In the end, red tires were the way to finish, as Alex Palou come storming back to take the lead from Pato O’Ward with nine laps to go after a great battle with Christian Lundgaard.

O’Ward led most of the way, but his choice to end on the primary tires cost him the race.

The race itself was another snoozer as cars were strung out for the most part all day. I hope this is the end of Thermal as a points paying venue. The track is not interesting, the surroundings are sterile, and the lack of a crowd visible to viewers at home made the event look small and minor league.

Palou

If anyone still doubted the greatness of Alex Palou, today should have erased all doubts. He took this victory on track with a powerful rush after his final stop. In my opinion this was his best win in the series. O’Ward seemed to have the field covered, yet Palou found a way to win.

Power Saves His Season

Will Power began the day with just five points, a DNF at St. Pete, and a 21st place starting spot. In what was expected to be a track position race, Power ended up sixth and may have put his season in the right direction. He needed a finish like this for the points and his confidence.

Herta Bounces Back

Colton Herta had another great qualifying effort, but unlike St. Pete, he maintained position all day and finished fourth. Herta moved up eight spots in the championship.

Palou/Lundgaard

The battle for second on lap 50 between Palou and Christian Lundgaard was one of the best on track duels I have seen in IndyCar on a road course. The two swapped spots for several corners before Palou took the position and pulled away.

FOX

The glitch was not the network’s fault. An Indycar production truck had an electrical issue. There were some improvements since St. Pete.

The leaderboard had the tire each driver was using after pit stops began, and they showed that graphic as the race wound down.

It seems as if with 20 laps to go, the cars in 14th place and lower are never shown on the screen. I think they are still in the race, and those drivers need to have their names on the screen too.

When will we see a pit stop timer?

The best thing about the broadcast was how much more relaxed Jack Harvey seemed this weekend. The stiffness is gone, and his speech flowed naturally and with confidence.

That will do it for me this weekend. Thanks for following along. I will be on site at Long Beach.