Palou continues early-season INDYCAR dominance during Thermal practice
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Alex Palou is working on a perfect start to the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season.
Alex Palou – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Joe Skibinski
The three-time/reigning series champion paced Practice 1 Friday for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix in the California desert. Winner of the season-opener on the Streets of St. Pete in Florida on March 2, Palou posted a hot lap of 1-minute, 40.5486-seconds/109.810 mph around Thermal’s 3.067-mile/17-turn natural terrain road-course.
“A really good start to the weekend,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “We didn’t get many laps (11) because of some red flags, but the car rolled off really well considering it was very different to last year with different tires and the hybrid unit, and we didn’t test here this year.”
Alex Palou – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Palou led the 80-minute practice, which featured an open session followed by two group sessions. Recall that Palou won The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge non-point, exhibition race in 2024 from pole position. Sunday’s 65-lap/199.36-mile race will count as Round 2 of the season.
“I’m really happy,” said Palou, a 27-year-old native of Spain. “There are some things to work on before we head to Practice 2 (today), but I’m looking forward to a nice weekend.”
P2 is scheduled for 1 p.m. (EDT), followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 5:05 p.m. (both on FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The race will start at 3 p.m. (EDT) Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app). Audio coverage will be available on SiriusXM Channel 218 and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA via the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Kyle Kirkwood – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Andretti Global applied what amounted to full-court pressure on Palou, taking the second, third and fourth spots on the speed chart.
Kyle Kirkwood placed second overall via a top lap of 1:40.6387-seconds/109.711 mph after nine laps in the No. 27 Chili’s Honda, just 0.0901-seconds behind Palou. Marcus Ericsson of Sweden, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 champion, was third at 1:40.7370-seconds/109.604 mph in the No. 28 Bryant Honda, followed by Southern California native Colton Herta at 1:40.8439-seconds/109.488 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
Christian Ramussen – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Paul Hurley
Second-year driver Christian Rasmussen of Denmark completed the top-five at 1:40.8728-seconds/109.457 mph in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Splenda Chevrolet.
Pato O’Ward was sixth overall after a best lap of 1:40.9092-seconds/109.417 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward logged 13 laps on a surface he termed “a cheese-grater” for Firestone’s Firehawk tire compounds.
“Yeah, the common denominator is that the deg (tire degradation) is going to be big,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “I would see it like an Iowa (Speedway) _ like an old Iowa kind of thing, I would say, but…hard to pinpoint it.”
Scott McLaughlin – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by James Black
Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin _ seventh at 1:40.9112-seconds/109.415 mph in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet _ compared Thermal’s surface to “the old Laguna Seca” in Northern California. “Quite a high-deg track,” said McLaughlin, who recorded 12 laps. “We’ll probably play that patience game a little bit.
“Traditionally, last year was hard because we ran the same set of tires over two (exhibition) races almost, so you were kind of saving the tire for the first half and then making sure that you had enough if there was a late yellow. But this year, obviously, with pit stops and stuff…I think with the tire degradation it’ll create opportunities that you may not normally pass someone on the same speed.”
Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Paul Hurley
Louis Foster was the quickest rookie in eighth overall after lapping at 1:41.1388-seconds/109.169 mph in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster, of Great Britain, completed 12 laps.
“I think we rolled off the truck pretty well; I’m pretty happy with the car,” said Foster, the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion. “I made some mistakes on my lap in that (last) session, but I think overall in lap time P8 on the combined sheet. The track is very dusty, which is going to play a big factor into this weekend.”
Santino Ferrucci – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Joe Skibinski
Santino Ferrucci was 11th at 1:41.3963-seconds/108.892 mph in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet fielded by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing.
“We’ve been struggling with understeer,” said Ferrucci, a resident of Dallas. “It’s a common thread with this car just with the way we’re going with the weight and everything. You’ve got to learn how to adapt. That’s a part of being a race car driver. So we upped the caster. Give it some more steering weight. Give it some more mid-corner, hopefully.
“The (tire) deg here is going be pretty awesome. I think Firestone has brought us a great tire to run. It’ll be a fun strategy race.”
