Conor Daly and Christian Rasmussen delivered some dramatic early racing during Sunday’s BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI.com, action that ultimately ended with Daly’s No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet battered and tensions running high.

The trouble began on Lap 13, when Rasmussen’s No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing forced Daly off track. Daly cut through the grass to rejoin the race, while Rasmussen also had an off-track excursion. Rasmussen took full responsibility for the incident.

“I agree, that was on me,” Rasmussen said. “I picked up understeer, and my wheel touched his floor in a weird way, which knocked the steering wheel out of my hands. That's on me. That's my fault.”

However, the situation escalated just one lap later. As the two continued to duel, contact from Rasmussen sent Daly’s car careening into the Turn 11 tire barriers in a frightening incident.

“I’m not really sure what he was doing,” Daly said. “Just seemed like a lot of desperation for no reason. He drove me off in Turn 7 and also drove himself off. I understand going to the outside is tough, but when you also drive yourself off, that’s pretty intentional. I thought our standard of racing was a little higher than that. Apparently not for him. That was a shame.”

Rasmussen said he wasn’t intentional about the last contact, blaming Daly for an overzealous move.

“I think that’s what you can expect when you try to roll the outside in a corner like that,” Rasmussen said. “He was driving up into the back of me and then trying to overtake me into Turn 10, which, obviously, others lifted.”

The incident was especially costly for Daly, who was leading among drivers on the alternate tire strategy at the time. He had been one of six drivers to pit on Lap 4, switching from Firestone’s primary (hard) compound to the faster alternate (softer) tire.

“It’s literally the worst thing ever,” Daly said. “I hate this for the team, but I’m not going to get pushed around. I made a move to race. I’m a race car driver. He was just being desperate. He literally hit everything, hit me three times in two laps. I don’t understand how that works.”

With the final two races of the season, both on ovals, Milwaukee Mile (Aug. 24) and Nashville Superspeedway (Aug. 31), Daly acknowledged the feud may not be over as both excel on circle tracks and would welcome a chat.

“Someone’s going to get hurt,” Daly said. “That hurt a lot today, so at some point that’s going to be even worse. That racing is not the INDYCAR racing I grew up watching.”

Despite the heated exchange on track, Rasmussen said he’s also open to a conversation with Daly and harbors no animosity but has a different view of Daly on the series.

“Wheel banging happens in INDYCAR; it’s part of what makes INDYCAR great,” he said. “Sometimes it can go overboard.”

Electrical Failure Ends O’Ward’s Championship Bid

Pato O’Ward’s already slim championship hopes came to an abrupt end on Lap 22 of Sunday’s 110-lap race when his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was forced to pit due to a faulty wire connection.

The malfunction, traced to an electronics box, prompted the team to replace the car’s electronic control unit on pit road, effectively ending any chance of O’Ward mounting a comeback to overtake Alex Palou in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings.

O’Ward trailed Palou by 121 points entering the race and had to finish ahead of him to keep his championship aspirations intact.

“Unfortunately, reliability stood in the way of us maybe making it a little bit more interesting for everyone,” O’Ward said. “Congrats to Alex (Palou). It’s been really an unbelievable season for him.”

O’Ward had started on pole and led the first 15 laps before his first scheduled stop. But just a few laps later, his car lost power, dashing both race-winning and title aspirations.

“We had the car to challenge for the win today, so just a bummer that we ran into that issue,” he said. “We were pretty much in the fight starting the weekend, and we would’ve loved to make it a little more interesting. But we still have work to do to make sure things like this don’t happen, because obviously, they’re very costly.”

The setback was particularly painful given the strong qualifying performance and race pace.

“Just a bummer. I would’ve loved to get another win. I didn’t really care if Alex clinched the championship here or not,” O’Ward said. “But when you’ve got the performance to challenge for the win, and you get it done in qualifying to put yourself in position and then throw it away because of something like that it’s just … ah. It’s not every weekend you get a chance like this.”

To add to the frustration, Portland marked the first race all season O’Ward failed to finish on the lead lap. He had completed all 1,870 laps through the first 14 races of 2025.

“My objective all year was to finish every lap,” he said. “Sadly, that dream is over.”

Rahal Pleased with Season-Best Finish

Graham Rahal surged from 22nd on the grid to finish fourth in Sunday’s race in the No. 15 Hendrickson International Honda, his best result of the season and his second top-five finish in his last four starts at Portland International Raceway.

Rahal was one of a small group of drivers that chose an alternate tire strategy, pitting under caution at the end of Lap 4 to shed his primary Firestone tires and use Firestone alternate tires for the rest of the race. The gambit paid off.

“This feels really good,” Rahal said. “It was nice to be up there, nice to have the pace. We got the strategy right, and when we needed to run, we could run. I’m just very, very proud of all these guys. A tremendous effort all around. It’s really rewarding.”

Rahal praised his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew for their perseverance throughout the season, noting the emotional boost the strong finish brings to the team.

“You see the smiles that are going to go home tonight,” he said. “It’s going to be a late flight, but they’re going home with a smile on their face, a lot of energy and a lot of excitement. That’s what we need heading into the last two races.”

Rahal has four top-10 finishes in 2025, including two in the last three events.

Odds and Ends

  • Sunday’s race featured 242 on-track passes, including 200 for position. Both totals are the second-most recorded in an INDYCAR SERIES race at Portland International Raceway.
  • Christian Lundgaard finished second in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, marking his fourth career runner-up finish in 67 starts. Three of those have come this season, including the previous round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
  • Alexander Rossi secured a season-best fifth-place finish in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet. It was his first top-10 result since finishing 10th at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on June 1, snapping a seven-race streak of finishes outside the top 10.
  • Callum Ilott earned his third consecutive top-10 finish by placing sixth in the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, continuing a strong late-season run.
  • Scott McLaughlin finished seventh in the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet, his second straight top-10 finish of the season. McLaughlin joked that he feels “like a rookie” celebrating top 10s—but acknowledged that’s reflective of the kind of season it’s been.