Race veteran Alex Palou displays his position as the NTT IndyCar Series’ leading driver by producing an exciting final dash to win The Thermal Club Grand Prix. The southern California track kicked off its first regular season event as a racing venue at The Thermal Club Grand Prix where Palou delivered exceptional race performance.
The Spaniard faced a more challenging path to victory at The Thermal Club Grand Prix than his victory achieved at this same track during the previous $1 Million Challenge. During the 65-lap contest Palou started third position from a qualifying session where he secured solid yet problematic results while pursuing Pato O’Ward’s Arrow McLaren car and Christian Lundgaard’s vehicle. The red tires proved difficult for Palou during Fast 6 qualifying when he failed to grab pole position because of this his race start position suffered.
The Texas Motor Speedway began with Pato O’Ward at the front position since his last pole win two years ago and he maintained dominance through 51 consecutive laps. Throughout most of the day the Mexican driver presented an aggressive yet strategic driving technique which made him invulnerable to competition. During the race Lundgaard pushed Palou from behind while maintaining his position in second while Palou controlled his pace to minimize tire degradation along with caring about securing the best finishing place.
During the declining number of race laps Palou started executing his tactical plan. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was trailing O’Ward by ten seconds when there were only twenty laps remaining in the race so it seemed O’Ward would easily maintain his lead. Precision and pace delivery came to the forefront during the following part of the race. The developing deficit between Palou and the leader slowly reduced through multiple circuits as he pulled maximum output from his vehicle.
When Palou passed lap 55 became the defining moment of the race. Palou managed to execute a polished pass against O’Ward when O’Ward’s lead reduced to one car length at the end of the backstretch. A perfectly timed maneuver allowed him to pass O’Ward by diving beneath him thus securing a clinical victory. The manoeuvre was a classic overtake which proved that Palou had mastered the same skill set as an accomplished champion. After taking control of his tires Palou smoothly drove ahead to win by a whopping 10.1854 seconds.
Palou secured the 13th victory of his IndyCar career while achieving his second triumph in the 2025 season after winning St. Petersburg at the season start. His complete mastery of the race highlights both his exceptional driving ability and positions him as the first choice to win this year’s championship. Palou expressed gratitude to his team right after the victory by emphasizing their flawless weekend execution and strong event preparation.
The race experience brought sadness as well as satisfaction to O’Ward. Although his finish at second position solidified his position as a leading driver among the series competitors the final lap loss created unfortunate frustration. His talented racing performance during Sunday’s contest will contribute positively to his upcoming season. Lundgaard secured the third place podium finish for Arrow McLaren while maintaining his solid performance record.
The race concluded with Colton Herta earning fourth position right after Felix Rosenqvist as Will Power delivered a spectacular showing through multiple positions gained to secure sixth. In his race from 21st position Power fought to achieve an outstanding sixth-place position which demonstrated his characteristic competitive abilities. The top ten finishing positions were composed of Marcus Armstrong, Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon with other than two coming from starting inside the top ten grid positions.
No disruptions occurred throughout the competition as all interruptions stayed clear of the running order. Several incidents led to an action-packed storyline during the race day aside from the incident-free main competition. Scott McLaughlin and Devlin DeFrancesco crashed while trying to start the green flag while Callum Ilott went to the pit not only for a stop but also to receive a new nose after bumping into his teammate Robert Shwartzman. Marcus Ericsson spun by himself after his initial pit stop but managed to regain control without conceding many positions.
So The Thermal Club managed to fulfill its vision of operating as an original and demanding Cup race track for IndyCar. Alex Palou took full advantage of the demanding Thermal Club circuit thanks to its high-speed components and challenging corners to deliver an exceptional performance. After Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach the main question becomes whether any driver can stop Alex Palou from claiming his third-straight championship title.
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