The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix Preview

Three weeks after the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, the IndyCar Series is back this weekend! At The Thermal Club, a 65-lap race is on the schedule—this time, it counts toward the championship! Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou dominated this 3-mile (4.82 kilometer) track last year. Can he secure another victory after his win in St. Petersburg?

The The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix

First IndyCar race: 2024
Number of races held: 1
Number of different winners: 1
Last year’s winner: Alex Palou
Lap record: Alex Palou in 2024, 1:39.8051
Most successful driver: Alex Palou, 1 win (2024)

The 2025 Race

Race length: 65 laps / 195 miles (313.3 km)
Push-to-Pass:
Tires: 6 sets of standard Firestone tires and 4 alternate sets per car (rookies get 1 extra set of standard tires in the first practice session)
Green flag: Sunday, March 2, 3:22 PM ET
Expected race duration: 1 hour and 55 minutes
Number of participants: 27

Entry List for The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix

#2 Josef Newgarden – PPG Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#3 Scott McLaughlin – XPEL Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#4 David Malukas – AJ Foyt Racing (Chevrolet)
#5 Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#6 Nolan Siegel – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#7 Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#8 Kyffin Simpson – Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#9 Scott Dixon – PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#10 Alex Palou – DHL Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#12 Will Power – Verizon Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#14 Santino Ferrucci – Sexton Properties AJ Foyt Racing (Chevrolet)
#15 Graham Rahal – Mobil 1 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#18 Rinus VeeKay – askROI Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#20 Alexander Rossi – ECR Java House (Chevrolet)
#21 Christian Rasmussen – ESC Splenda (Chevrolet)
#26 Colton Herta – Gainbridge Andretti Global (Honda)
#27 Kyle Kirkwood – Chili's Andretti Global (Honda)
#28 Marcus Ericsson – Bryant Andretti Global (Honda)
#30 Devlin DeFrancesco – Mi-Jack Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#45 Louis Foster – Mi-Jack Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#51 Jacob Abel – Abel Construction Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#60 Felix Rosenqvist – SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
#66 Marcus Armstrong – SiriusXM/ROOT Insurance Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
#77 Conor Daly – Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
#78 Sting Ray Robb – Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
#83 Robert Schwartzman – Prema Racing (Chevrolet)
#90 Callum Ilott – Prema Racing (Chevrolet)

Schedule for The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix

Friday, March 21
Practice 1: 6:35 PM – 7:55 PM ET

Saturday, March 22
Practice 2: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
Qualifying: 5:05 PM – 6:30 PM ET

Sunday, March 23
Warm-up: 11:02 AM – 11:27 AM ET
Race: 3:22 PM – 5:15 PM ET

The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix on TV

USA: All practice- and qualifying sessions will be shown live on FOX Sports 1. The race broadcast starts at 3 PM (ET) on FOX.
Canada: All practice sessions and the race will be livestreamed on TSN+, with coverage starting at 3PM (ET).
UK: All sessions and the race will be shown on Sky Sports F1. The race broadcast starts at 7 PM (GMT).
Australia: All sessions and the race will be shown on Stan Sport. The race broadcast starts on Monday morning at 6:00 AM (AEST).
New Zealand: All sessions and the race will be broadcast on Sky Sport 2. The race broadcast starts on Monday morning at 8:00 AM (NZST).

Weather Forecast

After ideal weather conditions during the season opener in St. Petersburg, it will be significantly warmer this weekend in Thermal, California. Both Friday and Saturday are expected to be mostly sunny, with temperatures reaching up to 88°F (29°C). On Race Day, temperatures will rise even further to 90°F (32°C) under clear skies.

Friday, March 21: 88°F (31°C), mostly sunny
Saturday, March 22: 86°F (30°C), mostly sunny
Sunday, March 23: 90°F (32°C), sunny

Source: AccuWeather.com

Historical Results

Number of Pole Positions
1. Alex Palou – 1

Number of Wins
1. Alex Palou – 1

Number of Podium Finishes
1. Alex Palou – 1
= Scott McLaughlin – 1
= Felix Rosenqvist – 1

Average Finish Position
1. Alex Palou – 1 (1 race)
2. Scott McLaughlin – 2 (1 race)
3. Felix Rosenqvist – 3 (1 race)
4. Colton Herta – 4 (1 race)
5. Marcus Armstrong – 5 (1 race)
6. Alexander Rossi – 7 (1 race)
7. Josef Newgarden – 8 (1 race)
8. Christian Lundgaard – 9 (1 race)
9. Graham Rahal – 11 (1 race)
10. Nolan Siegel – 13 (1 race)
11. Pato O'Ward – 14 (1 race)
12. Santino Ferrucci – 15 (1 race)
13. Will Power – 17 (1 race)
14. Callum Ilott – 18 (1 race)
15. Kyle Kirkwood – 19 (1 race)
16. Sting Ray Robb – 21 (1 race)
17. Kyffin Simpson – 22 (1 race)
18. Scott Dixon – 23 (1 race)
19. Marcus Ericsson – 24 (1 race)
20. Rinus VeeKay – 25 (1 race)