Two-time and reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing easily won heat two of Sunday’s $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club in Thermal, Calif.
The driver of the No. 10 Honda defeated CGR teammate Marcus Armstrong’s No. 11 Honda by 5.337 seconds.
Armstrong finished 12 seconds ahead of Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was third in the No. 15 Honda followed by his two teammates, Christian Lundgaard in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda and Pietro Fittipaldi in the No. 30 Honda.
Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren finished sixth in the No. 7 Chevrolet and was the last driver to advance into the $1 Million Challenge.
The second heat got off to a clean start, but some aggressive racing because the start was the best opportunity to pass around the long, 17-turn, 3.067-mile road course at The Thermal Club in Thermal, California.
But Palou was able to hold his position starting from the pole.
The real battle involved the three Arrow McLaren teammates who were battling for seventh, eighth and ninth as only the top six from each Heat advance into the $1 Million Challenge. Those drivers included Callum Ilott in seventh, Rossi eighth and Pato O’Ward ninth.
Up front, Palou pulled away from his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Armstrong by 2.117 seconds after three laps. Rahal was third.
On the third lap, Rossi popped out behind Ilott and made a clean pass to get up to seventh place. One lap later, Rossi squeezed the sixth-place car, driven by Tom Blomqvist of Meyer Shank Racing, to move into the transfer position with six laps left.
With five laps to go, Palou led Armstrong by 3.818 seconds. Rahal was third, 12.693 seconds back followed by his teammates, Lundgaard and Fittipaldi.
Rossi was maintaining sixth, but O’Ward was rapidly approaching. Rossi had just one second left of “Push to Pass” and O’Ward had five seconds of “PoP” left to utilize.
It didn’t matter, though, as Rossi advanced.
Missing the $1 Million Challenge are O’Ward, Blomqvist, Ilott, Christian Rasmussen, Kyffin Simpson, Marcus Ericsson and Colin Braun.
Felix Rosenqvist won the first heat moments prior to heat two.
The 20-lap, two-segment $1 Million Challenge is next.