first Monday in September. That isn't ideal, but IndyCar's current situation does not allow for the season to spread out over eight months.

At least IndyCar will be starting earlier next year. We might have our issues with gaps in the schedule, but people are going to be joyous to have an IndyCar race in February when that is normally a time when we are a month away from the first race. January will be filled with more urgency. We can make it through a couple of down periods early on. There will be a few busy stretches when it gets warm. Those will satisfy us until another season ends next September. 

Champion From the Weekend

Jordi Torres won the MotoE championship for a second consecutive year after a victory in race one and a 13th in race two from Misano after Dominique Aegerter was penalized 38 seconds for making contact with Torres while battling for first on the final lap of the season. The 2019 MotoE champion Matteo Ferrari claimed race victory in the second race after Aegerter's penalty.

The #41 Team WRT Oreca-Gibson of Robert Kubica, Yi Yifei and Louis Delétraz clinched the European Le Mans Series LMP2 championship after it won the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, its third victory of the season. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Colton Herta, MotoE and Team WRT, but did you know...

Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix, his second consecutive victory. Raúl Fernández won the Moto2 race, his second consecutive victory and sixth victory of the season. Dennis Foggia won the Moto3 race, his second consecutive victory and fourth victory of the season. 

Kyle Kirkwood swept the Indy Lights races from Laguna Seca.

Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup race from Bristol, his sixth victory of the season. A.J. Allmendinger won the Grand National Series race, his fourth victory of the season. Chandler Smith won the Truck race, his first career victory and it advanced him to the semifinal round in the Truck playoffs. 

The #4 DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08-Nissan of Laurents Hörr and Jean-Phillipe Dayrault won in the LMP3 class at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, its third consecutive victory. The #88 AF Corse Ferrari of François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Alessio Rovera won in the GTE class, its third victory of the season.

Scott Redding, Jonathan Rea, and Michael Ruben Rinaldi split the World Superbike races at Barcelona. Randy Krummenacher and Manuel González split the World Supersport races. 

Liam Lawson and Lucas Auer split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Assen. 

The #3 K-Pax Racing Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper split the GT World Challenge America races from Watkins Glen. 

The #52 AutoTechnic Racing BMW of John Capestro-Dubets and Tom Capizzi and the #11 Classic BMW of Toby Grahovec and Stevan McAleer split the GT4 America races from Watkins Glen. Charlie Luck and Jeff Burton split the GT America.

Coming Up This Weekend

Long Beach is back and it ends the IndyCar season. 

IMSA tags along to Long Beach. 

Formula One will be in Sochi. 

NASCAR begins another playoff round in Las Vegas.

World Superbike remains in Spain and heads south to Jerez. 

GT World Challenge Europe closes out its Sprint season at Valencia.

First Impressions: Laguna Seca 2021

1. Colton Herta drove a sensational race and, like his father Bryan, Herta has turned his home track of Laguna Seca into a personal paradise. Two races, 185 laps run, 174 laps led, two pole positions, two checkered flags and Herta has reached five career victories in three seasons, surpassing his father's total.

This was a lost year for Colton Herta. There were too many mechanical issues, too many poor strategies, too many mistakes for him to be a championship contender, but plenty of times we saw Herta put on a clinic and look untouchable arguably more than anyone else this season. The only problem is something tripped him up, whether it was unfavorable cautions at Nashville, which forced him to drive over the edge, or a broken driveshaft at Gateway.

There is a world where Herta has four victories, maybe even five and he is heading into his other home race of Long Beach either leading the pack or with all the momentum in the world to stage a championship comeback.

Maybe next year, but this year is ending on a high note for Herta.

2. Álex Palou has a hand on the Astor Cup after a runner-up performance at Laguna Seca. In a near-flawless drive, Palou separated himself from the rest of the championship hopefuls and he increased his wiggle room heading into Long Beach.

We started this three-race stretch wondering if Palou's inexperience could cost him. Instead, he won Portland, was second in Laguna Seca and has a 35-point championship lead over Patricio O'Ward entering the finale after trailing O'Ward by 10 points two races ago.

This should be Palou's title. He has had one bad race all season, St. Petersburg. In the first Belle Isle race, he started at the back with a grid penalty. An engine expired while he was in the top five of the August IMS road course race and he was taken out at Gateway. He just needs one "ok" day and he will be champion.

3. Romain Grosjean is going to win races in IndyCar. He had a great start to jump into the top ten and Grosjean was just as good as Herta and Palou today. It felt like he never lost time on a stint. If only he had advanced from round one, then he could have won this race. Though he finished third, I think Grosjean was stronger than Palou today.

Grosjean made a few bold moves, two of note into the Corkscrew, one for position on Scott Dixon and another on the lapped car of Jimmie Johnson. He was spectacular today and I am glad he is loving IndyCar. It is nice to see a career revival

4. Graham Rahal had another strong race and he improved over each stint. Unfortunately, he started 12th again and couldn't compete for the victory because Herta was in another zip code by the time Rahal cracked the top five. Rahal wasn't as flashy as Grosjean, but he drove a smart race and after the disappointment of Portland, this was a good bounce back, even if the winless drought continues.

5. Patricio O'Ward gave it his all, but at another track that is hard on tires, O'Ward struggled and it cost him. He lost positions in the opening stint and Palou had the advantage from the start. O'Ward could never challenge to decrease his deficit. It has been the story of O'Ward season and it seems like in almost every race O'Ward had the balance wrong on the different compounds, Palou was on top.

At Barber, O'Ward started on pole position but he struggled with degradation and Palou won the race. O'Ward led early at Portland, but could not make his tires last at the start. Palou went on to win. Now today. O'Ward is still alive, but those three races in particular have made his life harder at Long Beach.

6. Marcus Ericsson quietly finished sixth. Ericsson may have finished fifth if he didn't go wide on the pit lane exit lane after his final pit stop. It was a good day for Ericsson, but while he has won two races this year, he does have a lot of these finishes from sixth to tenth. He needs to take a step forward and get more top five finishes.

7. Josef Newgarden needed to charge today and Tim Cindric decided to put Newgarden on a four-stop strategy. It didn't get him a victory and it didn't decrease his gap to Palou, but he kept his championship hopes alive. He was able to climb to seventh, 48 points behind Palou, which keeps him alive by a point.

Newgarden has to be perfect at Long Beach and have Palou be at the very bottom to have a prayer for a third championship. Newgarden deserves to at least be in the championship conversation. Forget the opening lap Barber spin for a second, Newgarden is one rushed pit strategy at Belle Isle and a gearbox failure at Road America away from having two more victories and this championship would have looked completely different. I think he has been better than O'Ward this season.

8. Simon Pagenaud was a good teammate and finished eighth today. That point keeps Newgarden alive. Pagenaud did stop early on a three-stop strategy. He looked competitive, but he was watching out for his teammate today.

9. Oliver Askew earned a respectable result in ninth. Askew lost some time at the start, but he drove smart and battled in the top ten all race. We need to give Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing credit because between Santino Ferrucci, Christian Lundgaard and Askew, all three drivers have been competitive in the #45 Honda, a part-time entry. Askew did himself wonders today. I am not sure if this seat is his. Ferrucci put up a strong case. The team could go with someone else, but Askew is one of a half-dozen drivers on the periphery who should be full-time in IndyCar.

10. Ed Jones had a good day and finished tenth. Jones was on the same strategy as his teammate Grosjean, but Jones did not have the same pace. That is fine. Grosjean is a significantly better driver, but Jones made it a double top ten day for DCR at a track where the team had a combined two top ten finishes in all its previous Laguna Seca races entering today.

11. Ryan Hunter-Reay drove himself into the top six and then he had a re-fueling issue on one stop, it cost him time and he settled for 11th. This day should have been better and it is tough to watch possibly the final races of Hunter-Reay's career play out like many other standout moments in his career, the worst possible break coming at the worst possible time.

This hasn't been a great year for Hunter-Reay and there have been plenty of races where he has not had it, but between the Indianapolis 500 where he was in the top five late and possibly could have been in the battle for the lead late only to speed entering pit lane on his final pit stop, contact at the start of Mid-Ohio, electrical issues at Portland and today, Hunter-Reay's season is a few results away from being good. It was never going to be great, but it should be better than this.

12. Scott McLaughlin had a good handle on Laguna Seca this weekend. McLaughlin jumped into the top ten at the start with Grosjean and he was running with Pagenaud for much of this race, before McLaughlin settled into 12th.

