Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, will start on the pole. It is the first time he won the pole for an NTT IndyCar Series race since 2022 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. It’s also the first time Arrow McLaren drivers swept the front row since joining the IndyCar Series in 2020.

Palou spent most of the race running in third place, sometimes 11 seconds behind Pato O’Ward. On lap 56, Palou passed O’Ward for the lead and held it for the last nine laps of the race. It punctuated a caution-free and mostly incident-free 65-lap race at Thermal Club.

From the fans to the pit stops, drivers are facing a few unknowns for Sunday's INDYCAR race at The Thermal Club in California's Coachella desert.