Foster 15th and Schumacher 16th in the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland; A Rare Mistake While 9th Limited Rahal to a 23rd Place Finish

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
RACE NOTES / QUOTES – August 9, 2026

Foster and Schumacher Finished 15th and 16th in the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland; A Rare Mistake While Ninth Contributed to Rahal’s 23rd Place Finish

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I just lost it. I went into Turn 10 and wasn’t even pushing, and it just went around. I had that all weekend, but not that bad, and the whole race, it kept doing that. So, uh, you know, I don’t know. I definitely bottomed out but it’s because of the overseer. The overseer moment kind of tossed me. Unfortunately, it’s not a great run today.”

• FAST FACTS: He started eighth and was passed by Dixon, who was on alternate tires to his primary ones. On Lap 7/110, he brough out a full course caution after making contact with the Turn 11 wall and running off course. He pit to check damage and dropped to the rear of the field once he returned to the track. He ultimately finished 23rd… It was the 11th overall race for Graham at PIR and ninth in the headline event. His highest INDYCAR start here is POLE in 2023, his highest finish is fifth in 2022, and he has led a total of 67 laps here the past five years (2021 – 36; 2023 – 21; 2025 – 10). Portland was the site of Rahal’s top finish in 2025 where he led three times for a total of 10 laps and finished fourth after starting 22nd. In 2024, he qualified sixth but had a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change and started 12th. He lost two spots at the start but gained them back before a caution came out for Dixon, who had an incident with Kirkwood, which led to contact with Fittipaldi. He moved into ninth before his first of three stops and ultimately finished there. More results are available upon request.… Has SIX IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and FIVE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; 2023 – IMS road course, Portland road)… Rahal dropped from 12th to 13th in series point standings with a total of 236.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was definitely a difficult one for us. We only went back a few spots, but we could have also easily gone forward a few spots. There wasn’t many yellows in the race which didn’t help for trying to move anywhere or strategy wise, but we had to change our strategy up midway through to run the reds since we kind of figured out at that point that it was more of a red (alternate tire) race. And we hadn’t done a lot of laps of reds in warm-up because we didn’t think they were going to be used today as much so that was a bit annoying. The red tires to me were really difficult, and then there at the end, the car was quite loose. Today I just think we just didn’t hit the nail on the head with the set up. All day, we were chasing the car every stint which meant we just didn’t have the ultimate pace that we needed. I think it’s fine margins here, and as always in INDYCAR and especially this track. So, when we just get small setup stuff like that wrong, it really bites us. So, it’s a bit of a shame because we definitely could have been in the top 10 today.”

• FAST FACTS: He qualified 13th and started 12th due to Malukas being given a six-grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. In the race, Foster ran as high as ninth before the team changed tire strategies mid race due to performance data. He ultimately finished 15th… On Friday, he only ran 1 lap in the full-field group session due to a fuel pressure issue. The team found a loose fuel line and was able to get back out for the split group session…  Will make his second INDYCAR start at Portland. Last year, he qualified 17th and started 14th after three cars ahead served 6-spot grid penalties for various reasons. At the start of the race, he was hit by Simpson, who received an avoidable contact penalty and was sent to the back of the field, where Foster was. He tried to capitalize on strategy and ultimately finished 13th. He earned career-best finished of seventh place on the IMS road course and Detroit street course this year and hopes to carry over that success to Portland…  He competed at PIR in INDY NXT and the USF Pro 2000 series and has four podiums in five events. In INDY NXT, he won from pole in 2023 and finished second from pole in 2024. In the three races at PIR in the 2022 USF Pro 2000 series, he won from pole in Race 1, finished second after starting second in Race 2 and finished sixth after starting second in Race 3… He maintained his 18th place rank in the point standings with 188.

MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 NEREUS™ Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “Initially it was a little bumpy and difficult to get through, but I think, in terms of strategy, we did the right calls and tried to get the clean air in the right moments, and we definitely had that so that was a good thing. Overall, it just seems like we’re still lacking a little pace on the straights for some reason. I’m not quite sure where that comes from. I think we’ll have to make a proper set down from the car before Markham so we don’t have that same issue there. At the end of the day, I think we can be happy. I fought my ass off at the end there to try and save that 16th place. At the end of the day, with the way our season has gone, we really have to utilize every position we can and make sure that we score every point we can which I think we did today. I’m happy with the crew effort today. The pit stops have been really good all day so thanks to them for that. Onwards to Markham now.”

• FAST FACTS: He qualified 23rd and started 22nd due to an engine penalty for Lundgaard. In the race, the team maximized the strategy and he cycled up to fifth before all three of his pit stops and was able to gain track position. In the final stage of the race he was able to keep a charging Grosjean behind him and ultimately finished 16th.… It was his first race here. He earned his best INDYCAR career finish at the previous race at Nashville Superspeedway (oval) with eighth place. He maintained his 24th place rank in series point standings with 146 points. 

NEXT UP: The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham will take place August 14-16 in Markham, Ontario, Canada.