With six races still left in the 2026 IndyCar season, Alex Palou continued to widen his advantage over the rest of the field by claiming his sixth victory of the year at Portland International Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
Palou lined up second on the front row after Felix Rosenqvist edged him to pole position. By the finish, the pair had swapped those positions, with Rosenqvist coming home 4.1167 seconds behind Palou after being unable to recover the time the Chip Ganassi Racing driver gained through his overcut during the final round of pit stops.
Palou was out front for 50 of the 110 laps in a race that featured only one caution period, triggered on lap seven when Graham Rahal found the wall.
Rosenqvist’s pole positions this season have now both resulted in runner-up finishes behind Palou.
Will Power started third and also finished third, securing his third podium of the season. However, a missed instruction to pit on the same lap as Rosenqvist left him fighting through back markers and cost him the opportunity to challenge for second place.
“I heard something when I went through Turn 10 and I wasn't sure if that was pit or not,” Power said. “So I usually wait for him to say something else, but I never heard it. So I think I missed a call there. But we certainly lost a lot on that next lap because we were battling with some back markers. So yes, I think I would've had a reasonable shot at Rosenqvist.”
Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay was the best-placed Chevrolet driver in the race, finishing fourth and equalling his best result of the season, which he had also achieved last month at Mid-Ohio.
Team Penske’s David Malukas and Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood saw their hopes of mounting a championship fight take a hit, with second-placed Malukas finishing 12th and Kirkwood ending the race in seventh.
