{"id":50601,"date":"2025-03-24T23:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T04:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=50601"},"modified":"2025-03-25T07:54:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T12:54:30","slug":"palou-remains-indycar-perfect-with-victory-at-thermal-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/palou-remains-indycar-perfect-with-victory-at-thermal-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Palou remains INDYCAR-Perfect with victory at Thermal Club"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Alex Palou Palou earned his 13th career INDYCAR victory in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda on Sunday at The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

Team-owner Chip Ganassi believes his latest ace \u2013 three-time\/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou \u2013 is only beginning to scratch the surface of his race craft.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s to argue, following Palou\u2019s calculated performance during Sunday\u2019s The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix deep in the California desert. Palou again made the impossible happen, completing a late-race dash from a nine-second deficit to pass pole-sitter Pato O\u2019Ward of Arrow McLaren.<\/p>\n

Palou earned his 13th career INDYCAR victory in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, beating O\u2019Ward\u2019s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to the finish by 10.1854-seconds. Christian Lundgaard finished third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevy, as the team captured two-of-three podium positions for the first time since May 2023.<\/p>\n

That result, however, served as little more than a consolation prize after O\u2019Ward and Lundgaard collaborated Saturday to give Arrow McLaren its first 1-2 start in INDYCAR competition since rejoining the series in 2020.<\/p>\n

On race day, it all came down to Palou. Again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an amazing weekend,\u201d said Palou, who led 13 laps of the 65-lap\/199.36-mile event. \u201cWe had a really fast car since practice, and everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing on the No. 10 car executed perfectly. We knew it was aggressive to start with the used reds (Firestone\u2019s alternate compound tires), and we knew that we were looking toward the end of the race with that No. 10 car, and we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 27-year-old native of Spain, recall that Palou won The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge non-point, exhibition race in 2024 from pole position. Two races into the 17-event 2025 schedule, Palou leads second-place O\u2019Ward by 39 points in the championship standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough seeing this guy beat us all every single event,\u201d said Lundgaard, a 23-year-old native of Denmark. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a way to stop him. We just didn\u2019t have it. We gave it a shot and came up short, but having two cars on the podium is as well of a day we could\u2019ve wished for coming into Thermal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colton Herta finished fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global, while Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden completed the top-five in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good day for the Gainbridge Honda,\u201d said Herta, who scored the 36th<\/sup> top-five of his career. \u201cOur car was fast, but we needed a little bit more to get to that podium. It\u2019s frustrating to not get that win, but overall, I\u2019m happy with how we ran the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOX Sport\u2019s live broadcast from Thermal\u2019s affluent \u201coasis in the desert\u201d resort was abruptly interrupted on Lap 28 by an electrical glitch, forcing the network to switch to coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.<\/p>\n

FOX released this statement: \u201cOur INDYCAR production truck has an electrical issue. We are working to get it fixed as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we have NASCAR bonus coverage on FOX and FS1 until the INDYCAR truck is back online.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Following a stretch of Cup coverage and a lengthy series of commercials and FOX network program promotions, action at Thermal resumed on Lap 40 with O\u2019Ward, Lundgaard and Palou running 1-2-3.<\/p>\n

Palou, who started third behind the aforementioned Arrow McLaren teammates, rallied with 15 laps remaining in the first caution-free series event since October 2020. Palou and his team opted for the grippy, faster Firestone Firehawk red\/alternate tires during his last pit stop at the end of Lap 49. O\u2019Ward made his final stop at the end of Lap 50, taking Firestone\u2019s harder, black\/primary compound rubber.<\/p>\n

Palou passed O\u2019Ward for good on Lap 56, diving under his chief rival entering Turn 7 on the abrasive 3.067-mile\/17-turn natural terrain road-course. Superior tire grip subsequently allowed Palou to steadily pull away from the field. His lead ballooned to three seconds on Lap 58 and to six seconds by Lap 61.<\/p>\n

The winning move was set up by Ganassi strategist Barry Wanser to take alternate tires during Palou\u2019s last stop. That decision immediately helped Palou pass Lundgaard for second on Lap 50 \u2013 one lap after Palou\u2019s final stop \u2013 following a spirited battle covering multiple corners.<\/p>\n

