Pato O’Ward, NTT P1 Award Winner – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Joe Skibinski

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Arrow McLaren will start The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix Sunday afternoon from the two best seats…even its affluent club members can’t buy.

Pato O’Ward – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Paul Hurley

Lead driver Pato O’Ward and teammate Christian Lundgaard collaborated to give Arrow McLaren its first 1-2 start in INDYCAR competition since rejoining the NTT IndyCar Series in 2020, locking-out the front row during NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday for Round 2 of the 2025 season.

O’Ward scored his sixth career pole and first since July 2022 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, with a hot lap of 1-minute, 39.9567-seconds/110.460 mph during the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Pato’s pole was an impressive rebound after qualifying a dismal 23rd for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida earlier this month.

Pato O’Ward – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Paul Hurley

“I was determined this weekend to get a good qualifying session,” said O’Ward, a 25-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “I think everyone on the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team was determined after St. Pete. We had a good race, but we don’t want to be starting back there in 23rd. For us, it was important to get it done and execute in qualifying this weekend.

“It’s just all about being comfortable. It’s a long lap with a lot of opportunities to make mistakes, but also a lot of opportunities to get it right. I’m super-happy and pumped for the team that we got a front row lock-out.

Pato O’Ward – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by Paul Hurley

“It’ll be a hectic race with the tire deg (degradation) and I think we’re going to be thanking our strategy if we have a good race. We weren’t so happy with the overnight changes so we kind of fell back to where we started the weekend. The car is in the window, for sure. Maybe not for Q1 so much, but we dialed it in and we got it done.”

O’Ward turned his best lap on the 3.067-mile/17-turn natural terrain road-course with one minute, 45-seconds remaining on a set of Firestone Firehawk alternate (red) tires. O’Ward needed just four laps during the Firestone Fast Six to earn P1; only Alexander Rossi turned fewer laps during that segment.

“I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done,” O’Ward said. “I’ve got to thank the guys. We turned it around. We dialed it in after Q1 because I was somewhat happy with it but not perfect. Just made a little bit of an adjustment and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’^”

Christian Lundgaard – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – Photo by James Black

Teammate Lundgaard followed at 1:40.1245-seconds/110.275 mph in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Lundgaard logged his best start since last May when he also qualified second for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. A 23-year-old native of Denmark, Lundgaard spent the first three full seasons of his INDYCAR career at RLLR. Lundgaard also was quickest in pre-qualifying practice earlier Saturday.

“With a front row lock-out, we’re apparently trying to copy-and-paste what the McLaren F1 team is doing,” said Lundgaard, referring to this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix from Shanghai International Circuit. “And really, a great result for the team, 1-2. Obviously looking at where we were as a team at St. Pete to where we are, it’s a massive improvement. You can argue we were underdogs going into the weekend, and we executed.

“(Sunday) is obviously the big day. We need to get it home and secure what we’ve set up for ourselves. Overall, I’m very happy and the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew has done an amazing job, and the team has done an amazing job. We just need to stay ahead of what strategy brings.”

Arrow McLaren’s previous-best effort in qualifying for its top two cars since rejoining the series in 2020 was 1-3 by Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden and Rossi, respectively, in April 2023 on Texas Motor Speedway’s high-banked/1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth.

Sunday’s race day schedule for Thermal’s inaugural points-paying series event began with a 25-minute warmup at 11 a.m. (EDT). Coverage of the 65-lap/199.36-mile race will begin at 3 p.m. (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.

Three-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou qualified third at 1:40.3092-seconds/110.072 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Winner of the season-opener on the Streets of St. Pete, Palou appeared to be pole-bound early in qualifying. Palou recorded the quickest lap of the weekend, 1:39.5933-seconds, during the first segment of qualifying and followed with a top lap of 1:39.6518-seconds to lead the Fast 12. Palou was the last driver on-track during the Firestone Fast Six, but team officials told him to back off on his final tour to save his Firestone alternate (soft compound) tires for the race after it became obvious he wasn’t going to oust O’Ward.

A 27-year-old native of Spain, Palou won The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge non-point, exhibition race in 2024 from pole position.

Colton Herta qualified fourth at 1:40.3978-seconds/109.975 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda to lead two Andretti Global cars into the Firestone Fast Six. Teammate Marcus Ericsson of Sweden was fifth at 1:40.7435-seconds/109.597 mph in the No. 28 Bryant Honda.

Rossi completed the top-six with his best lap of 1:41.0359-seconds/109.280 mph in the No. 20 ECR Racing Java House Chevrolet to continue his solid start with Ed Carpenter Racing. Formerly of Arrow McLaren, Rossi joined ECR after the 2024 season.

“That was not the qualifying we were hoping for,” Rossi said. “We’re starting the weekends super-well, but are struggling to level-up as much as we need to session-to-session. We’ll see what happens, it’s a long race and tire deg is going to be a huge thing. If we can manage that, we have a good chance for a decent result. I would just love to start farther up, especially after a couple of practice sessions where we had good pace. Just a little frustrated.”

