IndyCar storms into Thermal, California, nearly a month after a dazzling performance at St. Petersburg that saw a win from defending Champion Alex Palou. The Twin Palms layout at the Thermal Club is a 3.067-mile (4.82-km) raceway. The track has a little bit of everything, including long straightaways, sharp curves, and elevation changes that test the limits of the car and the limits of the driver.
This is the first year that Thermal is a points race after an “All-Star Type” race last season. Last year’s Million Dollar Challenge saw 12 drivers make it through the rounds of cuts, but it was Palou who stood out on top to win the money. Palou held off Scott McLaughlin, who finished nearly six seconds behind the would-be champion. Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, and rookie Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five.
This year, the 17-turn Twin Palms layout will host IndyCar for 65 laps and just short of 200 miles. The current top five in the standings heading into this race are Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, and Kyle Kirkwood.
Coverage
The first practice is at 6:30 PM Eastern on Friday, March 21st. The second practice is set for Saturday, March 22nd, at 1 PM ET, with qualifications at 5 PM ET. The race will take place on Sunday, March 22nd, following warmups at 11 AM and the race at 3 PM ET. All practices will be on FS1, and the race will be on FOX.
Fox debuted at St. Pete and received very good reviews for its coverage and promotion of the event. However, they will be changing a couple of things this weekend, and many fans are interested to see what is next for FOX’s coverage of this race.
Leroy’s Power Rankings
- Alex Palou
- Josef Newgarden
- Scott McLaughlin
- Scott Dixon
- Colton Herta
- Pato O’Ward
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Christian Lundgaard
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Will Power
Next Race:
April 13th, Long Beach, California, 4:30 ET.
Image Credit: Chris Owens
