Alex Palou, in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, scored his second consecutive victory of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season at The Thermal Club in California on Sunday (March 23). He extended his lead in the championship to 39 points over Pato O’Ward, who ended the race in second place.
“What an amazing weekend,” the Spaniard said in victory lane. “We had a fast car since practice, and everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing on the 10-car executed perfectly. We knew it was aggressive to start with the used [alternate tires], and we knew that we were looking toward the end of the race with that 10 car, and we did it.”
Scott Dixon‘s No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda came home in 10th place but should not be ruled out for a championship charge as he seeks a record seventh IndyCar title. The Iceman is currently in third place in the standings, 41 points behind Palou.
Given the team’s fantastic start to the season, I expect Chip Ganassi Racing to be in the hunt and challenging for race wins all season long.
Let’s take a moment to talk about Arrow McLaren! O’Ward showed great pace throughout the race on Sunday as did his teammate Christian Lundgaard. The duo showed that they are a force to be reckoned with this season and could be challengers for the championship. O’Ward is currently second in the standings while Lundgaard has had a strong start to the season and is in fourth in the championship following his maiden podium finish for Arrow McLaren.
In his second race with the papaya group, @lundgaardoff finishes on the podium! 👏🏆 pic.twitter.com/ZkeOTAHbxg
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 24, 2025
Will Power had a great drive for Team Penske at a time when he needs it most given that he is in a contract year. He was the biggest mover in Sunday’s race, charging his way through the field from 21st on the grid to finish sixth.
“Oh yeah, it’s a big day considering it was full green, so you didn’t get any sort of lucky yellows or anything,” Power told Frontstretch. “It was just pure pace there and the guys hit a great strategy and we used our speed and I was really patient, methodical, getting through the field.
“We’re all pretty disappointed with qualifying. I thought we, we certainly should have been in the, at least in the top 10, but, that’s racing and it’s a good day, man. You look back on those days, that’s the sort of thing that can help you win a championship there.”
It may have been a big day for Penske, but they still have lots of work to do to get where they want to be, which is consistently fighting for wins. Power is 14th in the championship while Josef Newgarden is seventh and Scott McLaughlin is 10th.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Louis Foster showed signs of speed in qualifying on Saturday with 10th place on the grid. The Englishman managed to complete his first race distance for the team and proved that his speed is carrying over from Indy NXT.
Graham Rahal ended the race 11th and is currently 12th in the championship standings, but RLL knows that there is plenty of room for improvement. It has been an uphill battle throughout most of the races the past couple of years, and it seems to be continuing as they start 2025 with lackluster finishes and inconsistency among the team.
A. J. Foyt Racing continued their consistent start to the season; however, the Speedway, Indiana-based outfit has plenty of room for improvement. Given their technical alliance with Team Penske, they will be hoping for stronger results in the coming races.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s changes over the offseason appear to be bearing fruit as Alexander Rossi, who joined the team from Arrow McLaren, is ninth in the championship standings heading to Long Beach next month. Rossi is already improving upon last year’s points position for ECR, being four positions ahead of where Veekay finished in the same car. He is an IndyCar race winner, and as the team leader, ECR will be hoping that this knowledge will help Christian Rasmussen move forward over the course of the season.
PREMA Racing, the newest team on the grid, have plenty of work ahead of them following another tough weekend for the Italian outfit. Unfortunately, both cars received damage, with a fuel fire on Robert Shwartzman’s car and Callum Ilott running into his teammate and damaging the nose of the car in the race. However, Shwartzman is currently leading the Rookie of the Year standings by 6 points over Jacob Abel.
Andretti Global continued their steady start to the season in Thermal with two cars in the top 10, which is also where Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta are in the championship standings.
Meyer Shank Racing’s technical relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing is really helping the team. After the first two races of the season, Felix Rosenqvist is fifth in the championship following two top-10 finishes.
Dale Coyne Racing has plenty of work to do in the coming races, but Rinus VeeKay is currently in 13th place in the championship. Following a tough weekend at The Thermal Club, he is still showing speed and turning heads with the underdog team. After a year of many drivers and many changes, being 13th is quite an accomplishment!
The lingering question after this weekend’s race in California is, can anyone stop Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing? I’m sure the other teams hope so!
