THERMAL — A new era in IndyCar Series racing is coming to Riverside County this weekend with the inaugural Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix on the private road course in the Coachella Valley.
The new track and new race will challenge teams and drivers with an undulating course that forces teams to prepare for a tasking day of tire strategy and track position.
It is the first time the IndyCar Series is racing at Thermal Club in a points race. It is the second race on the schedule after the opener in St. Petersburg, Florida. But a few teams raced at the track in an exhibition last year and it has been used as a test site in recent years.
There were some modifications made for the race this weekend, the pit area was expanded and two turns were added to the course, making it a little different than the exhibition race course. Practice starts on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the race starts at noon on Sunday on Fox.
“They did a really good job with improvements, safety improvements, to get it up to standard,” said Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, after the exhibition at Thermal Club last year. McLaughlin finished third in the exhibition race and said it is a “challenging, technical track.”
The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix is on the Twin Palms layout and is a 17-turn, 3.067-mile track. It is a little different from the course some of the drivers raced in 2024 in the Thermal $1 Million Challenge, a 20-lap exhibition event with 12 IndyCar Series drivers. In that race it was a 17-turn, 3.069-mile course.
“It’s a cheese grater track. It’s not so kind on tires. It’ll be worse this year,” said Marcus Armstrong, driver of the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, who raced in the exhibition event last year. Warmer temperatures at the course and on the track compared to last year’s race will play a factor in the race, he added. “I expect the tire discussion to be quite significant.”
The conditions will probably be noticeable for Sunday’s 65-lap, 199.36-mile race. Wind and sand will be a factor too. The drivers said it created some unforeseen obstacles in the exhibition race.
“This has been a huge learning experience,” said Felix Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda. “You had to think big picture all the time. It’s been the most challenging course we’ve been to in a while.”
Rosenqvist was the runner-up in the exhibition race. Part of his team’s strategy was to take advantage of restarts and being up front in clean air made a difference.
Armstrong said the teams have experience on the course with data from testing and the exhibition event. But the data is still incomplete in some ways.
“We obviously have limited information about long race situations with fuel saving and tire mileage,” Armstrong said. “We’re fairly in tune with how the cars behave over short runs and in qualifying runs.”
Alex Palou, driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, won the exhibition race that paved the way for the Thermal Club to be added to the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series schedule.
“It’s a pretty cool track,” Palou said after winning the exhibition race at Thermal Club last year. “It’s not super easy to pass, but it’s doable. We’ve seen some passes here.”
The pit stop area was expanded and upgraded to meet and exceed IndyCar Series standards.
Ticket prices for the three-day race weekend range from $240 for children 6 to 11 to $1,700 for VIP passes. General admission tickets are $450 each.
For the Thermal $1 Million Challenge, ticket prices started at $2,000 and a limited amount was available. Prices were eventually reduced to $500 each when the city agreed to allow more fans and attendees for the race weekend.
The course provides unique experiences for the fans and the drivers. McLaughlin said it takes a lot of work and planning to get a lap right.
“And when you do, it’s very rewarding,” he said. “It’s got a bit of everything.”
Riverside and the Coachella Valley are no strangers to IndyCar and open-wheel racing. Riverside International Raceway and Ontario Motor Speedway hosted races from 1968 to 1982.
Riverside International Raceway, located about 70 miles northwest of Thermal Club, was the site for U.S. Auto Club races from 1967 to 1969.
The Championship Auto Racing Teams from the IndyCar Series raced at Ontario Motor Speedway until it closed in 1980 and moved to Riverside International Raceway for a 500 kilometer race from1981 to 1983.
Ontario Motor Speedway hosted USAC National Championship races from 1970 to 1978. Jim McElreath won the first USAC National Championship race at the track driving for Sheraton-Thompson Racing.
Rick Mears won the first two CART races at Riverside International Raceway in 1981 and 1982. Bobby Rahal won the third in 1982.
Bobby Unser won the two CART races at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1979 and 1980 and won USAC National Championship races at the track in 1974 and 1976.
A.J. Foyt won the USAC National Championship race in Ontario in 1975.
Even though the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix is a new race in the series, it’s not new to some of the drivers. Armstrong, who is from New Zealand, said it reminds him of some of the tracks he raced in Europe before joining the IndyCar Series.
“It’s not a new track for me. I know this place pretty well, which is nice,” Armstrong said. “There’s many comparisons to draw upon racing in Europe, which is nice for me.”
THERMAL CLUB INDYCAR GRAND PRIX
When: Friday-Sunday
Track: The Thermal Club, a 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course (counterclockwise)
Race distance: 65 laps/199.36 miles
Television: Practice and qualifying Friday and Saturday on FS1, race noon Sunday on Fox.
2024 $1 Million Challenge winner: Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing
Alex Palou dominates at Thermal in IndyCar’s first all-star race since 2008