13. Scott Dixon's championship hopes ended when Takuma Sato spun in the Corkscrew and caught Dixon. Even before that incident, it seemed Dixon was resigned to aiding Palou get the championship today, even though Dixon was still alive. It has been a strange year for Dixon, not a bad year, but you have to wonder if we are seeing his final races as the undisputed best in IndyCar.

14. Let's run through the field: Sébastien Bourdais did all he could to finish 14th. Jack Harvey was stuck at the back and ended up 15th. Ed Carpenter Racing continues to languish with Conor Daly in 16th and Rinus VeeKay in 18th. Jimmie Johnson got his best IndyCar finish in 17th, but this was genuinely Johnson's best race. He beat a lot of guys on pace today. Felix Rosenqvist had his share of spins and ended up 19th. James Hinchcliffe was 20th, fitting for his season.

15. Max Chilton made the most of that top ten starting position, finishing 21st. Callum Ilott had an accident in the morning warm-up, so I think 22nd with 94 laps completed is a good day. At least Ilott was a position ahead of Dalton Kellett. I am not sure what Helio Castroneves did today other than finish 24th. Are we sure Meyer Shank Racing is making the right call having Castroneves return full-time?

16. Alexander Rossi had a good look on Herta into turn five on lap two after Herta went wide, but damn talk about misfortunate, as Herta nudged into Rossi, sending Rossi spinning off. Herta wasn't dirty, it was slight contact, costing Rossi a promising day. Too often has this happened to Rossi over the last two seasons.

17.  Then you had Will Power with mechanical problems within the first 11 laps. Two years ago, Power was the only driver who could run with Herta. This year, Power started second and once Power was out no one got close to Herta except for when Herta was battling traffic.

18. Takuma Sato was running strong early after committing to what was likely a four-stop strategy considering Sato stopped on lap three under the Rossi caution and Sato was ahead of Newgarden. And then Sato threw it away with a spin in the corkscrew, clipping Dixon. A lot of drivers spun in the Corkscrew this weekend. It was kind of strange. It was also strange with all the spins and wheels dropped off course we didn't see a second caution in this race.

19. And now we move onto Long Beach. This is it. One race left. One week left. Where did the season go?

Morning Warm-Up: Laguna Seca 2021

Colton Herta is still on top at Laguna Seca heading into race day

For the second consecutive Laguna Seca race, Colton Herta will start on pole position after a lap of 70.7994 seconds in the final round of qualifying. It is Herta's third pole position of the season, tying him with Josef Newgarden and Patricio O'Ward for most this year. Herta is the most recent Laguna Seca winner, and he can join his father Bryan as consecutive Laguna Seca winners. Half of Bryan Herta's four IndyCar victories came at Laguna Seca and both of Bryan's Laguna Seca victories were from pole position. Herta won from pole position at St. Petersburg back in April. Colton Herta is one victory away from surpassing his father Bryan in carer victories. Colton's average running position in the 2019 Laguna Seca race was 1.1222 after he led 83 laps and his lowest running position was fifth.

Alexander Rossi qualified second, 0.1957 seconds off his teammate Herta for pole position. Rossi is looking for his first victory in 35 starts. He is coming off a runner-up finish at Portland. The last time Rossi won a race it was following a runner-up finish. The Californian Rossi has started eight races in California. He has two victories, both at Long Beach, three top five finishes and five top ten finishes with an average finish of tenth.

Will Power was relegated to third on the grid after ignoring a local yellow when Patricio O'Ward spun late in the final round of qualifying. This is Power's eighth time starting inside the top five this season, but he has only four top five finishes this season, all of which are podium results. Only twice has a Laguna Seca winner started third: Bobby Rahal in 1987 and Gil de Ferran in 1996. This will be Power's 250th IndyCar start.

Championship lead Álex Palou will start fourth. Palou could clinch the championship if he exits Laguna Seca with a 54-point victory over second and if Palou exits with a 49-point lead or greater, all he would have to do is start at Laguna Seca to secure the Astor Cup. Palou won the most recent race at Portland. No driver has won consecutive races this season. The most recent driver to win consecutive races was Palou's teammate Scott Dixon, who won the first three races of 2020. There has been at least one instance of a consecutive race winner in each of the last five seasons. 

Oliver Askew made the Fast Six for the second time in his IndyCar career and Askew finished fifth on the grid. His other Fast Six appearance was in his second career start last year in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis when he qualified fifth. Askew was the top Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing qualifier and it is only the second time this season an RLLR car has started in the top five this season. 

Patricio O'Ward brought out a local yellow in the final round of qualifying and lost his fastest lap. This relegated O'Ward to sixth on the grid. It is O'Ward's fifth consecutive top ten starting position, and his average finish is 8.5 over the last four races. O'Ward has led a lap in the last three races. 

Marcus Ericsson leads an all-Ganassi row four. Ericsson was 0.2361 seconds off advancing to the Fast Six. This is the third consecutive race Ericsson has started in the top ten, the first time he has qualified in the top ten for three consecutive races in his IndyCar career. Ericsson has finished better than his starting position in ten of 14 races this season.

Scott Dixon will start eighth next to Ericsson. Dixon reached 400 laps led this season last week at Portland. It is the first time Dixon has led 400 laps in a season since he led 456 laps in 2012. It is the fifth time in 21 seasons he has led over 400 laps. This race marks the 350th start of Dixon's career. He joins Mario Andretti, Tony Kanaan, A.J. Foyt and Hélio Castroneves as the only drivers to reach that milestone. 

Simon Pagenaud is ninth in the championship and Pagenaud takes ninth on the grid. With only two races remaining, Pagenaud has only two top five this season. The fewest top five finishes he has had in a full season is four. This is the ninth time Pagenaud has started ninth in his career. His only top five finish from ninth on the grid was third at Baltimore in 2012.

For the second consecutive race, Max Chilton advanced to the second round of qualifying and will start tenth. It is the first time Chilton has advanced to the second round of qualifying multiple times in a season since 2017. After finishing outside the top twenty in four consecutive starts, Chilton has followed it up with five consecutive top twenty finishes, but only one of those is a top fifteen finish. 

James Hinchcliffe ended up 11th on the grid. Hinchcliffe has victories at Laguna Seca in Star Mazda and the Atlantic Championship. No driver has ever won at the same track in the top three series of the Road to Indy system. Hinchcliffe is one of four drivers have won in Star Mazda/Pro Mazda/Indy Pro 2000 and IndyCar. The others are Patricio O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay and Graham Rahal. Hinchcliffe won from 11th at Iowa in 2018.

Graham Rahal qualified 12th after having a spin on his final qualifying lap in round two. Rahal led 36 laps at Portland. It is the most laps he has led since he led 41 laps in the second Belle Isle race in 2017, Rahal's most recent victory. The most recent IndyCar race won from 12th on the grid was Tony Kanaan in the 2013 Indianapolis 500. 

Both Dale Coyne Racing drivers were seventh in their qualifying groups and will start on row seven. Romain Grosjean will be in 13th after falling 0.0027 seconds shy of advancing from group one. Dale Coyne Racing has only two top ten finishes at Laguna Seca, but those finishes have come in the last two Laguna Seca races. Oriol Servià was third in 2004 and Sébastien Bourdais was seventh in 2019.

Ed Jones ended up 0.0295 seconds off advancing from group two. Jones was 23rd in his only Laguna Seca IndyCar start in 2019 after a suspension failure ended his race after 51 laps. Jones led two laps last week at Portland. It was the third time he has led a race in his IndyCar career.

Felix Rosenqvist will start 15th. Rosenqvist went from 14th to fifth in the 2019 Laguna Seca race. It is the only time he has finished inside the top five after starting outside the top ten. Five of his 17 career top ten finishes have come from grid positions worse than tenth, but three of those results have been tenth-place finishes. 

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in the second practice session of the weekend on Saturday morning, but he wound up 16th on the grid, over 7/10th of a second off that practice time. To clinch rookie of the year honors this weekend, McLaughlin needs to outscore Romain Grosjean by 12 points. When the green flag waves, Grosjean will gain three points on McLaughlin just based on starting positions. McLaughlin would become the first Team Penske driver to win IndyCar rookie of the year if he were to close it out.

Josef Newgarden ended up 17th on the grid, his fourth time starting outside the top ten in the last five races. This is the first time Newgarden has been the worst Team Penske starter this season. Despite Newgarden's recent qualifying form, he has five consecutive top ten finishes and two consecutive top five finishes. Newgarden has not had three consecutive top five finishes yet this season. He has had a three-race top five finish streak in each of the previous two seasons. 

