The Portland International Raceway will host an IndyCar series race starting in 2018.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Portland International Raceway will host a Verizon IndyCar series race over Labor Day weekend starting in 2018.
The race will be the second-to-last in the IndyCar series, in which drivers race at speeds in excess of 200 mph and compete for a $1 million prize.
The Portland International Raceway last held an Indianapolis-type car race in 2007. Speeds at the Portland race will be slower, around 180 mph, due to the track's curves.
Indy cars are cars with open wheels and open cockpits. The signature event in the series is the Indy500 in Indianapolis.
"Having the premier open-wheel series in the United States brings not only the excitement to thousands of fans, but also terrific exposure for the city of Portland, tens of thousands of visitors, and millions of dollars of revenue for the city as well," said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.
The Portland International Raceway is owned and managed by Portland Parks and Recreation. Race promoters are paying Portland Parks approximately $190,000 a year for the next three years to use the raceway, according to parks director Mike Abbate. That includes a rental fee, capital improvements the companies will make to the track and a payment to a community benefit fund.
Twenty-three drivers will compete in next year's race, which is scheduled for Aug. 31–Sept. 2.