PORTLAND, Oregon – Just when the drivers in the Grand Prix of Portland thought they had cleared the most treacherous portion of Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series race – the all-out charge of 25 cars into Turn 1 to start the race – chaos broke out.

When Zach Veach squeezed James Hinchcliffe into the curbing entering Turn 3 at the end of Portland International Raceway’s opening three-turn chicane, their cars touched and Hinchcliffe spun to set off a chain-reaction incident that involved five additional drivers. When the dust kicked up from cars going off track cleared, Hinchcliffe, points leader Scott Dixon, Ed Jones, Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti were stopped in the dirt and grass.

No one was injured, including Andretti, whose car launched over Jones and Hinchcliffe and flipped on its top.

“I’m good,” the third-generation driver said. “I was really lucky that when (the car landed upside down) … that nobody else hit me.

“It looked like the seas were about to part for me, and as soon as I backed off for Hinch’s spin, I think Graham got into the back of me,” continued Andretti, driving the No. 98 MilitaryToMotorsports.com / Curb Honda. “At least that is what we discussed because he didn’t see Hinch’s spin and I did, so when I backed off, he ended up getting into me.”

Andretti and Jones saw their race end without completing a lap. Sebastien Bourdais’ car also sustained front wing damage, but he avoided the bedlam behind and went on to finish third.

Somehow, Dixon escaped the incident with only scrapes to the nose and front wing of his car. The New Zealander recovered to finish fifth and extend his points lead to 29 over Alexander Rossi with one race remaining.

“It was a huge day for the team today, and feels like a win for us,” Dixon said.

“I couldn’t see anything once I got off in the dirt at the start; it was just dust everywhere. Then I kept getting hit and hit and thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t going to be good.’ Luckily, we were able to keep the PNC Bank car running, back up from the incident and continue. What a crazy day.”

Following lengthy repairs, Hinchcliffe returned to complete 76 laps and finish 22nd. Rahal got in four laps before parking his car in 23rd.

“It’s just disappointing,” said Rahal, driving the No. 15 One Cure Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “It’s kind of our year in a nutshell, just haven’t had a lot of (good) luck. When things can go bad, they do go bad. Today is just another case of that. Disappointed, frustrated, but that’s the way life is.”

Hinchcliffe voiced his displeasure over the cause of the incident and Veach’s role in it.

“Obviously a pretty disappointing day after a promising start,” said Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda. “It was a kind of classic first-lap deal. Zach didn’t leave me enough room on the inside of Turn 3 there, and we got forced on to a pretty big curb. It kicked the car sideways and I’m obviously sorry for the chain reaction it set off and ruined a lot of guys’ days.”