Arrow McLAREN Grand Prix of Portland: Friday Report
"We'll just need to keep that going with the track progression overnight"
A strong start to the weekend for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team as it kicks off its weekend in Portland, Ore.
The team will regroup ahead of Saturday's three-session day at Portland International Raceway.
Today, Alexander Rossi was quickest in fourth, Pato O'Ward was ninth fastest and Nolan was P19.
See what the drivers and Team Principal Gavin Ward said following Friday's lone practice session.
| Race Date | Saturday, August 25 |
| Rounds | 15Â of 17 |
| Total Laps | 110 Laps |
| Total Race Distance | 216.04 miles / 347.68 km |
| Length | 1.96 miles / 3.16 km |
| Number of Turns | 12 |
| Practice 1 | 58.6705 | P4 | 24 laps |
"It was a good start to the weekend. The No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet is in the window, and everything felt comfortable and easy. We'll just need to keep that going with the track progression overnight, and work on a strong qualifying tomorrow."
| Practice 1 | 58.8169 | P9 | 22Â laps |
"We started the day on the back foot. Rolling off the truck, we were just not in the window in terms of what we needed the car to be doing. We made a lot of changes throughout the session, which improved things quite a bit and we definitely ended in a way better spot than where we started the session. All things considered, I think it was a productive and positive day."
| Practice 1 | 59.0475 | P19 | 35 laps |
"It was a strong start to the Portland race weekend. There is a bit of learning to do with this being my first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race weekend at the track, but things went quite well. The No. 6 SmartStop Arrow McLaren Chevrolet rolled off as good as it has on a road course that I have been at this year, so overall I think we're in a good spot. If I can clean a few things up in Practice 2 and put together a decent lap in qualifying, then we can certainly fight for the top-12 and hopefully the Firestone Fast 6."
Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:
"Pretty solid start to the weekend for Alexander, which gives us a good reference to look at for the other two. Nolan was getting up to speed, and it seemed like we were improving the car a bit with Pato. There will be some work to do tonight, as always, but it is not a bad start."
Session Times
| Practice 2 | Saturday, August 24 | 12:00 - 1:00Â p.m. ET | Peacock |
| Qualifying | Saturday, August 24 | 3:30 - 5:00Â p.m. ET | Peacock |
| Final Practice | Saturday, August 24 | 8:15 - 8:45 p.m. ET | Peacock |
| Tune In | Sunday, August 25 | 3:00 p.m. ET | USA Network |
| Green Flag | Sunday, August 25 | 3:30 p.m. ET | USA Network |
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