Conor Daly joins his former Indy lights teammate Newgarden on row nine. Daly is the top driver in the championship without a top ten finish in 18th. He has not had a top ten finish in his last 19 starts. His previous longest top ten drought was nine races. Daly won the 2010 Star Mazda race at Laguna Seca. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay will start 19th, his fourth consecutive race starting outside the top ten. Hunter-Reay's first Atlantic Championship victory came at Laguna Seca in 2002. He won that race from pole position and led an America sweep of the podium ahead of Rocky Moran, Jr. and Roger Yasukawa. Yasukawa is currently Álex Palou's agent. 

Jack Harvey started 20th and finished fourth at Portland, and Harvey will start 20th again this weekend. Portland was Harvey's second top five finish of the season. It is the first time Harvey has had multiple top five finishes in an IndyCar season. Meyer Shank Racing was also fourth last week in the IMSA race at Laguna Seca. The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Olivier Pla and Dane Cameron led 53 laps before needing to make its final pit stop, dropping the car to fourth.

Sébastien Bourdais will start 21st, his worst starting position on a road or street course this year. Bourdais started 27th in the Indianapolis 500. Bourdais is looking to give A.J. Foyt Racing its third top ten finish at Laguna Seca. The team was eighth in 1992 with Mike Groff and tenth in 1993 with Robby Gordon. 

Hélio Castroneves ended up 22nd in qualifying. Castroneves won last year at Laguna Seca in IMSA. Castroneves is one of two drivers with an IndyCar victory and an IMSA victory at Laguna Seca. The other is Castroneves' former teammate Gil de Ferran, whose first IndyCar came at Laguna Seca in 1995 and de Ferran won the American Le Mans Series race with another one of Castroneves' former teammates, Simon Pagenaud, in 2009.

Takuma Sato qualified 23rd, the third time in the last five races Sato has started outside the top twenty. Sato started 16th at Laguna Seca two years ago but dropped to 21st in the race and finished one lap down. He has 12 lead lap finishes this season, his most in a single season in his IndyCar career. Out of his 196 IndyCar starts, Sato has 99 lead lap finishes entering Laguna Seca. 

Rinus VeeKay wound up 24th on the grid, his third consecutive start outside the top twenty and fourth start outside the top twenty in the last five races. VeeKay swept the Indy Lights races at Laguna Seca in 2019. He is in the midst of his worst stretch of his IndyCar career with six consecutive finishes outside the top ten. 

Jimmie Johnson will be making his first IndyCar start in his home state of California and he will do it from 25th position. Johnson won his first NASCAR Cup Series start in California. It just so happened to be Johnson's first Cup victory as well at Fontana in 2002.

Callum Ilott is back for his second start of his IndyCar career and Ilott starts 26th. Juncos Hollinger Racing has won five of the last six Indy Lights races at Laguna Seca and the team has five Indy Pro 2000 victories at the track. 

Dalton Kellett starts dead last in 27th. Kellett has started outside the top twenty in 14 of 15 races this season. He made four starts at Laguna Seca in the Road to Indy series. He had a fifth-place finish in Pro Mazda and had three finishes of sixth. 

NBC's coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 95 laps.

Track Walk: Laguna Seca 2021

The IndyCar championship battle enters Laguna Seca

The 15th and penultimate round of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season brings IndyCar back to Laguna Seca, another venue returning to the schedule after the COVID-19 pandemic knocked it off the calendar last year. Four different drivers have won the last four IndyCar races, but all four of those drivers have come from two teams: Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske. Ganassi and Penske has combined to win every race this summer after the season started with five different teams winning the first six races. Team Penske has six Laguna Seca victories, the most all-time. Ganassi has two victories at the track. Like Portland last week, the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will be five laps longer this year, jumping up to 95 laps. 

Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 3:00 pm ET on Sunday September 19 with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBCSN
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee and Kelli Stavast will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule 
Friday:

First Practice: 5:30 p.m. ET (45 minutes)*

Saturday:

Second Practice: 1:45 p.m ET (45 minutes)*

Qualifying: 5:05 p.m. ET (NBCSN will have tape-delayed coverage at 11:30 p.m. ET)*

Sunday:
Warm-Up: 12:00 p.m. ET (30 minutes)

Race: 3:30 p.m. ET (95 laps)

* - All practice and qualifying sessions are available live on Peacock.

Championship Picture

With two races and 108 points remaining, five drivers are left in the championship battle and the key number is 49, as in any driver hoping to have a shot at the championship next week in the Long Beach season finale has to be within 49 points of the championship leader. The keynote is while the championship has gone to the wire in 15 consecutive seasons in the IRL/IndyCar Series, with the finale awarding normal points and not being double points, there is a chance the Astor Cup could be claimed before the teams depart Northern California.

Álex Palou enters with a 25-point lead over Patricio O'Ward and if Palou doubles his lead, he will clinch the 2021 IndyCar championship a race early, as all he would have to do is start the Long Beach race to claim the trophy. We have not seen an early champion since Dan Wheldon in 2005, and Wheldon clinched that title with two races to go. 

Palou is coming off his third victories of the season, the first driver to three victories this season. A maximum points day for Palou, would lift him to 531 points and for any driver to remain championship-eligible he would need 483 points after Laguna Seca, as Palou would own the tiebreaker with four victories and no other driver could have more than three. 

With a maximum points Palou victory, O'Ward would need to finish fourth or better or finish fifth with at least one bonus point. Josef Newgarden currently sits on 443 points, 34 points behind Palou. If Palou scored maximum points, Newgarden would need to finish second to remain alive. 

A maximum points victory for Palou would automatically eliminate his Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson.

The championship lead has swapped hands after the last two races and Palou retook the top position after a 35-point swing in Portland. After two races where Palou scored only 15 combined points, he picked up 52 points with his Portland victory. He has scored more than 30 points in eight of 14 races this season. Meanwhile, O'Ward ended up 14th after misplaying pit strategy and struggling on the primary tire compound. It was the third time O'Ward has finished outside the top ten this season. However, O'Ward has finished in the top five of each race following those non-top ten results. 

Newgarden is teetering on championship eligibility. A good day could bring him back in the thick of it and there is still an outside chance Newgarden could leave Laguna Seca as the championship leader. He has five consecutive top ten finishes, which include two victories and a fifth. While he lost 11 points to the championship leader after Portland, he has gained 70 points to the championship leader since his Mid-Ohio victory, where he was 104 points off the top spot after his first victory of the season. 

Scott Dixon's hopes for a successful title defense rest on gaining points on his teammate Palou. Dixon sits perched on the fence of life or death, 49 points back. If Palou outscores Dixon by one point at Laguna Seca, Dixon's title hopes are done. If the two drivers score the same number of points, Dixon's title hopes are still done as he could only finish level with Palou and Palou would own the tiebreaker. Dixon must outscore Palou by one point at Laguna Seca to remain alive. 

The third Chip Ganassi Racing driver still alive for the championship, Marcus Ericsson, has some work to do to remain in the fight. Sitting 75 points behind Palou, Ericsson needs to score at least 27 points more than Palou to remain above water. If Ericsson were to win this weekend with the minimum 51 points for a victory, he would need Palou to finish eighth or worse to remain alive. The worst Ericsson can finish and remain alive is fourth with at least one bonus point and that result would also require Palou finishing 25th or worse with zero points going to the Spaniard. 

Ganassi and Penske

It is another year where IndyCar has celebrated its parity with eight different winners from six different teams, but since the start of summer it has been two teams that have dominated the series, and it just happened to be the two most successful teams over the last 20 years. 

Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske have combined to win the last six races, starting with Álex Palou's Road America victory with Josef Newgarden's first victory of the season following at Mid-Ohio on Independence Day. Marcus Ericsson won IndyCar's return from summer break on the streets of Nashville before Will Power followed with his first victory of the season on the IMS road course. Newgarden won the final oval race at Gateway and Palou won at Portland to start the final three-week stretch to close the season. 

After Ganassi and Penske combined to win 12 of 14 races last year, the teams have won a combined nine of 14 races in 2021 with two races remaining. Four of the final five championship-eligible drivers represent the two teams and they have six of the top ten drivers in the championship. 

These two teams have been snagging the checkered flags, but a few other teams and drivers have been knocking on the door of victory. 

Road America was set to be either Ganassi or Penske winning. Newgarden dominated that race before the gearbox let him down on the final restart with two laps, allowing Palou to slide on through for his second victory of the season. At Mid-Ohio, Newgarden was able to finally close out a victory after leading 73 of 80 laps, but Newgarden had to hold off a charging Ericsson in the final laps, while Palou and Dixon made it three Ganassi cars in the top four. 

