Pato O’Ward applauds his team after capturing the pole position for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. O’Ward will start from the pole for Sunday’s race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alex Palou races aro und The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alex Palou races around The Thermal Club circuit during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Pato O’Ward races around The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. O’Ward will start from the pole for Sunday’s race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alex Palou races around The Thermal Club circuit during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Christian Lundgaard races down a straightaway during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alex Palou races through the esses during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott McLaughlin leads Felix Rosenqvist through the esses during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Devlin DeFrancesco climbs into his race car for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott Dixon prepares for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott Dixon prepares for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Will Power sits in his race car prior to the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Marcus Ericsson prepares for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Kyle Kirkwood, left, speaks with a team member prior to the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alexander Rossi stands behind his race car in his pit prior to the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alexander Rossi stands in his pit prior to the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Kyle Kirkwood waits in his pit for the final practice session to begin for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott Dixon’s race car is pushed towards the pit lane for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Pato O’Ward races around The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. O’Ward will start from the pole for Sunday’s race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Alex Palou is followed by other drivers as races around The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A race car drives past a blooming bougainvillea during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott Dixon climbs into his race car for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott McLaughlin races The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Colton Herta climbs into his race car for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Pato O’Ward races around The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. O’Ward will start from the pole for Sunday’s race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Will Power climbs into his race car for the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Pato O’Ward smiles as he speaks on a cell phone after capturing the pole position for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. O’Ward will start from the pole for Sunday’s race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Christian Lundgaard races around The Thermal Club’s circuit during qualifying for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. Lundgaard will start Sunday’s race second while his teammate Pato O’Ward will start from the pole. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Scott Dixon races down a straightaway during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Christian Lundgaard races around The Thermal Club circuit during the final practice session for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 30Pato O’Ward applauds his team after capturing the pole position for Sunday’s The Thermal Club Indycar Grand Prix in Thermal on Saturday, Mar. 22, 2025 in Thermal. O’Ward will start from the pole for Sunday’s race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Expand THERMAL — The Arrow McLaren drivers will start on the front row for today’s Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix and the Team Penske drivers will look for ways to move up in the field after a disappointing qualifying session. Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, will start on the pole. It is the first time he won the pole for an NTT IndyCar Series race since 2022 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. It’s also the first time Arrow McLaren drivers swept the front row since joining the IndyCar Series in 2020. “I think we’ve been a surprise this weekend,” O’Ward said. “We want to beat the big guys. We’re still the underdogs.” After qualifying Saturday, O’Ward was asked how on edge the cars were on this track. The IndyCar Series teams are using a new hybrid engine and they are heavier than the engines that were used in the past. O’Ward said the added weight takes a lot of the edge away. “With all this weight in the rear, they plow like pigs,” said O’Ward, whose pole-winning lap was 1:39.9567 on the 3.067-mile course. “It’s a bit of a shame. They feel like they can go a lot faster. We really can’t get them there to that edge.” Christian Lundgaard, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, was second and will start on the front row with O’Ward. “It’s just important to be there when it counts,” Lundgaard said. “We were today. Let’s keep that momentum moving forward.” Alex Palou, winner of three of the past four IndyCar Series championships including in 2023 and 2024, will start third next to Colton Herta, who qualified fourth. The Andretti Global drivers continued their strong weekend at Thermal Club, with two cars starting in the top five. Herta’s teammate Marcus Ericsson starts fifth. Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, will start sixth. Palou was the top driver in the Fast 12 qualifiers, followed by O’Ward and Lundgaard, and moved on to the Fast Six qualifying session to determine the pole winner. “I think we’re in for a treat tomorrow,” O’Ward said. Palou was the fastest driver in the first group during qualifying at 1:39.5933. Lundgaard was fastest in the second group at 1:30.9613. The Team Penske drivers are having a rough weekend at Thermal Club. All three drivers were in the bottom of the first group of drivers in qualifying. Josef Newgarden was ninth in the first group. Will Power was 11th and Scott McLaughlin was 13th and last. ”I’m bummed,” McLaughlin said. “Disappointed in myself.” Newgarden will start the race 17th, Power will start 21st and McLaughlin will start 25th. There are 27 cars entered in the race. McLaughlin spun out before completing a lap in qualifying and was penalized to add salt to the wounds. Rinus Veekay complained that Kyle Kirkwood interfered with him on the track during qualifying. Race officials reviewed it, determining there was no interference. Palou was fastest in the first qualifying group at 1:39.5933. Felix Rosenqvist was second at 1:40.0628 and Scott Dixon was third at 1:40.1147. Lundgaard was the fastest driver in the second qualifying group at 1:39.9613. Herta was second at 1:40.0622 and O’Ward third at 1:40.3884. The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix starts at noon and will be televised on Fox. Thermal Club brings back memories The Thermal Club course is new, but it reminds some of the drivers of old tracks the NTT IndyCar Series used to race. One track is Iowa Speedway. Another is Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The track at Thermal Club wears down tires like the one at Iowa Speedway, said Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “I would see it like an Iowa, like an old Iowa, but on a road course,” he said after practice on Friday. The Thermal Club track doesn’t leave a lot of room for passing either. That reminds Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. Team Penske Chevrolet, of Laguna Seca. “It’s going to race like the old Laguna Seca in some ways,” McLaughlin said after practice on Friday. “You will probably play that patience game a little bit.” As the race unfolds, and tires start to wear down, McLaughlin said there will be more opportunities to pass on the track. It’s a matter of recognizing when those opportunities arise. “It’s not as many as you thought on a big, big track,” he said. “I think with the tire degradation it will create opportunities that you may not normally pass on the same speed.” Related Articles Motorsports | Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix gives drivers chance to capitalize on strong starts Motorsports | Drivers look forward to a test at Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix Motorsports | William Byron avoids late wrecks, wins 2nd straight Daytona 500 Motorsports | Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets another shot at Daytona 500 as a team owner Motorsports | Wallace, Cindric win Duels; Castroneves to use provisional spot for Daytona 500 ...read more read less