Thermal Club: The great unknown awaits INDYCAR drivers in the Coachella desert

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

THERMAL, Calif. — The glaring difference between the first INDYCAR points race at The Thermal Club and other races is the fans. Or rather the absence of them.

There won’t be as many spectators as drivers are used to seeing.

Only 5,000 will potentially attend the event on Sunday at the private motorsports club. It’s like an exclusive golf club with luxury homes. But it’s more extravagant, with garages full of exotic sports cars and a racetrack for members to drive their cherished toys.

The vibe could be eerie since the race will take place in a huge venue, only to be enjoyed by the few who can afford it. And there’s the epic media buy from the ownership to lure INDYCAR to run there that will ultimately showcase the 426-acre facility on television.

But the drivers have more important things to focus on. They have to concentrate on navigating the 17-turn, 3.067-mile course. This is a much more complex task than a year ago when the exhibition, All-Star format at Thermal didn’t feature a run of more than 10 laps without drivers making adjustments.

Now, they must try to strategize a 65-lap race where they have both the primary and option, softer tires. They didn’t have the alternates a year ago. And they also have the hybrid engine that was introduced last season. Even the primary tire is new. In fact, it is so new, it wasn’t used when a few teams tested it here two months ago.

Pit stops?

The drivers think three during the race. But maybe two and that’s if the softer tires really last (drivers must use each type of tire for at least two laps during the race). Or maybe even four if tire wear during a run (likely 15 to 18 laps) costs a driver three to four seconds a lap — enough to make up the time of an extra pit stop.

“I like unknowns,” said Penske driver Josef Newgarden. “This is probably the biggest unknown of the year. We didn’t have a full race last year, there were no pit stops, there was no full fuel big tire drop off.”

Drivers from Andretti, Dale Coyne and Prema tested at the track in January.

“When we were here for the test, it was more just to try and get a better base setup for us because we were struggling quite a bit here last year,” Andretti driver Marcus Ericsson said. “I think we’ve got that. We talked about doing some long runs toward the end of the day, but then it cooled off a lot so it wasn’t super representative.”

Colton Herta said after practice that the feel of the car wasn’t the same as the test two months ago.

“It’s pretty different,” said Herta, who was fourth on the speed chart. “When we were here, it was 30 degrees cooler with a different tire.

“It would be nice if it was a little closer to what we had this weekend, but there’s still general things. And the general balance is somewhat similar.”

Ericsson said the primary tire that Firestone brought for the race weekend will wear more quickly than the one they tested in January (the one used last year). Firestone is going with a new compound to help handle the weight difference of the hybrid engine system.

Here’s another change from the inaugural event a year ago. This track did not have a full pit lane as far as the equipment needed for the teams, so the original pit lane had to be extended to accommodate the pit box needs of INDYCAR teams. That has made it a relatively long pit road, which could determine whether a team does an extra pit stop knowing it will take more time to drive down pit road.

“It will be an interesting race,” said Alex Palou, who won the exhibition event last year and was fastest in practice. “It’s not easy [to pass] but it will become easy when the tire deg[radation] kicks in.”

All these questions and everyone is wondering about tires.

“Hopefully we get it right,” Newgarden said about the tire. “Because people that don’t are going to be suffering.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.