Portland was venue for the very first event that now constitutes IndyCar records and the Champ Car World Series visited America's Pacific Northwest region from 1984 until its demise in 2007. Portland International Raceway is built on the site of Vanport, once Oregon’s second-largest city before flooding led to its destruction in 1948. The Festival Curves are a difficult combination of tarmac and concrete and were often the scene of an accident at the start. The race formed part of Portland's town festival, attracting many locals but few visitors, due to Portland's relative inaccessibility. The 1986 event witnessed the closest finish to a senior open wheel race in North America since 1923, when Mario Andretti celebrated Father's Day by edging out his son Michael by just 0.07 seconds. Mark Blundell’s last-lap victory in 1997 was even closer – beating Gil de Ferran by 0.027s and setting another new championship record.
