IndyCar drops a tyre allocation change for Thermal Club

The upcoming IndyCar race at The Thermal Club will see a change in tyre allocation to a more conservative collection to combat one of motorsport's most abrasive racing surfaces. 

The Thermal Club has earned a reputation of shredding tyres. Found in Southern California near Palm Springs, the 3-mile road course features 17 complex turns and long straightaways. Scott Dixon, the New Zealand racing driver, confirmed the aggression of the tarmac.

“It’s a high-degradation track, most similar to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca before the repave," he said in 2024. The extreme abrasiveness creates a challenging race. During 2024 testing at the track, drivers struggled throughout the sessions.

2025 sees a change to the allocation of tyres across the season. Previously, teams received four sets of soft alternate tyres and six harder primaries. This year, teams are now given five of each. Speaking to RACER, Colton Herta said the following on the change.

“It’s nicer to have an extra set [of alternates], especially if you qualified right on the limit there in the Fast 12 at like, 11th, where it was a real disadvantage.

“Or 12th, because you burned through more sets, didn’t get much out it, and the guys behind that didn’t go through to the Fast 12 would have two sets of new [alternates].

“It still might be an advantage on races where you’re really going to run the red a lot because they’d still have three sets and you’ll have two, but it’ll close that gap a little bit, make it a little bit more manageable. It should open things up a little bit more for us, which we like when IndyCar gives the team a little bit more control.”

Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

For the race weekend at Thermal however, IndyCar is temporarily stepping away from this new distribution. Teams will receive six sets of primary tyres and four sets of alternatives with the objective of giving teams compounds that will last longer on the more abrasive track. 

Speaking to RACER, Firestone chief engineer and director of race tyre engineering and production Cara Krstolic said the following on the change:

“When we talked to IndyCar over the off-season, they said we need more interest coming out of the tyres. So, anything that we could do to widen the gap and make the alternate truly wear out, as opposed to having an alternate that’s pretty much there over a full stint, which was just not going to provide very good racing.

“So what we went through for Thermal is a little bit of a different approach. Instead of trying to make the alternate softer, as we did at our street courses, what we’re doing is putting more toughness into the primary tyre.

“Even last year at Thermal, you saw quite a bit of drop-off, even with the primaries. So instead of trying to make the alternate softer, we’re making the primaries more durable, just giving them a little bit more toughness, more temperature resistance. So you’re still going to have the difference between the primary and alternate, but not quite to the level that you would see at St. Pete or the other street courses this year.”