Nashville should have been Colton Herta's race. Herta led 39 of 80 laps, only to be shuffled backward due to the string of cautions that saw over 41% of the race take place behind the safety car. Meanwhile, Ericsson had the most fortunate set of events lead him from climbing over Sébastien Bourdais on the lap five restart to pit stops shuffling him to the lead and pulling out the victory. 

Power deserved victory on the IMS road course, but it was another IMS road course race where Romain Grosjean was running second and looking to be a threat for victory while Herta was third. At Gateway, Herta led 101 laps before his driveshaft broke while leading with fewer than 80 laps remaining. With Herta out of the race, it cleared the way for Newgarden to take his second victory. 

And then there was Portland. Last week's race saw another chaotic start and moved all top four qualifies along with a few other cars to the back of the field for blowing the chicane. Patricio O'Ward led the first 28 laps before making his first pit stop, allowing Graham Rahal to assume the lead. Rahal led the most laps as he attempted to make it on two pit stops. While Rahal looked set for victory, his fuel saving along with being leapfrogged by about a half-dozen cars after his final stop dropped him to tenth. 

In the last six races, Ganassi and Penske drivers have combined to lead 394 of 670 laps. Newgarden has led 245 of those 394 laps. 

What Can We Learn From 2019?

Contemporary IndyCar has only one Laguna Seca race under its belt when it made its long-awaited return two years ago. 

It was a three-stop race for everyone with all first stops occurring between lap 9-19 with Marcus Ericsson stopping first and Will Power stopping last. Second pit stops fell between lap 30, which saw Marco Andretti stop after a 17-lap stint, and lap 40, again seeing Power going 21 laps, and Sébastien Bourdais who went 25 laps on his second stint. Final stops fell between laps 60 and 67. Andretti stopped on lap 60 and made it the final 30 laps while Power's third stint was 27 laps before a 23-lap sprint to the end. 

Colton Herta strategy had pit stops on lap 18, lap 39 and lap 64. Power had started seventh and his strategy moved him up to fifth after his first stop, fourth after his second stop and he made it to second after his third stop. 

Only two drivers starting outside the top ten ended up finishing in the top ten, Felix Rosenqvist went from 14th to fifth, but Rosenqvist's starting position is a bit of misnomer. He was fourth in group two during the first round of qualifying, but he caused a local yellow and lost his fastest lap. However, his second fastest lap was good enough for fourth in the group, but the rulebook states any driver that caused a local yellow could not advance to the second round. 

Rosenqvist was up to tenth before the first pit cycle picked up. After the first round of stops, he was eighth and was soon up to seventh. After his second stop, the Swede was up to fifth and he battled Simon Pagenaud for fourth over the final stint of the race. 

Bourdais was racing with sore neck and went from 19th to seventh, but he went backward at the start, dropping to 20th at the end of the first lap. It got worse, as Bourdais was down to 22nd at the end of lap three. He did 15 laps on his first stint and after the first cycle he was 17th. He climbed up to 15th and was up to 14th after Conor Daly spun in turn two, bringing out the lone caution in the race. Bourdais jumped up to 11th on that restart.

After his final stop, Bourdais emerged in eighth and went 25 laps on his final stint. He picked up seventh from Newgarden with five laps to go. 

Most times, when a driver finishes tenth after starting ninth, it is a non-story, but Ryan Hunter-Reay's 2019 Laguna Seca race deserves some attention. Hunter-Reay went forward ahead of his first stop on lap 15, but stalled on that stop and dropped to 24th, dead last. He was a lap down after his second stop on lap 37 before Herta made his second stop of the race. 

At the lap 48 restart, Hunter-Reay was 21st. He was 18th at the end of lap 49. After lap 54, he was up to 16th. Four laps later, he was 15th... then 14th the lap after that... and 13th the lap after that before making his final stop on lap 63. After the pit cycle, he was 12th. He was up to 11th on lap 68 and got back to tenth on lap 70, where he remained for the final 20 laps of the race. 

There were 160 total passes in the 2019 race, 145 of those for position. While Herta led 83 of 90 laps, the average interval between first and second on non-caution laps and not during the pit cycles was 1.2422 seconds with 45 laps where the margin was under a second and the lead was under two seconds after 70 laps. 

Team Dynamics

With only two rounds remaining in the 2021 season, it is a good time to see how the intra-team battles have played out this season. 

Ganassi has three of its drivers still alive for the championship and, no matter what happens over the next two races, Dixon cannot win the team's head-to-head-to-head-to-head battle. Dixon has only been the top Ganassi finisher in three races and it was three of the first four races, St. Petersburg and the Texas doubleheader. Palou has been the top finisher in six races and Ericsson has been on top in five races, including a four-race stretch from Mid-Ohio through Gateway. In six races this season, all three drivers have finished in the top ten.

In qualifying, Palou holds the edge with six times coming out on top to Dixon's four and Ericsson's two. 

Newgarden has been the overwhelming top driver at Penske, being the top finisher in nine races. The only other Penske driver to finish best in the team multiple times is Will Power, who has been best in team three times. The only time Simon Pagenaud was the top finisher was third in the Indianapolis 500 and Scott McLaughlin was best in the team with his runner-up finish at Texas. Only once this season has Penske had multiple top five finishers. That was at Gateway, where Newgarden won, and Power was third. 

When it comes to qualifying, Newgarden has been on top in six races, Power four times with Pagenaud and McLaughlin each having one tally to their names.

Andretti Autosport has seen each of its four drivers come out on top over the last four races, however, overall, Herta and Rossi are tied at six races apiece as best finisher in the team while Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe have each only been on top once. In qualifying, Herta leads nine to three over Rossi with the other two drivers having not been the top qualifier once this season. Andretti Autosport has had multiple top ten finishers in three of the last four races after having only multiple top ten finishers in only one of the first ten races.

At Arrow McLaren SP, it has been all Patricio O'Ward. O'Ward is up 11-3 on Felix Rosenqvist in race finishes and 8-4 on qualifying. The only times Rosenqvist has beat O'Ward is when O'Ward has finished outside the top ten.

Graham Rahal leads the way in the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing camp. Rahal has been the top finisher nine times to Takuma Sato's four while Santino Ferrucci was the team's top finisher in the Indianapolis 500. The only time Sato has beat Rahal when Rahal has finished in the top ten was the first Belle Isle race, where RLLR went 4-5-6 with Sato ahead of Rahal and Ferrucci. In qualifying, it is Rahal again up 9-2 to Sato and Christian Lundgaard was top qualifier for the August IMS road course race. 

Ed Carpenter Racing has seen a strange swing of results. After not losing head-to-head to Conor Daly in his first 13 starts with ECR, Rinus VeeKay has not finished ahead of Conor Daly in their last five races together as teammates. VeeKay holds a 6-5 lead over Daly while Carpenter was top finisher twice and Oliver Askew beat Daly in Askew's one start substituting for VeeKay at Road America after the Dutchman broke his collarbone. Daly does hold a significant edge in qualifying, 7-4 over VeeKay with Carpenter top qualifier at Gateway. ECR has not had a top ten finishers in any of the last seven races after having at least one top ten finishers in six of the first seven races. 

Dale Coyne Racing is closer than it appears. Romain Grosjean is only up 7-5 on Ed Jones. One of Jones' victories was against Pietro Fittipaldi, but Fittipaldi went 2-1 in his three oval starts. Each time Jones has beat Grosjean, Grosjean has finished outside the top fifteen and in three of those races Grosjean has finished outside the top twenty. In qualifying, Grosjean is up 8-4, but Jones has been top qualifier in the last two races. 

A.J. Foyt Racing is all Sébastien Bourdais. Bourdais has been the top finisher in 11 races. The two times Dalton Kellett was on top were the first Texas race when Newgarden ran over Bourdais and Nashville when Ericsson ran over Bourdais. J.R. Hildebrand was the team's top finisher in the Indianapolis 500. In qualifying, it is 11-1 in favor of Bourdais with Hildebrand also being the team's top qualifier at the Indianapolis 500. 

Meyer Shank Racing has not had two full-time cars, but Jack Harvey and Hélio Castroneves have been teammate for four races this year. It is a small sample size, but it is 2-2. Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 and was ninth at Nashville while Harvey finished 15th. Harvey was sixth to Castroneves' 21st in the August IMS road course race and fourth to Castroneves' 23rd at Portland. It is also 2-2 in qualifying results with Castroneves on top for the Indianapolis 500 and Portland while Harvey started better at Nashville and on the IMS road course. 

