Palou wins at Thermal with amazing comeback finish

Alex Palou executed a masterful comeback to win the INDYCAR Grand Prix at Thermal Club this Sunday, maintaining his undefeated status in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

The Spanish driver from Chip Ganassi Racing, behind the wheel of the DHL-sponsored Honda No. 10, recovered a nine-second deficit in the last 15 laps to overtake pole-sitter Pato O'Ward and cross the finish line with a final lead of 10.1854 seconds.

Tire Strategy Defines the Race

The key to victory lay in the tire strategy. Palou's team opted to fit alternate Firestone Firehawk tires (red sidewall) during their final pit stop at the end of lap 49, while O'Ward chose primary tires (black sidewall) when he pitted at the end of lap 50.

"We had a very fast car from practice, and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing with car number 10 executed perfectly. We knew it was aggressive to start with used reds, and we knew we were aiming for the end of the race with that car number 10, and we achieved it," said Palou after his victory.

The decisive overtake came on lap 56, when Palou took advantage of the superior grip of his tires to pass O'Ward at the entrance of turn 7 on the 3.067-mile natural circuit.

O'Ward and McLaren Dominate Until the End

O'Ward, who had controlled the race from pole position for 51 of the first 55 laps, had to settle for second place. His teammate at Arrow McLaren, Christian Lundgaard, completed the podium, marking the first time since May 2023 that the team placed two drivers in the top three.

"We took a risk; it didn't work out for us," admitted O'Ward. "We used our new red tires early because we really didn't know how the degradation would be. The blacks really took a negative turn at the end of the race, and that was it. We had no chance to fight."

Palou Extends His Championship Lead

With this victory, Palou becomes the first driver to win the first two races of the season since Scott Dixon opened 2020 with three consecutive wins on his way to his sixth championship.

After two of the 17 scheduled races, Palou leads the championship with 102 points, 39 points ahead of O'Ward.

"It's tough to see this guy beat us all at every event," Lundgaard said about Palou. "We need to find a way to stop him."

The race, completed in 1:56:23.2677 with an average speed of 102.771 mph, was the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event without yellow flags since October 2020.

The Season Continues at Long Beach

The next race will be the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, scheduled for Sunday, April 13.

Results of The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix