RLL PREVIEW – The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Pre-Race Notes
The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix – The Thermal Club, Thermal, California
Round 2 of 17 in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES

DATE:     Friday – Sunday, March 21-23, 2025

PRACTICE BROADCAST:     Live on FS1 on Friday from 6:30–8:00 p.m. ET, Saturday from 1-2 p.m. ET and Sunday from 11:00 – 11:45 a.m. ET. Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).

QUALIFYING BROADCAST:     Live on FS1, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 5-6:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

RACE BROADCAST:     Live on FOX on Sunday, March 23 from 3:00-5:30 p.m. ET. And also on the IRN and Sirius XM 160.

TRACK LAYOUT:     3.067-mile, 17-turn road course
RACE LENGTH:     65 laps / 199.36 miles

2024 WINNER:     Alex Palou won the All-Star $1 Million Challenge
2024 POLESITTER:     Two heat races set the field for the $1 Million Challenge; Alex Palou on pole

RAHAL’S BEST START / FINISH IN THERMAL:     Qualified & finished 3rd in his heat race to start 5th in $1 Million Challenge / 12th in 2024 (stuck throttle)
RAHAL’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH:     5 Poles – St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit (street) 2017, IMS (road) 2023, Portland (road) 2023 / 6 Wins – St. Pete 2008, Fontana (oval; 500 miles) 2015, Mid-Ohio (road) 2015, Texas (oval) 2016; Detroit Race 1 (street) 2017, Detroit Race 2 2017

DEFRANCESCO’S BEST START / FINISH IN THERMAL:     First race here
DEFRANCESCO’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH:     5th at the IMS road course (August 2023) / 12th at WWTR (2022) and Detroit (2023)

FOSTER’S BEST START / FINISH AT THERMAL:     First race here
FOSTER’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH:     16th / DNF (27th) after being collected in an opening lap crash in his St. Pete series debut

NEWS & NOTES:

THE THERMAL CLUB
In 2024, The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge took place at The Thermal Club as a non-points event. The series returns this year for a points race. Last year, all three team drivers (Rahal, Fittipaldi, Lundgaard) earned spots in the 12-car All-Star Race but each encountered challenges (Rahal/stuck throttle; Fittipaldi/fueling error, Lundgaard/was hit in Heat Race which hindered him in the All-Star race). The team has entered the No. 15 Mobil 1 Honda for Graham Rahal, the No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda for Devlin DeFrancesco and the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda for Louis Foster in the event.

GRAHAM RAHAL AT THE THERMAL CLUB
Yorba Linda resident Rahal will race in his adopted home state of California this weekend. Last year, he qualified third for his Heat Race (2) and finished there to earn a fifth place start in the All-Star race. Early on in the 12-car race, he began to struggle with a stuck throttle and dropped to seventh. From there, he dropped to 12th place and had to return to the pits with two laps to go for safety reasons. He is looking forward to getting back to a track where the team ran well. He is looking forward to capitalizing on a competitive racing setup on the physically challenging road course as well as showing off an iconic Mobil 1 livery.
“I’m excited for the Thermal race. We were actually quite good there last year, at least in qualifying pace. We need to work on our race car, but I think that will be pretty solid this time around. We got some good things to try and test on Friday and Saturday. With it being a points race, I’m interested to see how this all pans out for us. It’s going to be an extremely physical, tough race out there because there are no really long straightaways. The back straight is long on paper I guess but still you enter one of the toughest sections of the track from that point on and really don’t get much of a break. Overall, I’m looking forward to the event and driving the Mobil 1 Honda. Without a doubt, I think it has been a favorite of fans across the board. People absolutely loved seeing that car. It was a huge hit at our Cars & Coffee last weekend, and every time we showcase the car people on social media go wild. I think people are going to absolutely love seeing it in person this weekend.”

DEVLIN MAKES HIS RACING DEBUT AT THERMAL
DeFrancesco participated in the February 2023 pre-season open test at The Thermal Club but did not race in the series event in 2024 although he was watching from afar. He qualified 14th in the St. Pete season opener and was on target for a top 10 finish there until a punctured tire forced him to pit and lose valuable positions. He ultimately finished 22nd in the race but is hoping to maximize what he believes is a strong racing package at The Thermal Club and post a strong result.
“I originally drove at The Thermal Club in testing back in 2023 so this will be my first race there. It’s a fun road course; I’m excited to qualify there. I think our team has very competitive cars there, based on watching last year whilst I was on the sideline. I think our team has a very competitive car on the high-speed, smooth road courses overall so I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing where we stack up, but I have a very good feeling going into the weekend in the No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda.”

FOSTER RETURNS TO SITE OF FIRST TEST WITH RLL
Rookie Louis Foster made his INDYCAR series debut at St. Pete but was taken out of the race a few turns in on the opening lap so one could say that he will have a second shot at his series debut this weekend. The track was the site of his first test with RLL in November of 2024 and also his first experience there. Since then, the team held another rookie test at Laguna Seca last winter before the series tested at Sebring in February prior to the start of the season. He is looking forward to returning to Thermal and applying the experience he has gained since November in an Indy car.
“My first test with the team was at the end of last year at Thermal and I think it was a decent test. We learned a lot of things about the car and hopefully we can take some of our progress into the weekend. I think the team had a good year last year as well; had all three cars in the final race at the million-dollar challenge, which was a pretty big success for the team, so I think we’ve got high hopes going in. I had a good test at Barber as well and learned some things about the car that should help so we’ll see where we end up. Obviously, it’s always tough in INDYCAR car so we’ll see but I’m looking forward to it. I like California, it’s almost a semi home state for me, having lived there for a few years. And I’ve got some friends coming down to the race as well so I’m really looking forward to the weekend. It’s a great place; a great circuit and it will be nice and sunny which is nice because I need a tan.”