PORTLAND, Ore. — Cooper Tires presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda newcomer Kevin Lacroix became the second Canadian driver to earn his first Atlantic victory in as many days at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader.
Just one day after making his Atlantic debut, Lacroix took the checkered flag in Sunday’s race at Portland Int’l Raceway.
“First, the weekend started pretty hard because I had a bad time in the practice,” the winner explained. “I just kept improving myself and kept learning the car and the track. Now, finishing today with a win in my first weekend, I think it’s amazing.”
The driver of the No. 10 Uni-Select machine got the jump on his Canadian countryman, James Hinchcliffe, on a lap-six restart in the 35-lap race to take the lead.
Hinchcliffe kept the pressure on Lacroix over the remaining laps but never got close enough to make a pass. It was the first victory in Atlantic competition for the 18-year-old Lacroix — who previously competed in the Star Mazda and Formula BMW USA series — and comes after an eight-month layoff.  
Hinchcliffe, who started from the pole, as he did for Saturday’s race, picked up his second runner-up result in as many days after leading the first five laps. Picking up a series-best third-place was French rookie Franck Perera for Condor Motorsports. Rookie Robert Wickens, who earned his first Atlantic victory Saturday, was fourth.
The finish:
Kevin Lacroix, James Hinchcliffe, Franck Perera, Robert Wickens, Ryan Lewis, Raphael Matos, Jonathan Bomarito, Junior Strous, J.R. Hildebrand, David Garza, Carl Skerlong, Giacomo Ricci, Ronnie Bremer, Adrien Herberts, Matt Lee, Simona De Silvestro, Tom Sutherland, Justin Sofio, Mike Forest, Frankie Muniz, Brian Thienes, Bret MacDonald, John Edwards, Dan Selznick, Richard Heistand, Adrian Carrio, Alan Sciuto.