Andretti INDYCAR Returns to The Thermal Club for First Road Course Race of the Season
The excitement of the 2025 season continues as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads west to The Thermal Club. Located near Palm Springs, California, the Twin Palms layout at The Thermal Club is a 3.067-mile raceway that includes most of the South Palm circuit and adds a highly demanding trajectory on top to get to a total of 17 turns. The circuit consists of sweepers, tight corners, long straightaways and elevation changes, providing a proper driving and engineering challenge to teams. While this will be the first-ever INDYCAR-sanctioned points race at The Thermal Club, the Andretti INDYCAR trio will pull from the team’s numerous test days on the California road course and Colton Herta’s fourth-place finish during last season’s Exhibition Race to capture the team’s first win of the season.
Race Details
| INDYCAR – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix |
| Round | 2/17 |
| Track Type | Road Circuit |
| Turns | 17 Turns |
| Laps | 65 Laps |
| Track Length | 3.067 Miles |
Notes
INDYCAR
- While this will be the first official points race at The Thermal Club, Andretti INDYCAR competed on the Thermal road course last year in INDYCAR’s $1 Million Challenge, a non-points, made-for-TV event. Notably, last year’s exhibition race at Thermal saw Colton Herta land a top-five finish in the All-Star Race.
- Andretti INDYCAR has a long history of road circuit success with 12 wins, 12 poles, 53 podium finishes, 93 top-five finishes and 1,260 laps led.
Colton Herta
- Last year, Herta deployed a tire-saving strategy that saw the Gainbridge Honda run the first 10 laps of the 20-lap All-Star Race at The Thermal Club at the back of the field. Following the scheduled halftime break, Herta carved through the field on fresh tires pushing the Gainbridge Honda forward from 10th into the top five, ultimately crossing the finish line in fourth.
- In his 42 road course starts, Colton Herta has collected five victories and 16 top-five finishes. Further proving Herta’s permanent road circuit success, the 24-year-old has claimed seven poles and nine podiums on road courses dating back to 2018, accounting for half of his total INDYCAR career poles and podiums.
Kyle Kirkwood
- Leading the Andretti INDYCAR team with a top-five finish at the season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Kyle Kirkwood is aiming to continue that momentum this weekend at The Thermal Club and secure his first INDYCAR road course victory.
- Last season, Kirkwood made his first INDYCAR front-row start on a road course at Laguna Seca. The Florida native’s road course results also include eight top-10 finishes and 27 laps led.
Marcus Ericsson
- After posting the fastest lap during the January test at The Thermal Club, Marcus Ericsson is determined to convert this performance into strong results this weekend.
- Since his rookie debut in 2019, the Swede has collected two podiums, 27 top-10 finishes and led 22 laps on road circuits.
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Driver Championship Standings |
| Colton Herta | 15 points | 15th |
| Kyle Kirkwood | 30 points | 5th |
| Marcus Ericsson | 28 points | 6th |
Team Quotes
Colton Herta
No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
“Thermal is going to be an interesting points race. We’ve been there before, but we’ve only done up to 10 laps on a set of tires. A full race will bring a whole new set of challenges. However, it will be fun to see what the best tire strategy is and when to make those changes. We had some success at The Thermal Club last year, and I’m looking forward to getting back to racing on the West Coast.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 Chili’s Honda
“I’m excited to return to The Thermal Club. With it being a points race this season, there are a lot of new factors to consider. In addition to the new format, we’ll be racing with the hybrid system for the first time on this track. Testing at Thermal in January went well for the No. 27 crew and we’re feeling confident that we can go after a strong result.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Bryant Honda
“It’s always great to be back at The Thermal Club. The track is one of the nicest on the INDYCAR calendar and the flow of the circuit is really unique. It will be interesting to see how the race plays out since there are still some unknowns. After a strong test at Thermal in January and a P6 finish in St. Pete, I’m excited to keep the momentum going this weekend.”
Rob Edwards
Chief Operating Officer
“The second race of the season takes us out west to The Thermal Club. We had the opportunity to test at the track during the last week in January as part of our preseason preparation, and all three drivers had a productive day. We’ll look to build on that as we continue our quest for the Championship.”