Road to Indy

Once again, Indy Lights is the only series joining IndyCar this weekend and it is the penultimate round of the season for the Indy Lights series. 

With 128 points left on the table, only three drivers are alive for the championship. 

David Malukas has a five-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood. The two drivers split the Portland doubleheader last weekend and they have finished first and second over the last four races, with Malukas coming out on top in three of those races. Linus Lundqvist has an outside shot at the championship, but Lundqvist trails by 73 points. Lundqvist was third in both Portland races, his first podium finishes since the second Belle Isle race in June. 

Malukas has only two starts at Laguna Seca and he was fifth and seventh in the 2019 Indy Lights races. Kirkwood won the first Indy Pro 2000 race at Laguna Seca before an opening lap accident took him out of race two. 

Benjamin Pedersen was fourth in the top Portland races and Pedersen is fourth in the championship on 283 points, 11 points ahead of Danial Frost. Frost, despite finishing eighth and sixth in Portland, moved ahead of Andretti Autosport teammate Devlin DeFrancesco in the championship by three points. DeFrancesco was 11th and seventh in those two races. Robert Megennis picked up fifth-place finishes in both Portland races. Megennis is ten points behind DeFrancesco. 

Indy Lights will race at 3:45 p.m. ET on Saturday September 18 and at 1:15 p.m. ET on Sunday September 19. 

It should be noted that the Indy Lights season finale will occur on a standalone weekend with the other two Road to Indy Series, Indy Pro 2000 and U.S. F2000, at Mid-Ohio on the weekend of October 1-3. 

Fast Facts

This will be the 13th IndyCar race on September 19 and first since Hélio Castroneves won at Motegi in 2010. That was the final Motegi oval race. 

Héctor Rebaque famously got his one and only IndyCar victory in his final start on September 19, 1982 at Road America. 

Nigel Mansell's final IndyCar victory came on September 19, 1993 at Nazareth. Mansell clinched the 1993 CART championship with that victory. 

Laguna Seca was supposed to host a race last year on September 19 after the weekend was expanded into a doubleheader on one of the many revisions to the 2020 schedule before it would be ultimately dropped from the calendar. 

Cristiano da Matta celebrates his 48th birthday on race day. Da Matta was the 2002 Laguna Seca winner. That victory was his was his first of four consecutive victories that season. Da Matta ended up as the 2002 CART champion.

Da Matta is one of two drivers to win at Laguna Seca in Indy Lights and IndyCar. The other is Bryan Herta. Scott Dixon or Rinus VeeKay could become the third driver to do it this weekend.

Jimmy Vasser, Jacques Villeneuve, and Patrick Carpentier are the three drivers to win at Laguna Seca in Atlantics and IndyCar. Ryan Hunter-Reay or James Hinchcliffe could become the fourth driver to do it this weekend. 

Five times has a driver won at Laguna Seca and the championship in the same season (Bobby Rahal 1986-87, Danny Sullivan 1988, Michael Andretti 1991, da Matta 2002). 

This will be the sixth time Laguna Seca has hosted the penultimate race of the season (1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1997).

Five times has a driver won consecutive Laguna Seca races (Bobby Rahal 1984-87, Michael Andretti 1991-92, Paul Tracy 1993-94, Bryan Herta 1998-99, Patrick Carpentier 2003-04). 

The average starting position for a Laguna Seca winner is 2.608 with a median of one. 

The pole-sitter has won 15 of 23 Laguna Seca races and 19 races have been won from the front row. 

Only two Laguna Seca races have been won from outside the top five: Jimmy Vasser from sixth in 1997 and Max Papis from 25th in 2001.

The average number of lead changes in a Laguna Seca race is 3.0434 with a median of three. 

The 2019 Laguna Seca race had seven lead changes, tied for the second most all-time. The most was eight in 1988, the first race on the 2.214-mile configuration. 

Six Laguna Seca races have featured zero lead changes, but every other Laguna Seca race has had at least two lead changes. 

The average number of cautions in a Laguna Seca race is 1.782 with a median of one. The average number of caution laps is 7.4782 with a median of eight.

There have been six caution-free races at Laguna Seca, but the most recent caution-free race was 1997. 

Possible Milestones:

Scott Dixon is one victory away from tying Mario Andretti for second all-time with 52 victories.

If Scott Dixon takes the green flag, he will become the fifth driver in IndyCar history to make 350 starts. 

If Will Power takes the green flag, he will become the 15th driver in IndyCar history to make 250 starts.

If Ryan Hunter-Reay takes the green flag, he will make his 281st start, tying him with Paul Tracy for tenth all-time. 

Alexander Rossi is one podium finish away from his 25th podium finish. 

Will Power needs to lead 80 laps to surpass Dario Franchitti for eighth all-time in laps led.

Josef Newgarden needs to lead 21 laps to surpass Tony Bettenhausen for 19th all-time in laps led. Newgarden could also surpass Dan Wheldon with 30 laps led.

Sébastien Bourdais needs to lead 20 laps to reach the 2,700 laps led milestone.

Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead 47 laps to reach the 1,600 laps led milestone.

James Hinchcliffe needs to lead 19 laps to reach the 800 laps led milestone.

Colton Herta needs to lead 89 laps to reach the 600 laps led milestone.

Graham Rahal needs to lead 10 laps to reach the 500 laps led milestone.

Predictions

Laguna Seca is the place where Alexander Rossi breaks through and gets his first victory since June 2019. Josef Newgarden will finish second. Scott Dixon is the top finishing Ganassi driver for the first time since May. There will be four drivers alive for the championship heading to Long Beach. Álex Palou's championship lead will shrink but it will still be double digits. Felix Rosenqvist will be the best finishing AMSP driver. Callum Ilott will complete more than half the race. Oliver Askew will not spin. Rinus VeeKay finally finishes in the top fifteen. Romain Grosjean does not hit anyone at the start. At least three drivers starting outside the top ten finish in the top ten. Sleeper: Sébastien Bourdais.

Musings From the Weekend: Waiver Re-Think

Álex Palou is back on top the IndyCar championship after a baffling Portland victory. George Russell will join Mercedes in 2022. Valtteri Bottas will move to Alfa Romeo. We may need to cool it on the sprint qualifying race. The World Rally Championship will not visit Japan and the season will with Rally Monza for the second consecutive season. The Supercars calendar continues to be flipped upside down. Gold Coast has been cancelled and Bathurst may be pushed to December. There were seven attempted overtakes for the lead in the final three laps of the MotoGP race from Aragón. A man won with a broken hand. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum could become important to NASCAR fans. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.

Waiver Re-Think

The NASCAR season is in the final stretch and for the eighth season the Cup Series is using its four-round elimination playoff format.

Since 2014, and since 2016 in the lower two divisions, NASCAR has lowered the standard for a championship eligible driver in its playoff system to win one regular season race and you are in. There are a few other criteria. In the Cup Series, a driver has to remain in the top 30 in points. In the other two series it is the top 20. All drivers must start every regular season race to be eligible for the playoffs. However, waivers are available if a driver misses a race, or if a driver changes championship eligibility midseason. Waivers have been issued frequently.

This year alone one was issued in the Cup Series when Corey LaJoie missed the Michigan Cup race due to COVID-19 protocol. Michael Annett suffered a leg injury midseason in NASCAR's second division and has a waiver should he win a race. 

Prior to this season, the most famous waiver example was Kyle Busch, who missed the first 11 Cup races in 2015 after breaking his ankle in the Daytona opener in the Grand National Series. Busch received a waiver, won multiple regular season races, was inside the top 30, qualified for the playoffs and went on to win the championship. Other waivers include Austin Dillon, who missed a race in 2020 due to COVID-19 protocols, Ross Chastain received one when he switched his points midseason to contend for the Truck championship in 2019. Suspended drivers have even received waivers, Kurt Busch after off-track legal issues and Johnny Sauter after on-track misbehavior in the Truck Series. 

There is a flaw in the waiver program, and we are seeing it this year in NASCAR's second division. While Annett has one ready if he is to win the Bristol regular season finale this weekend, two drivers who have combined four victories and 13 top five finishes do not have waivers at the ready. 

Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry have each won races this season. Gibbs won on debut on the Daytona road course and since added two more victories. Berry won at Martinsville. Neither driver committed to full-time competition. Berry started the season in JR Motorsports' #8 Chevrolet until Sam Meyer became old enough to compete in the series. Berry has run some additional races in the #31 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing. 

Both Gibbs and Berry are still in the top 20 of the championship. Gibbs is in 15th and Berry is in 17th. They are both arguably two of the ten best drivers in NASCAR's second division this season, but neither will be fighting for the championship when the playoffs start at Las Vegas. 

