IndyCar at Portland: How to watch on NBC, start times, TV info and streaming, schedule

By Sep 4, 2022, 8:00 AM EDT
IndyCar Portland start times
Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
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IndyCar Portland start times: The NTT IndyCar Series championship is the tightest it’s been in at least two decades with two races remaining.

Seven drivers remain mathematically eligible for the title heading into the Grand Prix of Portland, and the 58-point margin separating championship leader Will Power from seventh-ranked Will Power is only four points more than the maximum available over a race weekend.

Team Penske’s Power leads teammate Josef Newgarden (winner of the most recent race at Gateway) by three points. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon trails by 14 points with Marcus Ericsson (17 points behind), Alex Palou (minus-43), Scott McLaughlin (minus-54) and O’Ward also in the hunt.

Defending series champion Palou also is the defending winner at Portland (where he took the points lead for good last year).

The 2022 season will conclude Sept. 11 at Laguna Seca Raceway.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway (all times are ET):

INDYCAR AT PORTLAND START TIMES

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2022.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 3:23 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 3:30 p.m. ET

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after the race ends.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for practices and qualifying.

INDYCAR RADIO NETWORK: The IndyCar and Indy Lights races and all practices and qualifying sessions will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app.

PRACTICE: Friday, 5:30 p.m. (Peacock Premium); Saturday noon (Peacock Premium), 7:15 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Session III l Combined

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 3:05 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the 25-car grid Sunday at the green flag

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 110 laps/216.04 miles on a 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course in Portland, Oregon.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Six sets primary, four sets alternate of Firestones. Teams must use one set of primary and one new set of alternate tires in the race. (Note: A seventh set of primary tires is available to any car fielding a rookie driver.).

PUSH TO PASS: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. The push-to-pass will be available at the finish line after the initial start or restarts. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower. (Indy Lights push to pass: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.)

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 81 degrees with a 53% chance of rain at the green flag.

ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 25 IndyCar drivers racing at Portland

INDY LIGHTS RACE: Sunday, 1:20 p.m., 35 laps/68.75 miles or 55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

INDY LIGHTS ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 12 drivers entered

INDYCAR PORTLAND WEEKEND SCHEDULE, START TIMES

(All times are Eastern; subject to change)

Thursday, Sept. 1

Noon: USF2000 practice

1 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 practice

2:45 p.m.: USF2000 practice

3:45 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 practice

4:45 p.m.: USF2000 practice

5:45 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 practice

Friday, Sept. 2

Noon: USF2000 qualifying

12:55 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 qualifying

2:20 p.m.: USF2000 Race 1

3:20 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 Race 1

4:25 p.m.: Indy Lights practice

5:30 p.m.: IndyCar practice (Peacock Premium)

7 p.m.: USF2000 Race 2

8 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 Race 2

9:05 p.m.: ARCA practice

Saturday, Sept. 3

Noon: IndyCar practice

1:15 p.m.: USF2000 Race 3

2:15 p.m.: Indy Lights practice

3:05 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying (Peacock Premium)

4:35 p.m.: ARCA qualifying

5:20 p.m.: Indy Pro 2000 Race 3

6:25 p.m.: Indy Lights qualifying

7:15 p.m.: IndyCar practice (Peacock Premium)

8:30 p.m.: ARCA race, 57 laps/112 miles

Sunday, Sept. 4

1:20 p.m.: Indy Lights race, 35 laps/68.75 miles or 55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

3:30 p.m.: Green flag for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland, 110 laps/216.04 miles (NBC, Peacock Premium)

COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM

ROUND 1: Scott McLaughlin opens season with breakthrough victory at St. Petersburg

ROUND 2: Josef Newgarden nips McLaughlin in last corner for 1-2 Penske finish at Texas

ROUND 3: Josef Newgarden keeps Penske unbeaten in 2022 with first Long Beach win

ROUND 4: Pato O’Ward’s nifty pass seals victory at Barber

ROUND 5: Colton Herta tames the rain in GMR Grand Prix

ROUND 6: Marcus Ericsson wins Indy 500 in two-lap shootout

ROUND 7: Redemption in Detroit for Will Power in Belle Isle farewell

ROUND 8: Josef Newgarden earns $1 million bonus with Road America victory

ROUND 9: Scott McLaughlin takes Mid-Ohio as Andretti teammates feud

ROUND 10: Scott Dixon ties Mario Andretti on all-time list with Toronto win

ROUND 11: Josef Newgarden continues Iowa Speedway dominance

ROUND 12: Pato O’Ward wins as Newgarden crashes, faints at Iowa

ROUND 13: Alexander Rossi ends 49-race winless streak on IMS road course

ROUND 14: Scott Dixon wins wild Music City Grand Prix

ROUND 15: Josef Newgarden charges to fifth victory after rain delay

Viewer’s guide to the 2022 season

HOW TO WATCH INDYCAR IN 2022: Full NBC Sports schedule

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)