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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Naas man James Roe
Naas native James Roe and his No. 29 Topcon Andretti Global team travel to the rugged beauty of the Pacific Northwest for the final road course contest of the 2024 INDY NXT™ by Firestone season; straight from a weekend in the American Midwest last week.
Constructed on the former location of the city of Vanport, destroyed in 1948 by the area’s infamous Memorial Day flood, Portland International Raceway’s 1.964-mile natural road course demands the full attention and skill of drivers and their teams. Though relatively flat, the track boasts twelve technical turns, including a hard-braking right-hander leading onto the sweeping backstretch and a three-turn complex leading onto the frontstretch. Roe will lean on his deep road course experience – including a podium at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this season and a top ten finish in last year’s Portland event – as he pilots his No. 29 Topcon machine on this demanding circuit.
"Portland is a very technical track with a mixture of slow speeds and a very quick last sector,” noted Roe.
“Executing the small details is crucial, so we have to bring our A game this weekend. We’ve been strong on the ovals recently, so hopefully with my experience in Portland, we can transfer that momentum to the road course.”
The Kildare driver and his No. 29 Topcon team roll into the West Coast prepared to meet the track’s technical challenges and secure a strong points haul for partners Topcon, Ring Power Corporation, CES Power, Strong Roots, Trintech, Tourism Ireland, and The Ireland Funds in The City of Roses.
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