It is a flaw in the system when injured drivers and suspended drivers are granted waivers but part-timers due to budget issues are not. Frankly, it is a shame because Gibbs and Berry have both done enough to meet NASCAR's first two performance criteria. In 2021, full-time participation has less to do about a driver's performance and more to do with the business of the series. 

One-hundred percent participation does not make a driver better than a driver who is not full-time. It is about what you do in the races ran. Gibbs has only started 13 races, but he has more points than 14 drivers who have started 20 races or more. Berry has made five more starts, but is also ahead of 13 drivers with at least 20 starts. 

On points per start, Gibbs averages 38 points per start. Extrapolate that over a full season, and he would have 950 points, or good enough for third in the championship, only 43 points off championship leader A.J. Allmeninger and 78 points clear of Justin Allgaier, who is currently third. Do the same for Berry, who averages 24.888 points per start, and Berry would have about 622 points, good enough for ninth. 

No offense to Jeremy Clements, Brendon Jones, Riley Herbst and Michael Annett, who battle for the final playoff spots, but Gibbs and Berry have both done more with less and are much more deserving of playoff spots than those four drivers, especially Clements, Herbst and Annett. Those three drivers combine for three top five finishes. Gibbs and Berry have been more efficient drivers. They might not be full-time, but they have put up the numbers to show they are championship-caliber. 

If NASCAR wants to set a criteria for playoff qualification, then set it and remove the necessity for waivers. If NASCAR wants to make it win a race and be in the top 20 of the championship, then let any driver be eligible even if he or she fulfills those two requirements, even if that driver only runs 14 of 26 races or 20 of 26 races. Though these drivers might not have run a full regular season, they would be able to sell themselves as championship contenders and put together a seven-race program for the end of the season. I don't think we have to worry about a playoff eligible driver flaking out in the middle of a round or not competing at all. They will have something to shoot for.  

At large, NASCAR's waiver policy is questionable and NASCAR has yet to draw a clear line in the sand of what is worthy of a waiver and what isn't. If suspended drivers are getting waivers, then why have them at all? 

Also, not every injury is created equal. Drivers who have been hurt in races have gotten them and that makes sense, but what if a driver is hurt doing something stupid? 

Does anyone remember when Jimmie Johnson broke his wrist when he fell off a golf cart while "horsing around?" Johnson's injury occurred in the offseason, but if a driver were to repeat that during the season, does "horsing around" qualify a driver for a waiver? And therein lies the trouble with waivers. When does NASCAR say no and potentially blow up a driver's season, leaving him or her with no shot of making the playoffs with possibly ten or 12 races left in the regular season? If NASCAR is never going to pull that trigger and is always going to issue waivers, just get rid of waivers! 

Over the previous 25 years, NASCAR didn't have to worry about part-time teams and funding drying up for top programs. It is much different in 2021, and NASCAR should take that into consideration. It has already tweaked its championship format so many times in the name of creating drama one more tweak for the sake of competition and to ensure the best drivers are competing for the championship should be made. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...

Daniel Riccarido won the Italian Grand Prix, his first victory since the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix with Red Bull. It was McLaren's first victory since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and, with Lando Norris in second, it was McLaren's first 1-2 finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. 

Théo Pourchaire, Jehan Daruvala and Oscar Piastri split the Formula Two races from Monza.

Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's Aragón Grand Prix, his first career MotoGP victory. Raúl Fernández won the Moto2 race, his fifth victory of the season. Dennis Foggia won the Moto3 race, his third victory of the season.

David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood split the Indy Lights races from Portland.

The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor won the IMSA race from Laguna Seca. The #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca-Gibson of Mikkel Jensen and Ben Keating won in LMP2. The #4 Corvette of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy won in GTLM. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor and Zach Robichon won in GTD.

Martin Truex, Jr. won the NASCAR Cup race from Richmond, his fourth victory of the season. Noah Gragson won the Grand National Series race, his second consecutive victory.

The #12 Team Impul Nissan of Nobuharu Matsushita and Kazuki Hiramine won the Super GT race from Sportsland SUGO, the first career victory for both drivers. The #61 R&D Sport Subaru of Takuto Iguchi and Hideki Yamauchi won in GT300. 

Kalle Rovanperä won Acropolis Rally Greece, his second victory in the last three rounds. 

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar's penultimate round from Laguna Seca. 

MotoGP will be at Misano, but more importantly the MotoE championship will be decided over a doubleheader. 

NASCAR ends round one of the playoffs at Bristol, while the second division finishes its regular season.

The European Le Mans Series hopes for blue skies at Spa-Francorchamps. 

World Superbike has a pivotal round in Barcelona.

DTM heads up to Assen. 

GT World Challenge America ends summer at Watkins Glen.

First Impressions: Portland 2021

1. Álex Palou's third victory of the season could not have been more unconventional for a pole-sitter and it went wrong at the start. After locking up, Palou was one of at least a half-dozen cars to blow the first chicane, as another five cars piled up in the corner. With Palou blowing the corner, he was positioned behind all the cars that had successfully made the corner.

With Palou shuffled in the middle of the pack, and during a lengthy caution to take care of the incident and reposition the cars, Palou along with pretty much every other car that blew the chicane at the start made their first pit stops on lap nine.

This turned into another race where the penalized ended up in an advantageous position just like Marcus Ericsson at Nashville. The long first caution allowed those who cut the chicane to stop and get into a bigger window for three stops. But, as with Ericsson, these guys needed some help and they all got it. The way the cautions fell could not have been better for Palou and company.

Palou went from blowing this race at the start to a strong off-strategy run where he jumped his fellow penalized drivers during the pit cycle. It looked like Palou was going to finish somewhere among third or four of those who missed the chicane at the start, but in the middle of the race Palou was the greatest benefactor from a giant game of leapfrog. After his lap 79 stop, Palou jumped Alexander Rossi, Jack Harvey and Graham Rahal. As the rest of the field stopped, Palou ended up in the lead. The Spaniard never looked back and he is back in control of the championship with two races to go.

When Palou blew the chicane, we were looking at Patricio O'Ward leaving with a 45-point lead. Laguna Seca could have been a coronation ceremony for O'Ward, but an incredible turn of events has Palou exiting Portland with a 25-point lead, a 35-point swing from the start of the weekend.

2. Alexander Rossi was one of the many penalized for missing the chicane at the start. Rossi looked like the best car in the middle of the race and he made up some ground to position himself to possibly cycle to the lead. It felt like it was going to be his day and then Palou emerged from the pit lane ahead of Rossi.

Considering how Rossi's season has been going, he should take second and be happy, but we never got to see the true strength of Rossi today. We didn't really see it for any of the top starters. They all missed the chicane and were sent to the back. They all made it back to the front, but they faced a tremendous number of obstacles to get there.

3. Scott Dixon was tapped from behind at the start when Felix Rosenqvist carried a little too much speed into turn one. Neither driver was significantly damaged, but both blew the chicane. Dixon ran in lockstep with Palou from there onward, and Dixon also almost emerged from the pit lane ahead of Rossi, only for the American to pass Dixon on the exit of the chicane on Dixon's out lap.

It is no surprise Dixon was able to turn that start into a third-place finish. He did lose ground to his teammate in the championship and for the first time since 2011 it feels like Dixon will be second in the Ganassi stable.

This race amazed me. It is incredible that the top three starters finished 1-2-3 after everything that happened at the start. The box score will never tell the true story of this race.

4. Jack Harvey was the best finisher among the cars that made the chicane on lap one, and he jumped from 20th to tenth. Harvey went long on his opening stint, not stopping until lap 41 and that got him into a top five position. He had a strong second stint and was among the leaders.

Fourth is a good result, especially after all the good results Harvey lost this season through poor strategy calls or mechanical issues. It is also fitting because Harvey showed good pace in practice, but did not have it in qualifying. Consider this a market correction for qualifying.

5. Josef Newgarden was not in a good mood after qualifying 18th. He made the chicane at the start, but was still stuck in the middle of the field. He took the same strategy as the leaders and it got him to the front. He never pushed Palou, Rossi or Dixon, but Newgarden's strategy leaped him ahead of many guys who spent the opening half of the race in the top five.

The only thing that makes this result bittersweet is Newgarden lost ground in the championship despite all he accomplished today.

6. Felix Rosenqvist pulled out a sixth-place finish. Rosenqvist took some flak for the Dixon contact at the start, but I don't think he ruined Dixon's race. It wasn't malicious from Rosenqvist. Dixon was always going to blow turn one. Rosenqvist stuck to the same strategy as the other reprimanded drivers. He wasn't quite as good as the top three, but he was a top ten driver today and the result matches his performance.

