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The 3.067-mile long racecourse at Coachella Valley witnessed an exciting showdown as the round two NTT IndyCar Series concluded at the Thermal Club, California. Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou won the race, making it back-to-back wins to start the season.
The two Arrow McLarens of Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard secured a double podium for the team, but couldn't keep the championship leader Palou at bay. In line with this, below are the top five IndyCar drivers after the Thermal Club face-off.
#5 Felix Rosenqvist
Meyer Shank driver Felix Rosenqvist kept up the momentum of the first race held at St. Petersburg and continued to pleasantly surprise the paddock. The Swedish driver upped his game at Thermal Club as he qualified P9 and made up four positions to finish P5.
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He was set to finish P6 in the race, however, Kyle Kirkwood's tire degradation helped Rosenqvist to overtake him on Lap 62. This stint also brought him to fifth in the championship standings with 56 points.
#4 Colton Herta
The Andretti star had to settle just outside the podium in the race. He was quite confident post-qualifying, however, the enthusiasm didn't see much of a conversion in the race.
This led to him scoring 32 points in the race, bringing his tally up to a total of 47. The 24-year-old is now eighth in the championship standings despite finishing fourth in the last race.
#3 Christian Lundgaard
One of the two drivers of Arrow McLaren to bag a podium this weekend was the Danish driver, Christian Lundgaard.
The third-place finisher of the Thermal Club Grand Prix Race brought home 35 points, raising his tally to 60 points in the championship, where he currently sits in fourth.
#2 Pato O'Ward
The man driving the #5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren was the pole sitter at the second round of NTT IndyCar championship. To add to that, Pato O'Ward led 51 of 65 laps at the Thermal Club. However, Alex Palou's might got harder to keep at bay as the Mexican had to settle for second place.
The best starting position couldn't give him the result he hoped for. After finishing second, he is currently second in the standings with 63 points.
#1 Alex Palou
As mentioned earlier, Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou has increased the gap at the top as he leads the championship with two wins in two races.
Palou has emerged as the pace-setter by taking back-to-back victories. He is the championship leader with 102 points and is 39 points clear of O'Ward in second place. The Spaniard has set a benchmark for the other drivers in the first two clashes and already looks to be the firm favorite to win the IndyCar crown this season.
