Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou will start on the pole positions in a pair of 10-lap heat races that will set the field for Sunday’s $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club in Southern California.
Rosenqvist will start on the front row alongside Scott McLaughlin in the first heat race. Palou will be alongside Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong to take the green flag in the second heat race.
The top six finishers in each heat race will advance to the Sprint for the Purse, a 20-lap main event with a halftime break. Caution laps won’t count in any of the races.
QUALIFYING RESULTS: Group 1 l Group 2
“It’s an angry pack behind in the mirror for sure,” Rosenqvist told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “If you can get away clean, you should have it in the heat. It’s all about the start and getting away, but, man, everyone’s going to go for it. That’s the beauty and the curse of this format. Everyone is just going to give it all, and that’s what we did now and ended up first.”
Palou jumped to the top of the qualifying board after a lengthy red flag for a crash by Marcus Ericsson with just over a minute left in the session. Despite Palou having used all but 14 of his 40 seconds of push to pass, the two-time IndyCar champion managed to turn the fastest lap of the session.
“Looking forward to (Sunday),” Palou told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee. “After all that confusion with the red flag and everything, we didn’t know if we were going to be able to put a lap together. But happy with that. The car is good, and the team did an amazing job.”
Rinus VeeKay and Christian Lundgaard will be on the second row in the first heat race. Graham Rahal will start third in the second heat, followed by Linus Lundqvist (who gave Ganassi three of the top four spots in qualifying.
It is the first time since 2013 at Iowa Speedway that IndyCar has used heat races, which will last 10 laps or 20 minutes. Full-course yellow flags won’t count toward the lap total. A lap is complete when the leader crosses the line, and the cars’ positions will be determined by the last timeline before a full-course caution.
Pit stops will be allowed only for emergency service (those otherwise pitting for other adjustments will be disqualified), and drivers will receive 40 seconds of push to pass.
Coverage of the heat races and main event will begin Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The winner of the main event will receive $500,000; with $350,000 for second; $250,000 for third; $100,000 for fourth; and $50,000 for fifth. Sixth through 27th each receive $23,000 from the $1.756 million purse (the largest in IndyCar outside the Indy 500 over the past 20 years).
Here are the IndyCar starting lineups for the heat races that will set the 12-car field in Sunday’s $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club, 17-turn, 3.067-mile road course (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed):
Thermal Heat 1 starting lineup
Row 1
1. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Honda, 1 minute, 38.5831 seconds (111.999 mph)
2. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:38.6068 (111.972)
Row 2
3. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:38.6283 (111.948)
4. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Dallara-Honda, 1:38.6394 (111.935)
Row 3
5. (2) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:38.7926 (111.761)
6. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:38.8056 (111.747)
Row 4
7. (77) Romain Grosjean, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:38.8774 (111.666)
8. (78) Agustin Canapino, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:39.5994 (110.856)
Row 5
9. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 1:39.7074 (110.736)
10. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:39.7400 (110.700)
Row 6
11. (26) Colton Herta, Dallara-Honda, 1:39.8331 (110.597)
12. (18) Nolan Siegel, Dallara-Honda, 1:40.1218 (110.278)
Row 7
13. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Dallara-Honda, 1:40.1268 (110.272)
14. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:41.5352 (108.743)
Thermal Heat 2 starting lineup
Row 1
1. (10) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 1 minute, 38.5675 seconds (112.017 mph)
2. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Dallara-Honda, 1:38.7575 (111.801)
Row 2
3. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 1:38.9723 (111.558)
4. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Dallara-Honda, 1:39.0685 (111.450)
Row 3
5. (66) Tom Blomqvist, Dallara-Honda, 1:39.0820 (111.435)
6. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Dallara-Honda, 1:39.1117 (111.402)
Row 4
7. (7) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:39.1140 (111.399)
8. (6) Callum Ilott, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:39.2575 (111.238)
Row 5
9. (5) Pato O’Ward, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:39.4293 (111.046)
10. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Dallara-Honda, 1:39.9502 (110.467)
Row 6
11. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Dallara-Chevrolet, 1:40.2820 (110.102)
12. (51) Colin Braun, Dallara-Honda, 1:40.7843 (109.553)
Row 7
13. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Dallara-Honda, no time (no speed)
