"14 years of broadcasting, never had this": IndyCar analyst reveals confusing aftermath of FOX's Thermal Club coverage loss

The 2025 IndyCar Thermal Club Grand Prix will be remembered for several reasons. Alex Palou triumphed in the inaugural event, but it amassed negative publicity because of its coverage loss during the 65-lap Grand Prix.

In light of this, while recently appearing on the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi YouTube show, analyst James Hinchcliffe took the time to dwell on it. Moreover, he expressed his surprise at the sudden loss of FOX's broadcast. He added:

"Let me tell you the story. So, we are talking, calling the race, talking about something, and all of a sudden, every screen in the booth goes black. The lights were still on and like the no signal thing was coming across the screen. But it was one of those moments where Tal looked at me, and he was like, 14 years of broadcasting, and I've never had this." (From 32:30 onwards).

During the Thermal Club Grand Prix and after its end, there was immense outrage from the fans. Chip Ganassi's Palou even apologized for it in his post-race interview.

Arrow McLaren drivers were disappointed post Thermal loss to IndyCar champ Alex Palou

While FOX has somewhat been put in the firing line by the fiasco at Thermal Club, Palou secured the victory in the race - his second-consecutive win this season. Post the event, the Arrow McLaren drivers were especially disappointed.

Pato O'Ward ended his outing in second place and Christian Lundgaard ended up third. In light of this, the duo added:

"It’s tough seeing this guy beat us all every single event. We’ve got to find a way to stop him,uLundgaard said via IndyCar.

O'Ward, on his end, had the following to say:

"We took a gamble; it didn’t work out for us. We had used our new reds (alternate tires) at the start because we didn’t really quite know what the deg (tire degradation) was going to be like," O'Ward said via the same source.

The reigning IndyCar world champion, Palou, has gotten his 2025 campaign running in perfect fashion. With two back-to-back victories, the 27-year-old is sitting pretty at the top of the drivers' standings with 102 points. His nearest rival, Pato O'Ward, is on 63.

In last year's IndyCar season, on his way to amssing the title, Palou had aggregated an impressive 544 points in his No.10 Chip Ganassi Racing machinery. Moreover, in the process of doing so, he racked up two wins, three pole positions, 13 top-fives, and 13 top-ten finishes.

As per the 2025 standings, Palou has a decent gap to O'Ward going into IndyCar's third round, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race weekend will kick-off next month from the April 11 onwards.