McLaughlin, Armstrong claim front row starts for $1 Million Challenge heats

Scott McLaughlin and Marcus Armstrong will start from second in their respective heats for the IndyCar $1 Million Challenge at the Thermal Club in California.

McLaughlin joined compatriot Scott Dixon in a star-studded Group 1 lineup, which determined the grid for Monday morning’s opening heat.

Felix Rosenqvist was fastest in the session, his best lap of 1:38.5831 topping McLaughlin’s by just 0.0237 seconds.

Dixon had set the early benchmark with a 1:39.7074 to lead entering the final minutes but dropped down the order to qualify ninth as late times came in.

Armstrong and Tom Blomqvist ran in Group 2, which was topped by defending champion Alex Palou’s 1:38.5675.

Armstrong finished second, with his teammate two-tenths quicker, while Blomqvist impressed for fifth.

A red flag for a Marcus Ericsson crash with two minutes remaining delayed proceedings, with the Andretti Global car spinning out and making contact with the Turn 8 tyre wall, sustaining heavy damage.

McLaren’s Callum Ilott and Pato O’Ward had led the way prior to the red flag but dropped down to order once proceedings resumed and late times came in.

IndyCar returns to the track for two ten-lap heat races on Monday morning, with the top six drivers from each progressing to the All-Star race, where they’ll compete for a total prize purse of over US$1.7 million.

The event is a non-points round for IndyCar, and the purse is the second largest of the year, only behind the Indy 500.

Heat race action begins at 5.15 am on Monday (NZ time), with the All-Star race at 6.50 am.

All sessions will be shown live on Sky Sport.

Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge Heat 1 Grid

Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge Heat 2 Grid

Header Image: IndyCar