PORTLAND, Oregon — The driver who sounded the most excited during Thursday’s open test at Portland International Raceway was the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who didn’t have the experience of racing on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course when the Champ Car World Series last competed here in 2007 – he was 16 at the time – sees the potential for an entertaining race in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN and Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network).

“It’s pretty cool – (the track) is fast, it’s very fast,” Newgarden said. “There’s a lot of grip. It’s quick. It seems penalizing, like if you mess up, I think you’re going to break something, for sure. There’s not a lot of areas where you can mess up and get away with it. I like that.

“From a driving standpoint, it’s good when you have a track that’s penalizing and you’ve got to push to get the lap time, like in (Turns) 11 and 12, that final section of the track where you have to push hard and throw the car into the corners to get a lap time. If you mess up, it could be a pretty decent-sized wreck.”

GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND: Weekend schedule

Newgarden ranked third on Thursday’s combined speed chart with a fastest lap of 58.4637 seconds (120.937 mph) in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. He enters the official part of the race weekend fourth in the points.

Friday practices are at 1:45 p.m. ET and 5:35 p.m. ET, with a third practice at 2:10 p.m. ET Saturday. Qualifying is Saturday at 6:20 p.m. ET. All sessions will stream live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and the INDYCAR Mobile app. A same-day qualifying telecast airs at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN.

Points leader Scott Dixon, a four-time series champion who last raced at Portland in 2002, set Thursday’s early pace at 58.3593 seconds (121.153) mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Team Penske’s Will Power, third in the points, was second at 58.3928 (121.083 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Since that 2007 Indy car race won by Sebastien Bourdais, the track has been resurfaced, with Turns 4-6 widened and curbing added.

“I think (Turn) 7 is actually very cool,” Newgarden said. “It’s like a hairpin, but it’s so wide. Your (corner) entry, you probably could fit five or six cars wide there, that’s how wide it is. And you’re going to come all the way over to get the run down the straightaway because there’s all that backstretch. But if people are taking that line in the race, I could see a bunch of people dive-bombing into (Turn) 7. So (Turn) 7 looks like to me the most interesting corner that could create some potential controversy for the race. I just see that happening.

“(Turns) 1 and 2 could do that as well because you’ve got a chicane there and I think people will try and get aggressive in the braking zone there. If you end up bumping someone in (Turn) 1, they’ve got to go through the chicane in the center, which no one is going to be happy about. I think it will race pretty good.”

Newgarden said the layout is unlike any other INDYCAR circuit.

“It’s quite unique,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like any other track that we go to yet. There’s some long-duration corners, which we don’t quite have (anywhere else). Yeah, I wouldn’t compare it to anywhere. It’s short; it’s a short lap. You’re doing 59-second lap times. It’s real short.”

Alexander Rossi, who is 26 points behind Dixon in second place, ranked ninth out of 25 drivers in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda.

“I didn’t have a lot of expectations going in,” the Andretti Autosport driver said. “It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s short – that’s all I got right now. Scott (Dixon) probably has a better idea of how (the track) races than I do in terms of getting a lap time out of it. The cars are so different and the tires are so different that it may be even, but come Sunday and the start, I’m sure he’ll have some experience to rely upon.”

Dixon also described the track as “fun” with several potential areas to pass.

“It will be interesting to see how it plays out, both strategy-wise and race-ability,” he said. “I think off of (Turn) 7 and off (Turn) 12 could be pretty good.”

Dixon also said to keep an eye on how drivers react to the braking zone entering Turn 1 after speeding down the main straightaway.

“You can carry a lot of speed to the first apex because it’s quite open, which unfortunately is an upgrade for overtaking,” he said. “It will be interesting to see how that races. Everybody will be interested in how starts and restarts play into (Turn) 1. If somebody gets inside, they can basically run you off track. You don’t have many places you can go.”

GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND:

Race 16 of 17 on the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule

Track: Portland International Raceway, a 1.964-mile permanent road course in Portland, Oregon. Indy cars raced annually at the facility from 1984-2007, but Sunday’s race will be the first Indy car event since then.

Lap record: Justin Wilson, 57.597 seconds (121.903 mph), set in 2005

Race distance: 105 laps/206.22 miles

Verizon P1 Award qualifying: 6:20 p.m. ET Saturday, live stream on RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and INDYCAR Mobile app; same-day telecast at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Race broadcast: 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, NBCSN and Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network