Alex Palou Wins Second Race of 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season
Last Updated on April 8, 2025 by WWTR
Alex Palou beats Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard to take home another win for Chip Ganassi Racing. Photo by Joe Skibinski (INDYCAR MEDIA)
THERMAL, Calif. (March 24, 2025) – Alex Palou took home his second consecutive win for Chip Ganassi Racing at The Thermal Club Grand Prix on March 23, 2025. Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard made it a double Arrow McLaren podium, filling the last two podium spots, after Palou made his final passes late in the 65-lap race.
“It’s been incredible, an incredible weekend with lots of speed and perfect execution on pit stop, strategy,” said Palou. “At the beginning starting on used reds, we didn’t know if they were going to make it five laps, 10 or 15.”
Tire strategy proved very detrimental for the two Arrow McLarens of O’Ward and Lundgaard, who locked out the front row to start the 65-lap race with Palou starting just behind in third. O’Ward took the P1 Award when he banked a lap time of 01:39.9567 with a speed of 110.45 mph during the final qualifying session on Saturday.
O’Ward controlled most of the race, leading 51 of the 65 laps at The Thermal Club, however due to a differing tire strategy, Palou was able to pass both McLarens on the sticker set of alternates.
“We ran a red, black, black, black race. I think it should have been a red, red, black, black or any sort of combination with two reds and two blacks. I think we missed it on the 5 car. We can only see why we chose that, try not to make that mistake again,” said O’Ward.
In the post-race press conference, Palou went onto mention how when on the same tires, he was unable to pass Lundgaard, but when the Arrow McLarens went to the primary tires and Palou was on the alternates, he was able to get past the top two starters. Traffic proved as another factor in O’Ward falling to second place.
“I mean, I hate to whine about it, but it sucks to be the leader. All of our Chevy affiliate teams are worthless with helping when a Chevy leader is coming up on them. Honda seem to work as a team very, very well because Foster was doing everything in his power to keep me behind. Palou gets right behind him, and he just lets him cruise by,” said O’Ward.
Palou faced a similar challenge late in the race when O’Ward’s teammate Nolan Siegel tried to keep Palou behind the No. 6 Arrow McLaren. The Lap 50 battle between Palou and Lundgaard was a strong fight, but Palou’s tire advantage took him past in the end.
Team Penske had a challenging weekend after dominating in St. Pete with all three Penske’s starting in the bottom half of the grid, the team struggled to fully bounce back.
Josef Newgarden was the best qualifier of the team, starting in 17th, but he was only able to move up to 13thby the end of the race. Scott McLaughlin also had a tough race. After qualifying 25th, McLaughlin’s race ended on Lap 53 after a Motor Generator Unit (MGU) issue.
The MGU began to overheat earlier in the race, which resulted in McLaughlin having to pit early, and ultimately having to retire his No. 3 Penske on Lap 53. McLaughlin also faced troubles on the opening lap, spinning due to contact with Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Devlin DeFrancesco.
While two of the Penskes had a tough race, Will Power was able to move up 15 positions to end the race in sixth place. After starting in 21st, Power worked his way through the pack to claim his top 10 finish.
The 65 laps of green wrapped up in California, and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES comes back to battle at The Streets of Long Beach Grand Prix on April 13. With the INDYCAR series picking up, be sure to purchase your tickets to the 9th Annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 15, 2025. For more information, please visit our website at wwtraceway.com or call the ticket office at (618) 215-8888 Ext. 1.
About World Wide Technology Raceway
World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) is the home of NASCAR, INDYCAR and NHRA racing in St. Louis’ Metro East region. Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering more than 700 acres, WWTR is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the area. WWTR’s facilities include a 1.25-mile superspeedway; 1/4-mile drag strip; 2.0-mile road course; the Gateway Kartplex state-of-the-art karting facility; and the adjacent Gateway National Golf Links. WWTR and Owner & CEO Curtis Francois have been recognized with several awards, including: 2023 St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame induction; 2023 Innovation in Philanthropy Award by the St. Louis Business Journal; 2022 Explore St. Louis Hospitality Hero Recognition; 2022 Best in Show and Best Event & Festival from the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism; 2021 Comcast Community Champion of the Year; 2021 Jack Buck Award; 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Track Award; 2018 Innovator Award from the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission; 2017 Outstanding Facility of the Year Award from the Race Track Business Conference; and the 2017 Spirit of St. Louis Award from the St. Louis Attractions Association. Our mission: We are committed to making a difference in our community, while providing first-class entertainment and memories that last a lifetime.
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