2026 INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series | Race Preview | Race 2 at Portland

The second round of the INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series takes 33 of the best in the world over to the Pacific Northwest for 45 laps of racing at Portland International Raceway on Thursday night. A new track to the fold, Portland adds another wrench into the order as many hopefuls will look to rebound from a first-lap to forget one week ago on the Streets of Long Beach. They’re all chasing Team Redline’s Luke McKeown, the winner at Long Beach, as he looks to extend his lead before taking on the first oval of the season in a week at Indianapolis.

Coverage at Portland begins at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be live on IndyCar’s YouTube channel, as well as across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

TRACK FACTS – PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Opening in 1961, Portland International Raceway has become the Pacific Northwest’s premier racing venue. The track has boasted many of America’s top road racing series, from the classic years of the SCCA Trans-Am Series to CART from 1984 to 2007. It currently features events for the IndyCar Series, this season’s set to take place in August.

Portland’s Grand Prix layout clocks in at 12 turns and just under two miles. The track’s long front straightaway is broken up by the Shelton Chicane, initiated by a hard right-hand turn that can cause chaos with unprepared drivers at the start of a race. The mixed-surface layout, featuring a split of asphalt and concrete, can see drivers in top-level classes turn laps of under a minute.

LAST RACE: MCKEOWN DOMINANT AT LONG BEACH

The pole position has never been more lucrative as it was last Thursday night when Luke McKeown took it and survived the opening lap crash behind him. Dan Amor and Florian Lebigre collided trying to decide on who would take on the fountain section in front of the other on the first lap, and it collected a majority of the field behind.

McKeown was able to take the victory perhaps a little bit easier than he would have expected going into the night. Defending champion Diogo Pinto escaped the fracas to take second, his 2024 rival Philip Kraus also escaped the fray to finish fourth, and the two were split by a rookie to the series, Alessandro Bico, who finished in third.

DRIVERS STANDINGS ENTERING PORTLAND

1. No. 96 Luke McKeown | Team Redline Honda, 54 points
2. No. 1 Diogo Pinto | Team Redline Honda, -14
3. No. 77 Alessandro Bico [R] | Williams Sim Racing Honda, -19
4. No. 19 Philip Kraus | Team Hype w/ Powerslide Chevy, -21
5. No. 5 Nicolas Mateo [R] | Drago Racing Chevy, -23

LAST SEASON

Making its debut in Week 2 will be the series’ first event at Portland International Raceway on January 15th. This venue was not yet on the iRacing service when the first season occurred, but Portland joined the track roster back in the 2025 Season 2 update. In the second race of the 2024 season, the series took on Long Beach, the track the series opened up the year with in 2026. Portland joins Phoenix and Mugello as one of the three new courses on this year’s schedule, replacing five of the venues not returning.

NEXT RACE: 66 LAPS AT INDIANAPOLIS

As is tradition, even virtually, the next race on the 2026 INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series will be a trip back home again, to the 2.5-mile rectangular speedway in Speedway, Indiana—the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 66 laps are scheduled, which means that strategy will be in play from the get-go. All of the action starts at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be live on INDYCAR’s YouTube channel, as well as across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

For more information on the INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series, visit www.iracing.com/indycar-esports/.
For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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