Will Power took a dominant victory in Portland on Sunday afternoon but failed to cut much into the championship lead of Alex Palou, who followed him right home.
A first lap crash saw Scott Dixon taken out of the race – and most likely the championship – when he was pushed wide by Kyle Kirkwood before getting collected by Pietro Fittipaldi as he recovered to set off an early caution.
Championship leader Palou and his closest challenger Power were clearly the class of the field, battling well clear of their rivals at the front as they continue to whittle down the field of season-long contenders.
Any true title race was always more likely to be decided in the final three races of the season, all on ovals where Palou is historically weaker, but the second place finish will be a huge blow to his rivals.
The Portland International Raceway didn't produce too much chaos, unlike Toronto before the break, with running staying fairly uninterrupted. Some drivers had small spins, including Romain Grosjean's baffling decision to run straight back onto the racing line after a 180º spin only to be hit immediately and spun again, but nothing was serious enough to bring out a second caution.
Official IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland finish order
1. Will Power, #12 Team Penske
2. Alex Palou, #10 Chip Ganassi Racing
3. Josef Newgarden, #2 Team Penske
4. Colton Herta, #26 Andretti Global w/Curb Agajanian
5. Marcus Armstrong, #11 Chip Ganassi Racing
6. Marcus Ericsson, #28 Andretti Global
7. Scott McLaughlin, #3 Team Penske
8. Santino Ferrucci, #14 AJ Foyt Enterprises
9. Graham Rahal, #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing *
10. Kyle Kirkwood, #27 Andretti Global
11. Rinus VeeKay, #21 Ed Carpenter Racing
12. Alexander Rossi, #7 Arrow McLaren
13. Christian Lundgaard, #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
14. Felix Rosenqvist, #60 Meyer Shank Racing
15. Pato O’Ward, #5 Arrow McLaren
16. Kyffin Simpson, #4 Chip Ganassi Racing
17. Toby Sowery, #51 Dale Coyne Racing
18. Sting Ray Robb, #41 AJ Foyt Enterprises
19. Juri Vips, #75 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
20. David Malukas, #66 Meyer Shank Racing
21. Nolan Siegel, #6 Arrow McLaren
22. Conor Daly, #78 Juncos Hollinger Racing
23. Linus Lundqvist, #8 Chip Ganassi Racing
24. Jack Harvey, #18 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
25. Pietro Fittipaldi, #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
26. Christian Rasmussen, #20 Ed Carpenter Racing
27. Romain Grosjean, #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing
28. Scott Dixon, #9 Chip Ganassi Racing