News

Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix
Thermal, CA - March 23, 2025

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 PPG CHEVROLET

START: 17TH  
FINISH: 13TH  
POINTS: 7TH (-49)
 
RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet team rebounded from a 17th-place qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon to finish 13th in Sunday's Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. The team elected to start the race on the primary Firestone tire before pitting for the first time on Lap 11 to transition to the softer, Firestone alternate rubber. Using the extra grip provided by the alternate tire, Newgarden drove his way into the top 10 following his second pit stop of the day on Lap 27. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner would stay just outside the top 10 through the final pit stop of the day that saw the team elect to return to the primary tire for a run to the end. As it became evident that the alternate tire was the tire of choice for the day, Newgarden was not given the luxury of a caution flag during the final stint that would have allowed him to return to the alternate tire. As a result, the would relinquish a handful of positions over the finals laps to cross the finish line in 13th place. 

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "Just a tough day for us on the No. 2 PPG Chevy. I had more potential, but I probably missed out on the tire game today, not utilizing the reds enough. That's still a really strong effort from the team to try and make the most of it which I think we did with the 13th place. We can take those points and move forward. It's a long season, so we had a tough weekend here, and we'll try and get things turned around in Long Beach and get back towards the front."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 XPEL CHEVROLET

START: 25TH  
FINISH: 27TH  
POINTS: 10TH (-61)
 
RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet team endured a difficult outing in Sunday's Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix, finishing 27th at the Palm Springs-area circuit. The weekend turned south during Saturday's first round of qualifying when McLaughlin spun his Chevy on his opening lap in the time trials. He was never able to fully recover throughout the session and started Sunday's race from the 25th position. On the opening lap of the race, McLaughlin was hit by the No. 30 of Devlin DeFrancesco to force another spin but no damage came as a result of the contact. Unfortunately for the team, the Motor Generator Unit (MGU) began to overheat around Lap 15, forcing McLaughlin down pit road on Lap 20 for several laps while the team diagnosed and repaired the issue. After returning to action, McLaughlin was able to show the speed in his Chevrolet-powered machine with respectable lap times before having to retire early with more MGU issues. 

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "Not the day we wanted for the XPEL Chevy. Tough weekend all around, really, but I was very confident going into today that we would have good race pace. I'm confident that we could have moved up through the field like Will (Power) and Josef (Newgarden) were able to do. Unfortunately, the issue we had with our MGU (motor generator unit) caused it to go into critical mode and we had to sit on pit lane for several laps while draining the battery and resetting everything. Very thankful that we got a solid finish to start the year at St. Pete. We'll just go about climbing back out of this points hole." 

WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 21ST 
FINISH: 6TH 
POINTS: 15TH (-69)
 
RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team were easily the biggest movers of Sunday's Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix, working their way up to a sixth-place finish after starting the race in the 21st position. The Australian's day was nearly cut short on the opening lap as the two Prema entries made heavy contact just in front of Power before he was able to squeeze past to continue his charge to the front. After electing to start the 65-lap event on the Firestone primary tire, race strategist Ron Ruzewski called Power down pit lane for the first time on Lap 10 to switch to the softer Firestone alternate tire. Power would utilize the alternate tire for the remaining laps of the caution-free event, entering the top 10 for the first time just prior to the team's second pit stop of the day on Lap 27. Without the advantage of a yellow flag to bunch the field back together, Power methodically used one of the day's fastest cars to nearly drive into the top five before running out of laps and finishing sixth. 

POWER'S THOUGHTS: "Yeah, that's a big day for the Verizon Chevy team considering it was full green. They didn't get any lucky yellows or anything. That was pure pace there. The guys had a great strategy and we had great speed. I was really patient and methodical getting through the field. I think we're all pretty disappointed with qualifying. I thought we certainly should've been in at least the top 10. That's racing. That's a good day. You look on those days and that's the sort of thing that will help you win a championship there. We had an extra set of reds there. It helped, yes. Big time. It was kind of cool because at St. Pete, you didn't have that luxury because the green was so soft, you couldn't even use it in the race. But in this race, the (alternate) was the preferred tire. It was just, man, you had one lap to do it. Made a mistake starting the lap. The tire wasn't quite in and I was disappointed with that because I'd been very fast in practice, running in the top six most of the time. But, you know, this is INDYCAR, anything can happen. Keep your head on and keep rolling."

The third round of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season takes place Sunday, April 13 when the Grand Prix of Long Beach celebrates its 50th anniversary. All of the action can be seen live on FOX starting at 4:30 pm ET.