By: Spencer Neff
March 21, 2025

Practice 1 Results

St. Petersburg winner Alex Palou continued where he left off after winning the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES opener three weeks ago. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was fastest in Friday afternoon’s opening practice for the Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix.

Palou, who won last year’s $1 Million Challenge at the 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course in Thermal, California, posted a best lap of 1m40.5486 (109.810) during the second split group session. The pair of 10-minute sessions followed a 45-miinute full-field practice.

Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global finished second, .0901 of a second back of Palou. Kirkwood’s teammates Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta made it a Top Four sweep by Honda-powered entries.

Honda would also boost the highest-finishing rookie in the session, Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was eighth.

Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing was fifth, the fastest of 14 Chevrolet-powered cars on the afternoon.

Early on in the session, Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing would experience powertrain issues. The rookie driver stopped past Turn 6, marking an early stoppage for their first appearance at Thermal.

Extensive damage to the No. 83 entry would necessitate a new chassis for the team, which they began work on during the remaining time in Friday afternoon’s session.

Up Next

Here is the remaining weekend schedule at Thermal Club. Stay with IndyCar1909.com and our social media platforms for the latest on The Thermal Club INDYCAR GRAND PRIX.

At-track schedule (All times local/Pacific Time):

Saturday, March 22

10-11 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (Limited green flag guarantee of 45 minutes),FS1

3:35-4:55 p.m. – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix NTT P1 Award qualifying (three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1

Sunday, March 23

8:02-8:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1

Noon – FOX on air

12:10 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”

12:17 p.m. – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix (65 laps/199.36 miles), FOX (Live)

Header Image By James Black/INDYCAR