Louis Foster was the highest-qualifying rookie in 10^th after a best lap of 1:41.2256-seconds/109.075 mph in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“The team has done an amazing job,” said Foster, a 21-year-old native of Great Britain and the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion. “They have brought me up to speed really fast. The No. 45 car rolled off the truck super-fast. It’s just kind of been building each session.

“Getting into the Fast Six would have been difficult because we didn’t have new alternate tires; we used two sets of new tires in the first round but the time that I did do in the first round would have put me in the Fast Six, so we just had a discussion about saving a set in the future when we think we’re going to be strong. I’m super-happy. It’s been an amazing weekend so far and hopefully we can make it past Turn 3 on the start this weekend.”

Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing’s David Malukas and Santino Ferrucci qualified 12^th and 14^th, respectively.

“It was good run for us,” said Malukas, who turned a lap of 1:41.2997-seconds/108.995 mph in the No. 4 Foyt Racing Chevrolet. “I mean, we were struggling in the practice sessions to find the setup where we wanted to be but we did a really good job estimating on what it needed for the alternates. Obviously, we committed to just go alternates and use both of them in that first round because the pace didn’t really seem there. It all worked out because the second set, somebody dropped a wheel and ruined everybody’s lap, so we still got that first lap in.

“So, let’s just say it’s a good day from what has been a tough weekend for us trying to find the setup. The race is going to be a primary (hard compound) tire race, so we need to make sure that we can get the No. 4 Chevrolet where it needs to be for the primaries.” 

Ferrucci turned a best lap of 1:40.6658-seconds/109.682 mph in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. “It was a solid run,” said Ferrucci, a resident of Dallas. “I think we did a really good job as a team. I just had a couple mistakes in the lap, which add up to a little bit, so we should have advanced but it was a good learning curve. Feel good to pass some people (Sunday) and come home with a top-five.” 

Arrow McLaren’s front-row sweep was one of two “headline news” stories to develop during qualifying under Southern California’s typical sunny skies. The other was Team Penske’s shocking failure to advance past the first round of qualifying for the first time in more than three years.

Two-time/reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was quickest among the three Team Penske drivers, qualifying 17th in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet at 1:40.6956-seconds/109.649 mph. Two-time series champion Will Power of Australia _ INDYCAR’s all-time leader in poles _ slotted in 21st in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. And native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin was mired in 25th in the 27-car field in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.

The last time no Penske driver advanced from the first round during road-course qualifying occurred in September 2021 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, where all four of the team’s cars wound up outside the top-12 after the opening segment.

“We just weren’t quick,” said Newgarden, a two-time series champion for team/series owner Roger Penske. “All of us didn’t look fantastic in our group. I mean, I think if you’re saying you need three-, four-tenths, I think we could’ve put that together on the red tire. I had some traffic at the end of my run. I don’t know who it was, I think it was probably (Rinus) VeeKay. It was probably a tenth or two in that final sector. And then dropped a little time personally in Turn 9. I think I could see getting a transfer spot out of that, just maybe losing sort of the major speed that we’re going to need.

“I felt really good going into qualifying. I thought our car was in a good window. Obviously, we’re going to have to find some speed now, but we can always make something happen. I always feel good with Team Penske. Always look out for the PPG Chevy _ we can go to the front.”

Qualifying for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix NTT IndyCar Series event on the 3.067-mile/17-turn The Thermal Club natural terrain road-course, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:39.9567 (110.460 mph)
   2. (7) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 01:40.1245 (110.275)
   3. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:40.3092 (110.072)
   4. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:40.3978 (109.975)
   5. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:40.7435 (109.597)
   6. (20) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 01:41.0359 (109.280)
   7. (66) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:40.6824 (109.664)
   8. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:40.7306 (109.611)
   9. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 01:40.9824 (109.338)
   10. (45) Louis Foster, Honda, 01:41.2256 (109.075)
   11. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:41.2319 (109.068)
   12. (4) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 01:41.2997 (108.995)
   13. (18) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 01:40.6490 (109.700)
   14. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 01:40.6658 (109.682)
   15. (76) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:40.6592 (109.689)
   16. (6) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 01:40.7040 (109.640)
   17. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:40.6956 (109.649)
   18. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:40.8433 (109.489)
   19. (21) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 01:40.8884 (109.440)
   20. (8) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 01:41.1684 (109.137)
   21. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:40.9750 (109.346)
   22. (90) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:41.2929 (109.003)
   23. (51) Jacob Abel, Honda, 01:41.1118 (109.198)
   24. (77) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 01:41.3356 (108.957)
   25. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:41.5133 (108.766)
   26. (30) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:41.3664 (108.924)
   27. (83) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 01:43.0781 (107.115)

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.