The 2024 $1 Million Challenge was a non-championship round held as part of the
2024 IndyCar Series
The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series was the 113th official championship season of American Championship car racing, American open wheel racing and the 29th season under IndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event was the 2024 Indianapolis 500, 108th ru ...
. The race was held on March 24, 2024 at the
Thermal Club private race resort in
Thermal, California
Thermal is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California, United States, located approximately southeast of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs and about north of ...
. The feature race consisted of 20 laps and was won by
Álex Palou
Álex Palou Montalbo (; born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 IndyCar Series, 2021, 2023 IndyCar Series, 2023, and 2024 IndyCar Series, 2024 championships a ...
.
It was the seventh American championship open-wheel racing event in Riverside County, the first since the
1983 Budweiser 500K, held in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, about 75 miles northwest of the
Coachella Valley
The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...
where the Thermal Club is located.
Entry list
Qualifying
Qualifying started at 5:00 PM
PT on March 23, 2024. The 27 entries were divided into two groups determined by a random draw, with each group competing in separate heat races.
Drivers were permitted to use up to 40 seconds of
push-to-pass
Push-to-pass is a mechanism on a race car which provides the driver with the ability to increase the car's power for short periods, usually via a button on the steering wheel. The system is designed to make overtaking easier, and hence make the sp ...
, marking the first time competitors have been allowed to use PTP during an IndyCar quali session.
Heat 1 Qualifying
* Group 1
; Notes
* Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.
Heat 2 Qualifying
* Group 2
; Notes
* Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.
Results
The event started at 9:15 am PT on March 24, 2024.
Each heat race was 10 laps or 20 minutes. The top six finishers from each heat advanced to the All-Star Race. The faster of the two heat winners in qualifying earned pole for the feature race, and determined grid positioning. The feature race was 20 laps, with a half-time break at lap 10.
Heat 1
Heat 2
All-Star Race
Footnotes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2024 1 Million Challenge
$1 Million Challenge
$1 Million Challenge
$1 Million Challenge
$1 Million Challenge