IndyCar: Saturday Report from the Thermal Club
Good morning from the beautiful Thermal Club. The weather is predicted to be in the mid-80s today as the NTT INDYCAR Series prepares for the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix.
Last year’s non-point race was a different format than this weekend’s. With two 10-lap heats and a million dollars as the race winnings, this year will challenge the drivers more.
Last year’s winner, Alex Palou, driver of the No 10 Ganassi Racing DHL Honda, won $500,000 and joked that he would use the money to purchase diapers for his first child. The Spaniard’s daughter was born on December 4, 2023.
Autoracing1 spoke with Palou about what this race will entail.
“I don’t know what it’s gonna be, but I hope it’s the same. So, last year was very different, with just heat racing and no strategies, no pit stops, just one tire. So we couldn’t really do much stuff during the race, which worked out for us last year.”
“But it’ll be very cool. The only thing is that we don’t know. We don’t have any info on how the tires are gonna behave. What’s the best strategy to do? Like, more pit stops, less pit stops, like we will see. The good thing is that nobody else knows. ”
The proud father continued, “This year, I have to win because I need points for the championship. But it’s not for diapers. We are good on the diapers.”
Felix Roseqvist, driver of the No 60 Meyer Shank Racing Sirius XM Honda, won the pole last year for one of the heats. Autoracing1 asked the Swede his thoughts for this year’s race.
“I think the track is gonna be a bit different this year with the hybrid and the tires are different. So I don’t think we should be too comfortable in our past. You know, car and driving style, you always have to adapt in this series.”
“I think it is going to be a tough weekend. It’s going to be really hot, it’s going to wear the tires a lot. We’ll see how the tires are like in practice, but that’s going to kind of decide how you approach the weekend.”
“I like the track and had some good success here in the past. I paid for my wedding last year, so there’ll be some kind of payout if you do well this year, not as much, but I’m gonna be there to take it if I can. ”
Rookie Robert Shwartzman had a short practice session yesterday afternoon. His car had an issue with a fuel line exploding and caused massive damage to his car. The team was at the track overnight, building him a new car from a backup car.
Practice 2 is at 10:00 am PDT this morning. The Firestone Fast Six Qualifying is scheduled for 2:05 pm.
Lucille Dust reporting live from the Thermal Club