It was 45 minutes of messy running on Saturday morning at the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland as Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin went fastest for the second session in a row. Hits and spins and red flags galore interrupted the preparation for the afternoon’s qualifying run.
McLaughlin’s No. 3 Chevy (58.8605s) was shadowed by Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas in the No. 66 Honda (58.8868s), Penske teammate Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 Chevy (58.8942s), Andretti Global’s Colton Herta in the No. 26 Honda (58.9207s), Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi in the No. 7 Chevy (58.9525s) and teammate Pato O’Ward in sixth with the No. 5 Chevy (58.9690s).
Championship leader Alex Palou was a distant 13th, albeit just 0.1603s behind McLaughlin, with the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (59.0208s).
Penske’s Will Power was the first to cause a red flag with an off and a stall. A.J. Foyt’s Sting Ray Robb was up next with a red for a trip across the grass and a light meeting with the tire barriers. Meyer Shank’s Felix Rosenqvist clobbered the barrier turning into the first corner and broke his right-front wheel, and others went for a variety of harmless rotations.
UP NEXT: Qualifying, 3:30 p.m. ET