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IndyCar sets Thermal race format

The NTT IndyCar Series' first non-points event in 16 years will be settled with a 20-lap race for a share of $1.756 million at The Thermal Club.

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At a draw party, Thursday, March 21, The Thermal Club members will be paired with the 27 full-time teams scheduled to test and compete Friday, March 22-Sunday, March 24. Members will be embedded with their respective teams with immersive integration, including but not limited to team meetings, driver question-and-answer sessions, racecraft instruction and tips, and use of premium, authentic race team gear. A previously announced sharing of total prize money between paired members and drivers who finish in the top five will not occur but will not impact the purse total for drivers and teams.

Announced earlier, the total driver and team portion of prize money for The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge:

Total: $1.756 million (Largest purse in IndyCar Series history outside of Indy 500)

First Place: $500,000
Second Place: $350,000
Third Place: $250,000
Fourth Place: $100,000
Fifth Place: $50,000
Sixth through 27th Place: $23,000 each

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The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge Qualifying

The Thursday, March 21 draw party also will include a random draw to divide the field into two groups. Each group for qualifying, which starts at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, March 23, receives a 12-minute qualifying session on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile layout to determine the starting order of their respective heat race the following day.

For the first time in a NTT IndyCar Series qualifying session, push-to-pass will be available to the drivers, with each driver receiving 40 seconds.

The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge Heat Races

Two IndyCar Series heat races at 12:30pm ET Sunday, March 24 will determine the 12-car field for The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge. It is the first time since 2013 (Iowa Speedway) that heat racing has been featured in the IndyCar Series.

Each heat race will consist of 10 laps or be timed at 20 minutes. Laps under full course yellow will not count; however, the race clock will continue. A lap is deemed complete when the leader crosses the start-finish line. The cars' position on track will be determined by the last timeline crossed on track at the moment of the full course yellow condition.

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As in qualifying, cars will receive 40 seconds of push-to-pass in each race.

The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge

The top six advancing cars from each heat race will make up the 12-car field for The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge. The pole position and odd number starting positions are determined by the heat race winner, with the fastest time from qualifications occupying the pole and the remainder of that heat race line up in positions 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

The final will consist of 20 laps divided into two 10-lap sprint segments with a 10-minute "halftime" break following the completion of lap 10.

During the break, all cars will return to their pit boxes and only allowed to:

Add Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel
Adjust front and rear wing angles and wickers
Adjust tire pressure
Attend to the driver
All rules from the heat races will apply except:

A time limit shall not apply.
40 seconds of push-to-pass will be reset after the "halftime" break.
During the second 10-lap segment, should a full course yellow occur, the cars' actual position on track will determine the restart lineup.
Tires used during the heat race will be the replacement tire for the final, if needed and approved by IndyCar.

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Forsythe to buy remaining Long Beach stake; commits event to IndyCar

Any efforts by NASCAR, IndyCar, or Formula 1 to gain control of the 50-percent share of the Long Beach Grand Prix made available by the estate of the late Kevin Kalkhoven will not meet their desired outcome.

Gerald Forsythe, who purchased the country's biggest street race with Kalkhoven in the 2000s, says the event's fate will be settled in a different way.

"The estate has agreed to sell its 50% to me," the industrialist and former owner of the Champ Car series told RACER. "If [any series] has its sights on Long Beach please tell them to look elsewhere. This [is] an IndyCar event, and it will be into the future."

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Arrow McLaren announced April 29 it has released driver David Malukas from his 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES contract.

Malukas, from Chicago, joined the team after the 2023 season but never competed for Arrow McLaren after he suffered an injured left wrist that required surgical repairs in a mountain bike accident Feb. 11, less than a month before the season started March 10.

The team statement said Malukas was released "due to him being unavailable for the entirety of the season to date, with no confirmed return date, as a result of a left wrist injury, which occurred February 11, in a mountain biking incident."

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