Armstrong nails top-10 finish
Marcus Armstrong was the best of the New Zealand drivers after finishing seventh in the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix in California.
The result was his first top-10 finish for the Meyer Shank Racing team, which he joined in the offseason.
“It was a long race, so I really struggled on used alternates,” says Armstrong, pictured, who started seventh on the grid.
“I wasn’t happy with the balance of the car, but we slowly made adjustments through the race and then put some new reds on at the end and we were pretty rapid.”
His compatriots Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin had mixed fortunes in the race, with the former taking 10th place while the latter spun out after being hit by another car early on before retiring.
Spaniard Alex Palou took the chequered flag in the March 24 event and leads the championship standings after winning the opening two races of the 2025 season.
Dixon, his Chip Ganassi team-mate, is 41 points behind in third place. Mexican Pato O’Ward splits the pair in second but is only two points ahead of the New Zealander.
McLaughlin is 10th overall for the season and Armstrong has climbed into 15th spot.
The series stays in California for round three when the drivers will tackle the streets of Long Beach on April 14 (NZ time).
Drivers’ standings
1. Alex Palou, 102 points
2. Pato O’Ward, 63pts
3. Scott Dixon, 61pts
4. Christian Lundgaard, 60pts
5. Felix Rosenqvist, 56pts
Also: 10. Scott McLaughlin, 41pts; 15. Marcus Armstrong, 33pts
