Andretti Global’s Colton Herta in the No.26 Gainbridge Honda says that this weekend’s Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix will be an interesting points race.
The 17 turn circuit plays host to INDYCAR once again in 2025 but is a regular season race after last year’s $1 Million Challenge.
Herta goes into the weekend following a 15th place finish at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Looking ahead to the Thermal Club race, Herta said:
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 in the No.27 Chili’s Honda heads into this weekend’s race aiming to build on his fifth place last time out saying:
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 in the No.28 Bryant Honda is looking forward to returning to Thermal saying:
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 with Andretti Global says:
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.”