Palou then set sight on O\u2019Ward, reeling him in with astonishing pace. Palou pulled to within 4.9-seconds by Lap 52 and 1.3-seconds on Lap 53 as O\u2019Ward coped with slower traffic and less tire grip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a gamble and it didn\u2019t work out for us,\u201d said O\u2019Ward, a 25-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. \u201cWe had used our new reds in the start because we didn\u2019t really quite know what the deg was going to be like, the deg profile. The blacks really kind of took a turn in the negative towards the end of the race and that was it. We didn\u2019t really stand a fighting chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weekends like this is where every point does count. Every win does count for so much more and we just missed it by that, you definitely feel like you\u2019ve left some points on the table where if we would\u2019ve gone tomorrow, we maybe would\u2019ve done something different. But, yeah, happy with the points day and we\u2019re going to keep pushing. It\u2019s a long, long, long season ahead and the ovals are a different beast as well. We need to be strong everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

NTT P1 Award winner O\u2019Ward clearly controlled most of the race. \u201cThanks for all of the fans hanging in there with us,\u201d said O\u2019Ward, who led 51 of the first 55 laps, surrendering P1 only during pit stop cycles. \u201cThanks to you guys for tuning-in and hopefully it was somewhat of an entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing\u2019s Santino Ferrucci started and finished 14th <\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was honestly a really good race on our red tire runs,\u201d said Ferrucci, a resident of Dallas and driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. \u201cIt was a bit of a bummer to lose the hybrid due to heat soak. But I don’t think we were the only one struggling with something like that. Just our prime tire run, we didn’t account for the balance being as badly shifted as it was, and we kind of missed the strategy just a little bit, but overall, it wasn’t a terrible day. Could have been worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Case in point, Foyt teammate David Malukas\u2019 18th<\/sup> place result. \u201cIt was a tough race,\u201d said Malukas, who qualified 12th<\/sup>. \u201cWe knew it was going to be tough going into it and it was almost a little bit of a curse, making it to Q2 and using up our reds because to everybody\u2019s (surprise), I guess \u2013 we didn’t expect it \u2013 but the reds ended up being the better tire by quite a big margin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only had one new red set when everybody else had two, and everybody kind of filtered out from there on. So made it to P8 on the new reds, and from there, it was just survival, holding on. We came out with a P18 in the end. Definitely a weekend to forget.\u201d <\/p>\n

Palou, meanwhile, became the first INDYCAR driver to win the season\u2019s first two races since CGR superstar Scott Dixon of New Zealand began 2020 with three consecutive victories en route to his sixth series championship. Palou\u2019s titles have come in 2021, 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

Palou and strategist Wanser are already operating at near-peak efficiency. In the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 2, Palou and Wanser made a quick shift to Firestone\u2019s alternate tires early during the street race. Palou laid down flawless in-and-out laps during his last pit stop en route to the victory. At Thermal, it was rinse-and-repeat.<\/p>\n

Next up is the landmark 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach street race on Sunday, April 13 (4:30 p.m. EDT, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A Spanish-language telecast will be available on FOX Deportes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong Beach is what\u2019s coming up and hopefully we can have a repeat weekend, maybe even go one better,\u201d O\u2019Ward said. \u201cWe have fought for the championship every single year, and that\u2019s where I expect to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Race Results: Click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

FOX SPORTS\u2019 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif.  (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (FOX, 10 a.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX, 12:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX, 3 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 3:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 2 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 2 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, 2 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team-owner Chip Ganassi believes his latest ace \u2013 three-time\/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou \u2013 is only beginning to scratch the surface of his race craft. Who\u2019s to argue, following Palou\u2019s calculated performance during Sunday\u2019s The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix deep in the California desert. Palou again […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":50603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[824,22,672,907],"class_list":["post-50601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","tag-alex-palou","tag-indycar","tag-ntt-indycar-series","tag-the-thermal-club"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/PalouTC.jpg?fit=640%2C320","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-da9","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50601"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50607,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50601\/revisions\/50607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}