There weren't many fans who turned up to see it happen. The size of the TV audience for the two-hour contest was disappointing. And a long stretch of the broadcast was lost when, while broiling in 90-degree heat, a circuit breaker blew in the broadcast compound that caused the national feed to go dark for 21 minutes.
By any metric a sports league might use to measure success, the inaugural Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix was a failure. And yet its attendees don't want it to disappear.
Held across March 23-25 in California's Palm Desert, the first professional motor race at The Thermal Club has become a polarizing affair. For some, it was a silly and ill-fitting experiment that lived down to expectations. For others, it was the closest thing to the airy exclusivity of Formula 1 -- minus the Formula 1.
Among those who could afford to pay the premium to attend -- tickets started at $475 for general admission and rose to $3,000 or more with VIP packages -- the Thermal IndyCar GP was routinely described as an opulent experience for the ages. A private concert of sorts, with all-you-can eat burgers and shakes from In-N-Out, but with race cars.
According to Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles from the series' parent company, the event was witnessed live by "3,000-ish" fans on the ground in what will likely stand as the smallest turnout over three days for an IndyCar championship event.
The Indianapolis 500, the centerpiece of IndyCar's calendar, boasts more than 300,000 ticket-buying fans and ranks as the world's largest single-day sporting event. By the numbers, Thermal, which capped its attendance at 5,000 guests, was unable to reach its modest capacity, drawing an estimated 1% of the Indy 500 crowd.
Thermal as a full championship venue should be a one-and-done experiment, but the private motor racing country club that puts on the race is pining for IndyCar's return because it was a victory in ways that can't be measured by crowd size or ticket sales. Hosting an IndyCar race can be good for business.
Set within the members-only property in the Coachella Valley town of Thermal, the 368-acre property is protected by an armed security force on a never-ending watch. From within the 18-foot-tall walls, and around its fortress-like perimeter, guards defend the multimillion-dollar homes and their owners from any potential threats.
Hidden away from the rest of the world, the secluded road course has served as their personal playground since 2012. A private airport sits across from the track, which is partially lined by eight-figure mansions, and the car collections are stored onsite.
It's not an overstatement to position The Thermal Club as an oasis for the precious few who can afford to join, purchase plots of land and build palatial getaway homes that overlook the four road racing configurations in the center of the property. For Fortune 500 CEOs with a passion for cars and high-performance driving, Thermal is their Augusta. And this course needs more members.
During the wintery early midwestern months of the new year, IndyCar was invited to Thermal for the first time in 2023, where its warmth was perfect for preseason Spring Training activities. Another invitation in 2024 was extended as a bridge to fill the long gap between IndyCar's first and second races; a non-championship All-Star race was concocted and performed in front of 1,000 fans in a made-for-TV spectacle. Facing another six-week hiatus between the opening races in 2025, the final step was taken.
In exchange for a sanctioning fee said to be $2 million paid to IndyCar, Thermal was added to the calendar as an official round of the 17-race schedule, and the series' teams were dispatched to put on a 65-lap show as the second stop on the championship tour.
Thermal's owners likely spent at least another $1 million on promotions, grandstand rentals, providing food and beverages, and all the other pieces of temporary infrastructure to hold its first professional motor race. And in return, they received the mother of all bargains with a prime two-hour membership drive on Fox.
With the club still possessing vast stretches of real estate plots to sell, the marquee IndyCar race also doubled as an infomercial, a slick property showcase and recruitment tool during a valuable Sunday afternoon network window.
And now there are questions of whether there's space on next year's calendar for Thermal to continue, and if it delivers any value for the teams and auto manufacturers who create the show. In 2026, the Arlington Grand Prix -- run around the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers stadiums in partnership with the city and the two team owners -- will join the calendar in March, which could end up taking Thermal's place. IndyCar has a desire to keep its schedule at 17 races, and for that to happen, one of 2025's events needs to go.
Ask Honda, whose American headquarters are due west of Thermal in Torrance, California, if it needs a third IndyCar race in the Golden State when it has its home race at Long Beach coming up in two weeks and Monterey's famed Laguna Seca waiting in July, and the answer isn't a surprise.
"We appreciate the effort that went into creating the Thermal race, but it's not in a major market like the Long Beach area in greater Los Angeles, or close to the Bay Area, which you have with Laguna Seca," Chuck Schifsky, Honda and Acura Motorsports manager, told ESPN. "I don't know what it brings that we don't already have in much bigger markets, so I wouldn't see its continuation, if we look at what's coming with Arlington, as being necessary."
Among a range of IndyCar team owners and leaders, views differed on keeping or killing The Thermal Club IndyCar GP.
"I'd like to see us go back there," said 1986 Indy 500 winner and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal. "I thought it was a pretty damn good race. It's a shame what happened with the TV broadcast, but I'd like to keep going there. But it also depends on what other events are available."
Dale Coyne, owner of Dale Coyne Racing, was surprised by the small turnout and drew a parallel to IndyCar's late-season stop in Oregon, which has seen dwindling crowds in recent years.
"I think Thermal was OK," Coyne said. "I think it's a nice atmosphere. They do a nice job. The racing was interesting, I mean, it's unique not to have many fans there, but you know, we don't have very many fans in Portland, either, do we?"
Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan, the 2004 IndyCar Series champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner, wonders if Thermal's critics are missing the point.
"It's a very unique place. It's a different vibe, a different crowd, more private," Kanaan said. "Is it a race that we are going to brag about attendance? Never, because it's not made for that. So is it cool that you have 16 other races with the same pattern, and you know what? Then having something like this that is different? I think it is cool."
Meyer Shank Racing co-owner Mike Shank would welcome Thermal's ongoing presence in the series, but in its original form, which could be the perfect compromise.
"I think highly of the people that run the place, and the way we were treated is beyond anything we come across," Shank said. "They're so good about how they treat the teams, but IndyCar just needs to be at bigger events. We need bigger venues. We need more eyeballs on us all the time right now. So I am hypersensitive to limited-access events.
"But that doesn't diminish how much we appreciate the guys that run that place, because they've bent over backwards to take great care of us. I just don't know if we should be racing there.
"Certainly, we should go there for Spring Training, at the minimum. But if we could figure out a way to make it a bigger event and get more eyeballs on it, since everything we're trying to do now is grow and grow and grow, then we'd have an easier sell to continue racing there."
