Grand Prix of Portland


The Grand Prix of Portland is a race in the IndyCar Series held at the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The race was an annual event from 1984 to 2007, initially as a race in the CART series, and later as part of the Champ Car World Series. After a ten-year hiatus, the race made its return to the IndyCar Series in the 2018 season.

History

first appeared in the Portland area in June 1909, at the 14.6-mile Portland Road Race Course. Two 3-lap races were held, followed by a 7-lap main event titled the Wemme Cup, which was won by Bert Dingley.
Portland is best-remembered as being the site of two of the closest finishes on a road course in Indy car racing history. In 1986, Michael Andretti lost fuel pressure on the final turn of the final lap, which allowed his father Mario to catch up and beat him to the finish line by 0.070 seconds. At the time, it was the closest finish of any race in Indy car history. In 1997, in a three-wide finish, Mark Blundell beat second place Gil de Ferran by 0.027 seconds, and beat third place Raul Boesel by 0.055 seconds. For a road course race, it was the all-time closest finish in CART series history, as well as the closest three-car finish in series history.
For nearly its entire existence, the title sponsor of the race was sporting goods retailer G.I. Joe's and took place in June, during or around the Portland Rose Festival. Numerous times, the race was held on Father's Day. After a ten-year hiatus, the race made its return to the IndyCar Series in the 2018 season. From 2018 to 2023, the race was held in September on or around Labor Day weekend. In 2024, the race was moved to August to accommodate the new IndyCar schedule. Since returning to the calendar, the race has been promoted by Green Savoree Racing Promotions. In 2025, August would remain the month of the event along with the NASCAR event later that month.

Race winners

;Notes
  • 1997 & 2001: Race shortened due to time limit.

