$100M worth Chip Ganassi downplays ‘favoritism’ for The Thermal Club race after CGR’s strong start

Chip Ganassi Racing secured a 1-2 result at the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg, the maiden race of the IndyCar season. However, CGR team owner Chip Ganassi refused to pick a favorite for the upcoming IndyCar race at the Thermal Club as he detailed his reason for the same.

The Thermal Club IndyCar race is on the horizon as the race weekend begins on March 21 with practice sessions, and the race later on in the weekend on Sunday, March 23. Alex Palou, who won the race at St. Pete, despite starting P8, is the favorite to win the race at Thermal Club.

AUTO: MAR 02 INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

However, his teammate Scott Dixon finished behind him in P2 and could've possibly challenged the Spaniard for the win if the Kiwi wasn't released into the traffic after his final pitstop. $100 million worth IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi (as per Celebrity Net Worth) was questioned who’s the favorite to win the second IndyCar race, but the team owner downplayed any favoritism as he replied:

“I don't know if winning a race makes you a favorite. But I do think our cars are better than they were a year ago.” (via AS)

“It's been a long and difficult offseason for everyone. The team has worked incredibly hard. I didn't expect the win in St. Petersburg. That, and the team's one-two finish, demonstrates the incredible work done by all the men and women at Chip Ganassi Racing during the offseason,” said Alex Palou when asked the same question.

Alex Palou has won three of the last four IndyCar championships and is the favorite to take the title home this time around as well. The Spaniard's calm and composed driving at St. Pete's season opener, despite being under pressure from Josef Newgarden showcased why he is a three-time IndyCar champion. Fortunately, all the pushing from Newgarden also helped Scott Dixon, as the Team Penske driver ran out of fuel on the last lap.

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Chase Holden picks Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou as the favorite to win Thermal Club

Alex Palou, given his background in the European Formula series, has always done well around street and road course circuits. The Spaniard excels at such tracks, and Thermal Club is no different. It is a mixture of high, medium, and slow-speed corners with 4 long straights, making it a balanced circuit.

Alex Palou won the $1 Million challenge at the Thermal Club last time around, and IndyCar influencer Chase Holden has come out to pick the Chip Ganassi Racing driver as the favorite for the Thermal Club. Explaining his reason behind the same, Holden said:

“For my first pick-up, I have got to go right back to Alex Palou with Chip Ganassi Racing. He is now $30.3 million, and let’s be real—Palou owned this place last year. He has already got a win in 2025. This could easily be a moment where we see him go back-to-back.” (00:12 onwards)

The last time Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou won the opening race of the season (2021, Barber Motorsport Park), he went on to win the championship later that year.