PIR is built on the former location of
Vanport, Oregon, which was destroyed on
Memorial Day, May 30, 1948, when a railroad berm broke and water from the
Columbia River flooded the city. After the flood, all that remained were the paved streets and concrete foundations of destroyed buildings. The first races took place on these old city streets in 1961 during the
Portland Rose Festival. Since then, the Rose Cup has become an annual event. Racing at "West Delta Park", as PIR was known back then, was quite dangerous. Racers leaving the track unexpectedly could collide with leftover concrete foundations or fall into ponds. Under the threat of losing the Rose Cup races, since many of the sanctioning racing bodies would no longer sanction races due to the deteriorating roads and dangerous obstacles, the track was finally paved in the 1970s. The track reopened on February 23, 2008, with a ribbon cutting ceremony. In September 2018, the
Grand Prix of Portland returned after an 11-year hiatus, now an
IndyCar Series race. The qualifying record is 0:57.3467, set by
Will Power during the
2018 Grand Prix of Portland. Will Power (2019, 2024) and
Álex Palou (2021, 2023) have each won twice since the race returned to the calendar. On September 29, 2021, it was announced that the
NASCAR Xfinity Series would race there in the regular season. On December 8, 2022, it was announced that
Formula E would race at PIR with a slightly modified layout in the
2022–23 season instead of
Brooklyn Street Circuit.
Nick Cassidy won the inaugural
Portland ePrix in June 2023, and
António Félix da Costa won both races in June 2024. ==Events==