    Support race winners

Race summaries

CART PPG Indy Car World Series

  • 1984: The CART series debuted at Portland International Raceway in 1984. It was also the first race which CART utilized radial tires. Mario Andretti and Danny Sullivan swept the front row in Lola T-800 machines, the only two Lola chassis in the field. Andretti, however, dropped out early with engine problems, and Sullivan suffered gear box trouble. Al Unser Jr. took the lead for the final time on lap 39, and led all the way to the finish for his first-career Indy car victory. Geoff Brabham finished second.
  • 1985: Mario Andretti passed Al Unser Jr. for the lead with 19 laps to go, and pulled out to a 25-second victory. Unser Jr. led 49 laps, but after his final pit stop, a bad set of tires and fuel concerns forced him to slow his pace. Andretti was trailing by nearly 15 seconds, but a fast final pit stop, and handling adjustments allowed him to quickly close the gap and drive to victory. It was his second win in a row, and his third victory of the 1985 season. Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan started on the pole position, but dropped out on lap 6 due to steering failure.
  • 1986: In one of the most dramatic finishes in CART history, Mario Andretti beat his son Michael Andretti to the finish line by 0.07 seconds. It was the closest finish in Indy car racing history at the time. With ten laps to go, Michael led Mario by over eight seconds, and looked to be on his way to a dominating victory. Al Unser Jr. was in third position right on the back bumper of Mario. In the closing laps, however, Michael began experiencing fuel pickup problems. Mario and Unser Jr. were charging, and began trimming the lead. At the white flag, Michael still led by three seconds, but his engine was sputtering. As the cars came off the final corner, Michael's engine quit and he began to coast down the inside of the frontstretch. Mario and Unser Jr. raced to the finish line, and Mario nipped Michael at the line by about two feet. Unser came home a close third. In victory lane, a dejected Michael Andretti declared the win a Father's Day gift for Mario.
  • 1987: Roberto Guerrero started on the pole position, but Emerson Fittipaldi got the jump at the start and took the lead on the first lap. Fittipaldi led 45 of the first 46 laps until a blown engine ended his day. Guerrero also dropped out early with engine failure. Bobby Rahal took the lead, and led 56 of the final 58 laps to score his first victory of the 1987 season. Rahal built up a lead of over 23 seconds, and lapped all but second place Michael Andretti. Rahal backed off the pace in the closing laps to conserve fuel, and held off Andretti by 6.39 seconds.
  • 1988: Danny Sullivan started the race on the pole position, and led the first 13 laps. But as Sullivan was making his way through traffic on lap 14, he nearly clipped wheels with Rocky Moran and did a half spin to the infield grass. Arie Luyendyk slipped by to take the lead, and Al Unser Jr. took over second. Sullivan dropped to third, but the car was undamaged. Luyendyk led 53 laps and appeared poised to win his first Indy car race. With Luyendyk, Unser, and Sullivan running 1st-2nd-3rd, the leaders prepared for their final pit stop. Luyendyk pitted on lap 69, and Unser pitted on lap 70. Unser's pit stop lasted 32 seconds due to a problem with the left rear wheel, and he dropped out of contention. Sullivan pitted on lap 71. The Penske Team's lightning-fast pit stop put Sullivan out ahead of Luyendyk, and Sullivan drove to victory. Luyendyk finished second, his best career finish at the time, but his pace was slowed at the end after he lost third gear.
  • 1989: Teo Fabi scored the first pole position for the Porsche Indy Car team, and led 17 laps, en route to a fourth-place finish. Emerson Fittipaldi won the race, crossing the finish line just seconds before his car ran out of fuel. Bobby Rahal finished second, and gave Fittipaldi a ride back to the pits on his sidepod. Minor mishaps made for a wild afternoon, including the asphalt pavement breaking up in the chicane, and a water main break that threatened to flood some of the pit stalls. Scott Pruett tangled with Al Unser Jr. in the chicane on lap 65, sending Unser into the tire barrier with a broken rear wing. Later, Pruett spun out on his own, right in front of Unser, prompting Unser to clap in celebration. Geoff Brabham was driving in substitute for Danny Sullivan who was still recovering from a broken arm at Indianapolis. Brabham was running second with 14 laps to go when radiator problems put him out.
  • 1990: Michael and Mario Andretti, now teammates at Newman Haas Racing, finished 1st-2nd for the second time in an Indy car race. It was the second time it occurred at Portland, though this time Michael finished on top. Michael Andretti took the lead at the start, and led 101 of 104 laps.
  • 1991: Michael Andretti made a daring pass at the start of the race, and grabbed the lead from the fourth starting position. Andretti would go on to lead all but two laps, and won at Portland for the second consecutive year. As the field came down the frontstretch to take the green flag, Michael Andretti darted to the middle to pass Scott Pruett, then the field fanned out five-wide. Andretti narrowly squeezed between Rick Mears and pole-sitter Emerson Fittipaldi and emerged with the lead in the chicane. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second. Andretti's only tense moment of the day came around the halfway point. He became mired behind the lapped car of Truesports driver Scott Pruett, which allowed Fittipaldi to close within a few seconds. Pruett, who qualified third and finished eight, had a decent run in the Truesports 91C chassis, holding off Andretti for many laps, but was noticeably down on power with the Judd AV engine.
  • 1992: For the third year in a row, Michael Andretti won in dominating fashion. Andretti took the lead at the start and led 100 of 102 laps. It was Andretti's first win of the 1992 season, and the first Indy car victory for the new Ford Cosworth XB engine. The 1992 race saw changes to the race track. The chicane near the end of the mainstretch was removed, and replaced by the sharper and longer Festival Curves.
  • 1993: Nigel Mansell started from the pole, and led the first 27 laps. In fierce battle with Emerson Fittipaldi, Mansell locked up the brakes on lap 28 going into the Festival Curves, and slid off-course into a row of cones and into the runoff area. Mansell kept the engine running, and re-joined the race, but Fittipaldi was now the leader. The skies opened up on lap 45, soaking the course, and forced the teams to switch to rain tires for the next 25-30 laps. Fittipaldi led 70 of the final 75 laps, and won for the second time at Portland. Mansell charged back to finish in second place.
  • 1994: Team Penske swept the podium with Al Unser Jr. winning, Emerson Fittipaldi second, and Paul Tracy third. Unser grabbed the lead at the start and led 96 laps en route to victory. Unser made his final pit stop on lap 69. Fittipaldi made his stop one lap later, and for a moment appeared that he would emerge as the leader. Unser on warmer tires, passed Fittipaldi coming out of the Festival Curves, and led the rest of the way.
  • 1995: Al Unser Jr. dominated the race, leading 76 of the 102 laps, and beat second place Jimmy Vasser by over 28 seconds. However, Unser's car failed post-race inspection due to insufficient ground clearance. Unser was stripped of the victory, and Jimmy Vasser was elevated to the winner, tentatively his first-career Indy car triumph. Throughout the race, Unser's machine was observed bottoming out, and on lap 90, a portion of the plywood skidpad flew off the bottom of the car. Vasser was informed of the decision three hours after the race. Team Penske protested the ruling, claiming that the skidpad damage was caused by a bumpy track surface. The appeals process dragged out through the summer, and in August, CART officials formally denied the appeal. The case was then sent to a three-member panel for a second appeal. The panel ruled that the CART technicians used inconsistent methods to measure Unser's car versus the other cars in the field. The panel re-instated the victory, and 21 championship points, to Unser on September 22. Vasser was moved back to second place. The ruling did not change the championship standings, however, as Unser would finish second in the final points standings with or without the victory.
  • 1996: Rookie Alex Zanardi won his first CART series race, leading 88 of the 102 laps. About 30 laps into the race, a rain shower swept over the track, but Zanardi elected not to switch to rain tires. His 17-second lead evaporated, and Al Unser Jr. passed Zanardi for the lead on lap 39. The lead was short-lived, as Unser's rain tires began to fall off. Two laps later, Zanardi was back in the lead, and the rain soon stopped. Zanardi pulled away for a 9-second win over Gil de Ferran.