Roe Heads West to Portland
Portland, Ore. (Thursday, August 31, 2023)- A trip to the Pacific Northwest offers new opportunity for James Roe as the INDY NXT™ by Firestone series travels to Portland International Raceway for the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland. Though tire issues resulted in retirement in his most recent outing, Roe looks to regain previous momentum which included a second-place podium at Indianapolis and a fourth place at Nashville.
Portland’s 12-turn, 1.96-mile natural road course – with numerous passing zones across the circuit – offers a strong canvas for Roe to showcase pace and strategy in his No. 29 Topcon Andretti Autosport machine. .
“This will be my first time racing in Portland, so I’m eager to see what this course offers,” Roe said. “New tracks always add another level of excitement, so we’re going to take what we’ve learned from the road courses so far this season and keep the pace rolling with the No. 29 crew.”
The 24-year-old driver looks to convert his recent road course successes on road courses into a big points haul for his partners Topcon, CES Power, Strong Roots, Ring Power Corporation, The Ireland Funds, and GAAPP. He currently holds seventh place in the championship, only eight points out of sixth place.
On a course with a history of fantastic finishes, including the closest finish on a road course in INDYCAR history, Roe looks to add his own fantastic finish in The City of Roses.
ABOUT THIS RACE
Race: INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland
Season: Race 12 of 14
Date: 1:10 p.m. ET Sunday, September 3
Track: Portland International Raceway (12-turn, 1.96-mile road course)
Other Sessions: Practice 1, 4:55-5:40 p.m. ET Friday, September 1. Practice 2, 2:20-3:05 p.m. Saturday, September 2. Qualifying, 7:30-7:50 p.m. Saturday, September 2.
Broadcast: Race live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network (U.S.), INDYCAR Live! (outside of U.S.). Practice and qualifying on INDYCAR Live!, INDYCAR Radio Network (globally). Sky F1 UK (Europe).
ABOUT JAMES ROE
Hometown: Naas, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Residence: Indianapolis
Age: 24
2023 Car: No. 29 Topcon Andretti Autosport Dallara
Social: @jamesroe_ie (Instagram), @jamesroe_IE (Twitter), @JamesRoeJr