Juncos Hollinger Racing had themselves a day on Saturday at the Portland International Raceway. In final practice, both drivers were in the top six of the speed chart with Callum Ilott P2 and Agustin Canapino in P6. That comes after a strong qualifying round that saw Ilott earn a season best 8th place start for todays BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland (3 p.m. ET, NBC, IndyCar Radio Network).

Both Ilott and Canapino drove in separate NTT INDYCAR qualifying groups at the 1.9-mile Portland International Raceway on Saturday. Callum was up first in Group 1, and he started on Firestone’s primary tires.

The Briton looked likely to progress into the ‘Fast 12’ from the beginning, but a mid-session switch to the alternate tire elevated the #77 Dallara-Chevrolet’s pace even further. After momentarily rising to P1 in the group, Callum ended the 10-minute session in P6 to ensure a place in Round 2 for the first time this season.

Agustín was next to qualify in Group 2, and he started strongly on the red sidewall tire. The Argentine set his fastest time of 58.775s after only three laps and entered the pit road with five minutes on the clock in P3. However, the 33-year-old’s rivals picked up the pace in the final moments and his P10 finish was less than two tenths away from progression into the ‘Fast 12’.

Callum confidently navigated the Portland road course in qualifying Round 2, using his experience of the track from 2021 and 2022. The 24-year-old consistently recorded times which placed him on the cusp of the top six. Callum’s best lap time of 58.497s was just 0.172s away from a place in the ‘Firestone Fast 6’, earning him a P8 starting spot for Sunday’s 216-mile
Grand Prix.

“Qualifying was very positive; we had a good car and managed to put together a great performance,” said Ilott. “I also think that there is a little bit more pace to get out of the car, which is very positive. To get my first top-10 of the year in qualifying is a great result.

“It should definitely be a strong race tomorrow, as we finished in the top-10 here last year. The race pace is good, we just have to stay out of trouble and do a good job.”