FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 – SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

RACE: BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland
TRACK: Portland International Raceway
LOCATION: Portland, Oregon, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: 12-turn, 1.964-mile natural road course
RACE LENGTH: 110 Laps/216.04 Miles

PRACTICE: Friday – 3-4:15 p.m. PT (Peacock Premium)
Saturday – 9-10 a.m. PT, 5:15-5:45 p.m. PT (Peacock Premium)
QUALIFYING: Saturday – 12:30-2 p.m. PT (Peacock Premium)
RACE: Sunday – 12 p.m. PT (NBC)

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 20 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “I am looking forward to getting back on a classic road course! I’ve been racing at Portland International Raceway since 2003 and it remains basically the same. Portland is notorious for wild starts and restarts in the first corner chicane. Hopefully, we can take advantage of those situations and have a strong, clean weekend for BITNILE.COM in the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland!” Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR Photo

OF NOTE: 

• Ryan Hunter-Reay’s history at Portland International Raceway dates back farther than almost every driver in this weekend’s field. He competed in his first top-level open wheel racing event in Portland in 2003, which was then part of the Champ Car World Series calendar. When the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to Portland in 2018, Hunter-Reay leaned into his prior experience at the circuit and qualified 5th. He went on to finish 2nd, missing the top step of the podium by only six-tenths of second. 

• The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based driver is recognized as one of the most successful American open wheel racing drivers. Hunter-Reay has brought a wealth of experience to Ed Carpenter Racing with an INDYCAR career that spans two decades. He joined the team as driver of the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet in June, prior to the Road America race weekend.

• Hunter-Reay is an NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion (2012) with 18 career wins, including a victory in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. He also has multiple overall IMSA sportscar wins, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans among them, has been invited to the Race of Champions five times and has won two ESPY ‘Driver of the Year’ awards (2013 and 2014). 

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “Happy BITNILE.COM Grand Prix race week! I am very excited, I love the race in Portland. It’s a cool track, it’s almost like a European road course I feel like. Talk about variables during a race though! The weekend last year went pretty well but the end result does not show that. This year, our sponsor BITNILE.COM is the sponsor of the race! It’s going to be a great weekend!”

OF NOTE: 

• Though Rinus VeeKay has only competed in two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Portland International Raceway, his history with ECR at the track goes back to the beginning of his career. In August of 2019, ECR selected VeeKay for an evaluation test at Portland. It was the first of two successful tests before he was named full-time driver of the team’s No. 21 Chevrolet prior to the 2020 season. In the 2021 Grand Prix of Portland, his first at the track, he gained an astonishing 16 positions on the opening lap. Last year, he finished 20th after serving a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact late in the race.

• VeeKay now has over 60 career starts, each of which have been with Ed Carpenter Racing. The 22-year-old is ECR’s longest-tenured full-time driver, now in his fourth season behind the wheel the No. 21 Chevrolet. Earlier this year, he qualified on the front row of the Indianapolis 500 for the third consecutive time and was the fastest Chevrolet-powered driver in the field for the fourth year in row.

• Born in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Rinus van Kalmthout began karting in 2009 at the age of 8. With sights set firmly on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, he transitioned to the Road to Indy in 2017 and launched his U.S. career driving as Rinus VeeKay. Just four years into his time in the United States, he not only reached the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but earned 2020 Rookie of the Year honors. He joined the ranks of NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winners in May of 2021 with a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.