The NTT IndyCar Series’ trip to The Thermal Club in California was a statement weekend for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team.
With Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou favored mightily after a win in the season opener in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the question became simple — who can challenge Palou and the No. 10 Honda for a championship?
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard answered the bell during qualifying as the duo locked out Palou from the front row. It was O’Ward’s first pole in three years.
Even during Sunday’s 65-lap event, Arrow McLaren appeared to be in control as O’Ward led over half the race, despite various tire strategies playing out.
However, quiet as could be, Palou made quick work of Lundgaard after a fierce back-and-forth battle and chased down O’Ward, who had an over nine-second advantage, to take the lead and the victory.
The team missed out on the ultimate prize and settled for second and third.
As O’Ward reflected, he believes the standard Firestone Black tire that was on his No. 5 Chevrolet was the demise his day.
“We took a gamble and it didn’t work out for us,” O’Ward said. “We had used our new reds in the start because we didn’t really quite know what the deg was going to be like, the deg profile. The blacks really kind of took a turn in the negative towards the end of the race and that was it. We didn’t really stand a fighting chance.
“But thanks for all of the fans hanging in there with us. Thanks to you guys for tuning in and hopefully it was somewhat of an entertainment. Long Beach is what’s coming up and hopefully we can have a repeat weekend, maybe even go one better. We have fought for the championship every single year, and that’s where I expect to be. The weekends like this is where every point does count.
“Every win does count for so much more and we just missed it by that, you definitely feel like you’ve left some points on the table where if we would’ve gone tomorrow, we maybe would’ve done something different,” O’Ward continued. “But, yeah, happy with the points day and we’re going to keep pushing.
“It’s a long, long, long season ahead and the ovals are a different beast as well. We need to be strong everywhere.”
With Palou’s recent tear on the series dating back to last year where he scored a third championship, being strong at every track is a must.
For Lundgaard, it was a mixed bag of emotions as a podium result was the positive, but frustration crept in due to Palou’s dominance.
“I think the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet has done a very good job,” Lundgaard said. “The entire team has done a very good job all weekend. We just didn’t have it there. We gave it a shot and came up short, but having two cars on the podium is as well of a day we could’ve wished for coming into Thermal.
“It’s tough seeing this guy beat us every single event. We’ve got to find a way to stop him. Gotta thank the fans too for sticking in there. It’s a long race, it’s tough.”
