Due to Josef Newgarden’s crash in last Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500, it secured the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. With 108 total points up for grabs over the final two races of the season, Newgarden is P3 in points but 125 out.

That means the championship race for the 2023 Astor Cup is down to Alex Palou and Scott Dixon. Both reside in the Ganassi camp and each are separated by 74 points.

1 will take home the title meaning that it will be Ganassi’s 15th Indy Car championship and 4th in the last 6 seasons.

MORE: How a conversation in PitFit indirectly led Lundqvist to Ganassi

For Dixon, he likely just has to win out. He’s won the last 2 races and wildly enough, Dixon has previously proven that he can unlock another gear, as he remains the only driver in the history of the sport to achieve three distinct streaks of three consecutive race victories (2020; 2013; 2007) in a single season.

“I’m definitely looking forward to Portland and it’s always good to go out west,” Dixon said. “The track has been an interesting one throughout the years and now this year is coming down to the championship fight. Obviously, the fight is far more widespread this year, and we need a big swing and we will be going for a win. But I always love going to Portland and I love the track because it’s pretty intense, especially turn one on the starts and restarts.”

The Iceman has earned two podium finishes (P2 in 2022 and 2021) in six career starts at Portland International Raceway.

He has pulled off the improbable before, winning the 2015 INDYCAR SERIES championship despite not sitting atop the points standings until the conclusion of the season finale.

Palou also has reason for optimism considering his 2021 victory from pole position at Portland International Raceway. 

“We’ve won at Portland before and I also got my first INDYCAR pole there, so it is a special place,” he notes. “The team is looking good for the championship, and we know that it will stay within the team, which is the most important thing. We have a chance to win it and seal the title there, so hopefully we can bring it home early.”

Palou, with a 74-point advantage in the championship standings, needs just a 54-point lead upon the conclusion of the Portland race to clinch the championship. A podium finish would guarantee the 2023 title for the American Legion Honda team.

The No. 10 pilot has mastered road course tracks since joining Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. Across the 19 such races, he leads all drivers in podiums (12), laps led (274) and average starting position (4.6), and is tied for first with teammate Scott Dixon in average finishing position (6.6).

Chip Ganassi Racing has found plenty of pace at Portland International Raceway with three wins (Palou: 2021; Zanardi: 1998/1996), three pole positions (Palou: 2021: Montoya: 1999; Zanardi: 1996) and nine podiums (most recently, Dixon P3 in 2022).

The team isn’t just eyeing the championship, but they could be in position for their first 1-2 finish in the points standings since 2009 (Franchitti and Dixon) too.

Dixon is 51 points up on Newgarden for 2nd right now. If Dixon can gain four or more points on Newgarden this weekend, then he locks that feat up too.

Which would then shift to the possibility of a 1-2-3?

Marcus Ericsson is currently P6 in points but he’s 43 points behind Newgarden. Can he make up that much ground over a two race span?

“Excited to head to the West Coast; it is always a fun trip,” Ericsson said. “I really enjoy driving on this track and I think it has some unique challenges, particularly the last section of the track with the last chicane and the fast corner. It’s very challenging, but it is fun to drive. Things are always very tight here between drivers and the cars. We need to bring our A-game and I believe we will. We have some good ideas on what to do and have improved our road course package throughout the year. It will be an important weekend and we want to maximize every opportunity at the end of the season here.”

Ericsson will aim for a strong qualifying session, as he has made gains throughout both of his previous two starts in Portland. In 2022, he finished P7 after starting P10, and in 2021, he finished P11 after starting P18. 

The No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda pilot has led the more laps (51) this season than any other throughout his INDYCAR career. Ericsson is aiming to finish among the top-five in the points standings for the first time in his career too which is more realistic than getting to third. He’s only 29 points behind Scott McLaughlin for those honors.

Another feat for Ganassi is helping Marcus Armstrong earn Rookie of the Year honors. Despite not racing in any of the 5 oval races, Armstrong holds a 20 point advantage over fellow rookie Agustin Canapino for this distinction. With only two races left and both being on road courses, Armstrong is here for the duration.

“I’ll be doing my best to get on the pace as soon as possible and maximize the package we have,” said Armstrong. “I have the feeling that it may be a difficult track to nail down, so will try to adapt as best as possible. I think it can be a good circuit for me and it’s reasonably similar to what I’ve raced in Europe, as is Laguna. These tracks are constantly flowing and there’s no reason that we can’t get our best result yet.”

Armstrong is dialed in on bolstering his qualifying results and the results shined through in his last race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course he set a new career best with a P7 qualifying result. He missed out on advancing to his first Firestone Fast 6 appearance by a margin of just 0.0008 seconds.

Ganassi helped Felix Rosenqvist be Rookie of the Year in 2019 so this would in theory be their 2nd driver in 5 years to do that. It’s a nice cast of drivers though that have won Rookie of the Year for Ganassi as Armstrong could not only join Rosenqvist, but Juan Montoya (1999), Alex Zanardi (1996) and Eddie Cheever (1990).

Rosenqvist finished 6th in points, Zanardi 3rd, Cheever 9th and Montoya a champion. Armstrong is currently 20th overall which could be the lowest ROY finisher since Gabby Chaves finished 20th in 2013. However, Chaves ran full-time where Armstrong missed 5 races.

The last 3 ROY’s finished 14th in points and if you go back to 2017 so has 4 of the last 6. Armstrong is 72 points back of getting to that threshold.