7. Marcus Ericsson moved up to fourth after the field was realigned before the first restart and for a moment it felt like another bonkers road/street course race was going to end up in Ericsson's favor. He was leading at one point during a pit cycle. He did not repeat his Belle Isle nor Nashville performance, but seventh is a fair day.

8. I wish we could have a do-over on that start because Colton Herta looked competitive and he was behind everyone for what felt like the entire race. Instead of starting sixth, Herta was behind what felt like ten extra guys all race. At one point, I thought he was doomed to a 16th-place finish, but Herta was quick, he showed some aggression and it paid off with an eighth-place finish.

9. Scott McLaughlin continues to cling to his rookie of the year lead ahead of Romain Grosjean and McLaughlin benefited greatly from making the opening corner and Grosjean's accident at the start. McLaughlin went from 15th to sixth once the field was organized after the opening lap. McLaughlin's team kept him at the front, but with the number of cautions and the timing of his stops, McLaughlin had to settle for ninth, a worthy result for how he drove today.

I will cover Grosjean here as well, just to wrap up the rookies. Grosjean had a rough weekend but didn't do much wrong. He was called for interference in qualifying and that pegged him back. Then he was a little too aggressive at the start. Ok, maybe he did one thing wrong. I think he overestimated what he could get away with. The crew repaired the car, but Grosjean had to settle for 22nd

10. This was a painful result for Graham Rahal because this finally felt like it would be his day. After so many races where the cautions fell against Rahal, this felt like his race. He ended up second at the first restart, Rahal drove longer on the opening stint and jumped ahead of Patricio O'Ward, who led the first 28 laps. Even when the untimely caution fell for Callum Ilott and Dalton Kellett breaking down simultaneously, it didn't hurt Rahal.

But Rahal lost all that ground on his second pit stop. First, Harvey jumped Rahal, then Rossi, then the PNC Bank Ganassi cars of Palou and Dixon. Then McLaughlin and Simon Pagenaud emerged ahead of Rahal and then Pagenaud spun to bring out the final caution. Rahal ended up tenth but this should have been a victory. It is crazy he lost that much ground after appearing to have control of the race. He should have at least been on the podium, but this was truly one race that got away from Rahal.

11. Ed Jones was positioned third after the opening lap mess. Jones was competitive, but not as good as Rahal. He lost more ground than Rahal and earlier on. This could have been better, but 11th is better than most.

12. Takuma Sato went from 26th to 12th. I am unsure how. He wasn't really mentioned.

13. Will Power was in the opening lap accident and he still finished 13th and on the lead lap. I guess there is always going to be one driver who makes it out of a start accident. It was Scott Dixon in 2018 and it was Power this year. I am stunned Power got this finish. After the accident, both ends of Power's car were damaged. I thought he would have to go behind the wall, but he didn't. He fought back and the fact he finished better than his starting position is a victory in itself.

14. I am not sure how this one got away from Patricio O'Ward. It could not have started better. O'Ward went from seventh to first and really only had to pass Graham Rahal in that first half-mile of action. As O'Ward led, all his championship rivals were outside the top ten. It could not have been set up better for him. He led the first 28 laps and then stopped. With this race expanded to 110 laps, it was always going to be a three-stopper, but the windows exploded with the opening caution.

O'Ward stopped early and it backfired. He was stuck in traffic and lost time. Rahal was always going to jump him in the pit cycle. O'Ward was still second and was set to increase his championship lead, but then he stopped just before the Ilott/Kellett caution as those cars were grinding to a halt on circuit but there was a window for pit stops. That proved to be the wrong choice. O'Ward was stuck in the middle of the field again, and he lost spots during that run. He never recovered.

The cars at the front, those reprimanded at the start, made their final stops with about 35 laps to go, and that was early enough to make it to the end. O'Ward was not going to get lucky and pick off a half-dozen spots as cars needed a splash of fuel. He was left in 14th and he is now chasing Palou when at one point O'Ward had a hand on the Astor Cup.

15. Quickly through the rest of the field: Ryan Hunter-Reay was 15th... yeah that is about right. Conor Daly was 16th... same as Hunter-Reay, but Daly was a spot ahead of Rinus VeeKay, who continues to have the summer from hell. Sébastien Bourdais spun Oliver Askew, but was not penalized. It did knock him back a few spots. Max Chilton ended up 19th and he benefited from making the first corner at the start.

16. Jimmie Johnson picked up another top 20 finish! He was 20th! And on the lead lap! Progress!

17. Simon Pagenaud spun on after an desperate passing attempt on Will Power and stalled. It cost Pagenaud a surefire top ten finish. It is the story of his season. We covered Grosjean. Hélio Castroneves was hit in the first corner and it left Castroneves with another poor Portland experience in 23rd. Twenty years later and some things do not change.

18. I feel bad for Oliver Askew. The start was a mess and he was caught in it. He didn't really suffer any damage, but he stalled and lost ground. Later in the race, he was spun. I am surprised Bourdais was not penalized for that contact. Askew didn't get a great chance to show himself. Practice and qualifying were good, but he knows he has to succeed in a race. The good news is he will get two more chances to make an impression.

19. Callum Ilott's debut was all over the place. First, he was hit at the start, but kept going. He was running respectively and then the car broke down just before halfway. Like Askew, Ilott at least gets two more shots this season.

20. Oh Canada. Dalton Kellett 26th. James Hinchcliffe 27th. This was the third Portland race since IndyCar's return in 2018 and it was the third time Hinchcliffe was taken out. He must hate Portland. How could he love it?

21. The start. Oof. There were a few reasons Champ Car was keen on introducing standing starts in 2007. Portland was one of them. I know IndyCar attempted standing starts in 2014. We know how that went, but something has to be done at Portland. If we are avoiding chaos at the starts at Mid-Ohio and Nashville with different starting areas, why not do the same at Portland? I don't know where would be better. Turns ten and 11 at the end of the back straightaway could be just as big of a mess.

We talk about the start every year at Portland and there is an opening corner accident at an alarming rate. Ten of the last 13 Portland races have had an opening lap accident. That is unacceptable. We expect the accident to happen and do nothing to decrease the chances of it happening. I know people love to say it is on the drivers and the drivers need to have more control. That is partially true, but when an accident occurs 76% of the time, we need to consider the course is imperfect and something should be done.

22. Two races remain. Laguna Seca is next. After Portland, what other twist could possibly await us?

Morning Warm-Up: Portland 2021

Álex Palou powers to Portland pole position

Álex Palou picked the perfect time to win his first career pole position as the Spaniard topped qualifying from Portland with a lap of 58.7701 seconds. It is also Palou's first front row qualifying result. He did start on the front row for both Texas races, but both of those grids were set via entrants' points, as qualifying was rained out that weekend. The pole position awards Palou a bonus point and he will take the green flag nine points behind championship leader Patricio O'Ward. Palou has retired from the last two races after having been running at the finish of 14 consecutive races. He has scored only 15 points over the last two races. He has scored 30 points or more in seven of the first 13 races.

Alexander Rossi starts second for the third time this season. The American missed pole position by 0.0872 seconds. Rossi was second on the grid for Barber and second for the first Belle Isle race. He has finished worse than his starting position in eight of 13 races this season, including in five of the eight times he has started in the top ten. Rossi has only led two laps this season. He has only led in five of the 34 races since his most recent victory at Road America in 2019. His fewest laps led in a season were 23 laps in his rookie year in 2016.

Scott Dixon makes it two Ganassi cars in the top three, as Dixon was 0.0972 seconds behind his teammate Palou. Dixon heads into Portland with consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen. The last time he had consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen was at Gateway and Portland in 2019. Dixon has not had three consecutive finishes outside the top ten since 2014 between the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis 500 and the first Belle Isle race. He has not had three consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen since 2005 between Michigan, Kentucky and Pikes Peak. 

Felix Rosenqvist matched his best starting position of 2021 as Rosenqvist was fourth, 0.1804 seconds behind Palou. Rosenqvist has started fourth at Nashville and he finished eighth that day, his only top ten finish this season. Rosenqvist was second at Portland in 2019. Only once has a driver finished second at Portland and then returned and won the following Portland race. Emerson Fittipaldi was second in 1992 and then won in 1993.