Josef Newgarden – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by James Black
Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden wound up 18th on the 27-car chart at 1:41.7651-seconds/108.497 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden completed only seven laps and added to the tire deg conversation.
“I think you’re going to get big degradation,” said Newgarden, the two-time/reigning Indy 500 champion. “This is like old school Laguna before the repave a couple of years ago, which is very fun. I know most drivers, including myself, really enjoyed that.
“I think the tires are acting differently here than they did in St. Pete. We’re back on a road-course but this exhibits street-course characteristics, if you will. What I mean by this is the red (alternate tires) may be more preferred, so the alternate compared to St. Pete where we really liked the primary (hard compound). I think that’s going to be question mark is what we’re going to use more often this weekend.
Josef Newgarden – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Joe Skibinski
“But degradation is definitely going to be the topic. It’s how well does the car look after things, where do you start, what’s the undercut situation, in-and-out laps. That’s where you’re going to win or lose this race, just like where Laguna used to be.”
As noted by Palou, track time was limited due primarily to one significant incident. Rookie Robert Shwartzman was forced to stop on-track just past Turn 6 when a fire erupted in the rear of his No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet. Shwartzman quickly exited the car and was uninjured.
“From my side, from the cockpit, I was driving and immediately lost power, then I had a fuel alarm pop up,” said Shwartzman, a 25-year-old Russian-Israeli. “I was like ‘OK, something is wrong.’ Then all of a sudden the car restarted. It brought back the engine power and I thought maybe everything was fine. I just started going slowly, taking it easy, then at some point I heard a hit, like a pop. Then immediately I felt the seat heating up and I looked in the mirror and saw smoke and fire coming.
“I stopped the car and jumped out. From the outside, it didn’t look that bad, at least the fire was not massive. It was good the (AMR Safety Crew) guys were quick to operate to save the car, so hopefully it’s not big damage and that we can rebuild the car. It’s not helpful, this situation, because it’s the second race weekend we have another problem that’s compromising our driving time. It happens.
“What can I do about it? It’s going to be my job to do the best job possible.”
INDYCAR officially will move to its new North Texas venue in mid-March 2026.
The INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington is scheduled for March 13-15, 2026, with practice and qualifications set for Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, respectively. Race day is Sunday, March 15, with broadcast coverage provided by the FOX network.
Tickets for the inaugural NTT IndyCar Series weekend featuring a first-of-its-kind joint venture among Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment _ official sports and entertainment partner of the Texas Rangers _ will go on sale later this year. Fans can sign up for early access to the on-sale information here.
“The INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington is definitely circled on the calendar,” said Pato O’Ward, lead driver of Arrow McLaren. “Texans love racing, and they love big events. So, this is going to be mega. Hopefully, it will set the new standard for a street circuit race in North America.”
INDYCAR _ governing body for North America’s premier open-wheel series and part of the Penske Entertainment family _ previously competed in the Metroplex on Texas Motor Speedway’s high-banked/1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth from 1997 to 2023.
The 2.73-mile/14-turn layout in Arlington will encompass three iconic sporting venues recognized by fans around the world _ AT&T Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys; Globe Life Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers and Choctaw Stadium, former home of the Rangers. The track will weave through Arlington’s core sports and entertainment district, which boats a lineup of events and venues and annually sells several million tickets.
“As someone who calls this area ‘home,’ I’m super-excited to see the NTT IndyCar Series coming to DFW,” said A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci, a Dallas-area resident. “The course layout is really unique and will let us reach top speeds, making the racing incredibly exciting for all the fans.”
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 51; 2, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 41; 3, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, (tie) Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 36; 5, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 30; 6, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 28; 7, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 26; 8, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 25; 9, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 22; 10, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 20; 11, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 19; 12, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 18; 13, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 17; 14, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 16; 15, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, (tie) Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 15; 17, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 13; 18, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 12; 19, Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, 11; 20, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 10; 21, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 9; 22, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 8; 23, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, (tie) Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 7; 25, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, (tie) Will Power, Team Penske, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 5.
FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)
Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)
Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)
Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (FOX, 10 a.m.)
Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX, 12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 3:30 p.m.)
Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)
Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)
NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.
