The current Indycar world champion Alex Palou got his first victory of the season with no season points on the board but a different price
Located near Los Angeles, at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains, The Thermal Club plays host to a massive IndyCar event weekend. This high-stakes competition features a two-day Open Test allowing teams to hone their strategies. Next, drivers battle in group qualifying sessions before participating in two heat races. The culmination of the weekend is a prestigious “all-star” race featuring just 12 drivers vying for a staggering $1.756 million purse – the largest outside of the Indianapolis 500. Alex Palou managed to win in this extremely different race. However, Josef Newgarden stays the championship leader as the race didn’t award any points.
The Thermal Club’s Twin Palms layout presents a formidable challenge. This 3.067-mile (4.82-kilometer) track incorporates most of the South Palm circuit while adding a demanding new section, resulting in a total of 19 turns. Sweeping corners, tight bends, long straightaways, and elevation changes combine to create a rigorous test for both drivers and engineers.
$500,000 but no championship points was the price for the winner
The Spaniard took home the purse that was at stake in the second round of the IndyCar: a juicy prize of half a million dollars. It doesn’t count for the championship, but it does for the morale of the troops… and for the bank account of the driver and team. Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) pocketed the $500,000 that was up for grabs today for the 27 drivers of the 2024 IndyCar at the 1 Million Dollar Challenge at The Thermal Club. A non-scoring event, but with a purse of $1.75 million. Way more than a moral price for an event with no points to score for the Indycar championship.
The biggest bite went to the Spaniard, the reigning IndyCar champion, who dominated an event that was on the verge of being a big fiasco due to a loophole in the rules: several drivers made the strategy of going for a “walk” in the first part of the final to have better tires in the second. And seeing if it worked for them was the biggest excitement of a weekend where the drivers were expected to go all out in all the sprint races.
Romain Grosjean was involved in a accident but wasn’t the one to blame
The first heat started with intensity because before Turn 1 there was the first accident: Dixon pushed Grosjean, who made a strike with Rinus VeeKay and caused the first yellow, which conditioned the heat.
The Frenchman and the Dutchman said goodbye to the prize (also Dixon, who was penalized with a drive through), while Rosenqvist and McLaughlin secured their first two places and Newgarden, third, and Herta, sixth, were the most favored by the fight. In fact, the four plus Lundgaard and Canapino were the ones who made it to the final.
Palou had no problems winning his heat. The two Ganassi, who formed the front row, blocked the options of the rest at the start, safely completed the first turn and launched themselves towards the double in their series. The most interesting fight was behind, with the three McLarens fighting among themselves to progress. All three started outside the top 6…
With Palou (who put five seconds on Armstrong, with the same car, in 10 laps) they got into the final Grahal (¡¡almost 17 behind the Spaniard!!, Lundqvist, Fittipaldi and Rossi, who managed to get a McLaren into the fight for the purse.
Strategy was on point for Alex Palou and granted him victory
The situation was perfect for Palou in the final because, having set the best time of the 27 drivers in the early morning qualifying, he also started on pole position for the decisive heat.
Alex Palou started strong again and put distance between himself and McLaughlin, who took second place at the start by beating Rosenqvist. But the surprise came from behind, with several drivers deliberately slowing down the pace to conserve fresher tires for the second part of the race (where everyone regrouped). Suffice it to say that the last three, Canapino (9th), Herta (10th) and Fittipaldi (11th) finished more than a minute behind Palou at the end of the first half.
A smart strategy… but not enough to compensate for Palou‘s faster pace, who gave no chance to McLaughlin on the restart… or to anyone coming from behind with fresher Firestones. The best in that “alternative” strategy was Herta, who climbed to 4th place in the race (awarded $100,000), but with no options against Palou.
The Spaniard was more than satisfied with the result, especially because the team had another perfect weekend: “I’m super happy. We’ve been very fast all weekend, everyone in the team has done a great job,” he acknowledged. Regarding the strategy, he acknowledged that he was surprised by so much management, but they adapted to it: “I expected everyone to attack a bit more, but we saw people saving and we played that game too in the first stint. The tires came good enough at the end, there was little traction behind, but enough for the half million,” he said.
The classic Long Beach circuit is the next date for Indycar
The IndyCar will return to its conventional format. the competitive one, on April 21st at one of the classic urban circuits of the championship: Long Beach.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach features a challenging 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit. This course winds around the Long Beach Convention Center, which transforms into a Family Fun Zone with displays during race weekend. The track also stretches down scenic Shoreline Drive, offering breathtaking views.
Overtaking opportunities abound throughout the circuit, with Turn 1 being particularly crucial. Mastering this tight hairpin turn just before the frontstretch is essential for gaining an edge on competitors.
Guillermo Lorenzo Manzano