Graham Rahal scored his first top five starting position of the season and Rahal rolls off from fifth. His most recent top five start was fifth in the second Road America race last year. Unforunately, Rahal was taken out on the opening lap of that race in turn three. Two of Rahal's six career victories have come in the 14th race of the season. The first was at Mid-Ohio in 2015 and the other was at Texas in 2016. Rahal won the 2005 Star Mazda race at Portland. 

Colton Herta rounds out the top six starters. Herta has led a lap in four consecutive races and in six of 13 races this season. However, only twice has Herta finished in the top ten when he has led, his St. Petersburg victory and when he was third in the August IMS road course race. This is the most consecutive races he has led in his IndyCar career and his 257 laps led in 2021 are three more than he led in his first two seasons combined. 

Championship leader Patricio O'Ward will start seventh after missing out on the Fast Six by 0.0103 seconds. O'Ward enters Portland with the best average finish in IndyCar at 6.6923, most top five finishes with eighth, tied for most top ten finishes with ten, tied for most laps completed this season at 1,634 of 1,635, tied for most pole positions with three and he has the championship lead on 435 points. O'Ward is one of those drivers in this field who could become the first driver to win in Indy Lights and IndyCar at Portland. The other driver who could accomplish that first is Rinus VeeKay. 

Ed Jones qualified eighth, his second top ten start of the season after starting fourth for the first Belle Isle race. Jones has finished outside the top twenty in three of the last five races and in five of 13 races this season. Prior to this season, Jones had only finished outside the top twenty in seven of his first 47 IndyCar starts. 

Oliver Askew makes his IndyCar return this weekend and he qualified ninth in the #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda. This is only Askew's third top ten start of his career after starting fifth last year in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and tenth in last year's St. Petersburg season finale. Askew will be driving for his third IndyCar team in his two-year IndyCar career. This is his first race with a Honda team. He has made four Road to Indy starts at Portland, all were podium finishes and he won in Pro Mazda at the track in 2018.

Marcus Ericsson bookends the top ten on the grid for Chip Ganassi Racing. Ericsson enters with seven consecutive top ten finishes, the longest stretch of his IndyCar career. Ericsson did not race at Portland in 2019 as Sauber called him in on standby for an ailing Kimi Räikkönen at the Belgian Grand Prix. Räikkönen was fine to compete the weekend. 

Max Chilton will start a season-best 11th. It is Chilton's first time advancing to the second round of qualifying since last year's Grand Prix of Indianapolis when he started tenth. Chilton is looking for his second top ten finish of the season. Since his tenth-place finish at Road America, Chilton has finished 18th, 18th and 20th since. His top ten result is Chilton's only top fifteen result this season. He was 11th at Portland two years ago.

Sébastien Bourdais closes out the round two runners in 12th. Bourdais is the only multi-time Portland winner entered this weekend. A victory would put Bourdais level with Michael Andretti and Al Unser, Jr. for most Portland victories with three. Bourdais' last four victories have come from starting positions outside the top ten after his first 33 victories all came from top ten starting spots. 

James Hinchcliffe missed out on round two by 0.0395 seconds and will start 13th. Hinchcliffe has finished 22nd and 20th in his two Portland starts. It is the only track where he has made multiple starts and has an average finish worse than 20th. Hinchcliffe won the 2006 Formula Atlantic race at Portland. He could become the first driver to win in Atlantics and IndyCar at Portland. 

Will Power failed to make it out of round one for the third time this season after falling 0.0642 seconds short. Power will start 14th, the best Team Penske starter. This is the second time Team Penske does not have a top ten starter for a race. The other race was the Indianapolis 500. Power could score his third consecutive podium finish, something he has not down since 2018 when he went third, second and first at Mid-Ohio, Pocono and Gateway. Power became the ninth driver in IndyCar history to reach 4,500 laps led in a career at Gateway. 

Scott McLaughlin will be making his 15th career start this weekend and McLaughlin's 15th career start will come from 15th on the grid. Nine drivers have picked up their first career victory in their 15th career start, including Álex Palou in the 2021 season opener at Barber. The previous three drivers to get their first victory in their 15th start are Rick Mears at Milwaukee in 1978, André Ribeiro at Loudon in 1995 and Graham Rahal at St. Petersburg in 2008. 

Conor Daly joins McLaughlin on row eight. Daly drove in place of Marcus Ericsson two years ago at Portland when the Swede was call-in as a possible substitute for Kimi Räikkönen at the Belgian Grand Prix. Daly does not have a top ten result this season and his most recent top ten finish on a natural-terrain road course was tenth at Sonoma in the 2017 finale. 

Hélio Castroneves ended up 17th in qualifying. Castroneves had started in the top three in his last three Portland starts. Castroneves will be making his first Portland start since 2001. In four Portland races, Castroneves' best finish was seventh in 2000 after starting on pole position, but his average finish is 15.75. 

Josef Newgarden will start 18th, his third time starting outside the top ten in the last four races. After his Gateway victory, Newgarden has totaled 337 laps led this season. This is the seventh consecutive season he has led 300 laps or more. If he leads 63 laps over the final three races, this will be the fourth consecutive season he has led at least 400 laps. He would become just the fifth driver in IndyCar history to lead at least 400 laps in four consecutive seasons joining Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Michael Andretti and Dan Wheldon. 

Callum Ilott will make his IndyCar debut from 19th on the grid. Juncos Hollinger Racing's best IndyCar finish was 15th on its debut with Sebastián Saavedra in the 2017 Indianapolis 500. Ilott could become just the sixth driver in IndyCar history to participate in an IndyCar race with a last name beginning with the letter "I." The last driver with a last name beginning with "I" was Gary Irvin at Springfield on August 14, 1982. Irvin was 22nd that day in his third and final IndyCar start.

Jack Harvey is looking for his third consecutive top ten finish, but he will have to do it from 20th, completing an all-British row ten. Only once prior has Harvey had three consecutive top ten results. It happened last year between the Iowa doubleheader and the Indianapolis 500. Twice has Harvey picked up a top ten finish after starting 20th or worse. One was Austin in 2019, going from 23rd to tenth. The other was last year's Indianapolis 500, going from 20th to ninth. 

Romain Grosjean lost his two fastest laps in round one of qualifying for interference and that knocked him to 21st. Grosjean has finished in the top ten in all five natural-terrain road course races this season, including three top five finishes. This will be Grosjean's 11th career start. Only four drivers have won their first IndyCar race in their 11th career start: Norman Batten at Atlantic City in 1926, Joe Leonard at Milwaukee in 1965, Dan Gurney at Riverside in 1967 and Tomas Scheckter at Michigan in 2002. 

Jimmie Johnson joins Grosjean on row 11. Johnson scored his first lead lap finish of the season in his last start on the IMS road course when he finished 19th. Johnson has finished better than his starting position in six of nine races this season. 

Simon Pagenaud will start 23rd, his worst starting position since he started 26th for the Indianapolis 500 in May. Pagenaud won from 23rd on the grid in the first Iowa race last year. The Frenchman has finished in the top ten in the 14th race of the season for six consecutive years and in nine of 11 seasons he has competed in.

Dalton Kellett will start 24th. Kellett is coming off his career-best finish of 12th at Gateway. Portland is one of five tracks where Kellett scored a top five finish in his Indy Lights career in 70 starts. He was fifth in the first race in 2019. 

The bottom three cars all were issued six-grid spot penalties for engine changes. Rinus VeeKay leads the way of the reprimanded in 25th. VeeKay did not finish worse than second in his four Road to Indy starts at Portland. He won the first Indy Lights race at the track in 2019. VeeKay enters with five consecutive finishes outside the top ten, tied for the longest drought in his IndyCar career.

Takuma Sato starts 26th, his worst starting position since he started 26th at Sonoma in 2012. Coincidentally, Sato retired from that Sonoma race with an engine failure after two laps. He enters Portland without a podium finish, let alone a victory this season. He has won a race and stood on the podium in four consecutive seasons. The latest Sato's first podium finish in a season has come is the 11th race, which came when he finished third at Iowa in 2018. 

Electrical issues prevented Ryan Hunter-Reay from participating in qualifying and Hunter-Reay will start 27th after completing only ten practice laps. This is Hunter-Reay's worst starting position since he started 33rd in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 after replacing Bruno Junqueira in the #41 A.J. Foyt Racing Honda. In five Portland starts, Ryan Hunter-Reay has one top ten finish, his runner-up result to Takuma Sato in 2018. Portland is one of seven tracks Hunter-Reay has a podium finish but has not won at. The others are St. Petersburg, Texas, the IMS road course, São Paulo, Mid-Ohio and Austin. 

NBC's coverage of the Grand Prix of Portland begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 110 laps.