A strong start in the morning and afternoon, ended in disappointment in qualifying.

The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team ran nearly 250 laps in two open test practice sessions on Saturday, finishing fourth, fifth and seventh.

Heading into qualifying for Heat 2, all three drivers anticipated strong starting positions for Sunday's 10-lap race. Ending the session seventh, eighth and ninth wasn't on Saturday's bingo card.

The money is paid on Sunday, though. The $1 Million Challenge is still up for grabs, but the three Arrow McLaren Chevrolets much find their way into the top six in Heat 2 to transfer to the All Star Race on NBC.

Alexander Rossi will start the Heat 2 race in seventh, Callum Ilott in eighth and Pato O'Ward in ninth.

Sunday's exhibition race has a total purse of $1.756 million, and the winner takes home $500,000.

See what the drivers and Team Principal Gavin Ward said after the on-track action on Saturday.

Location	Thermal, California
Race Date	March 24
Round	Exhibition
Total Laps	20 laps
Total Race Distance	61.34 miles / 98.81 km
Length	3.067 miles / 4.94 km
Number of Turns	17

Alexander Rossi, Driver, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

Open Test Practice - Day 2	5th	1:38.8104	87 laps
Qualifying Result Group 2	7th	1:39.1140
Starting Position Heat 2	7th

"I really have a hard time explaining that one. I think we were three of the fastest cars through most of the past two days, so to end up seventh, eighth and ninth is a big surprise. I think it was all for different reasons. There's nothing left to say, really. It's very surprising and frustrating. I know we have good cars, so it shouldn't be hard to go forward, but I just don't know."

Callum Ilott, Driver, No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

Open Test Practice - Day 2	4th	1:38.7784	81 laps
Qualifying Result Heat 2	8th	1:39.2575
Starting Position Heat 2	8th

"That was a tough one. We had the pace all day; the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet felt great. Unfortunately, the qualifying results didn't show that. We'll have a bit of work to do tomorrow morning to make it into the big event, but we'll be ready to get back out there and make the most of it."

Pato O'Ward, Driver, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

Open Test Practice - Day 2	7th	1:38.8775	76 laps
Qualifying Result Heat 2	9th	1:39.4293
Starting Position Heat 2	9th

"Today is probably something we've never seen before in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying. This track is even more sensitive to wind gusts than we thought, and wrong timing, I guess. Tomorrow we have no choice but to move up and fight our way into the main event."

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren

"That's tough. We got caught up in the wind, and then it died down. One thing about this sport is that it's easier in hindsight. We thought we had gotten it done in Lap 2 based on the conditions before the red flag. I have no doubt that if the session had stayed green, we'd have been looking at two cars in first and second in our group. But as it was, by the time the track came green again after the red flag, the winds had died down and the conditions favored the teams that were saving for their third lap. In hindsight, I think we should have gone back out with all our cars, but hindsight's easy. It's a bit of a different format, and we'll have to fight to make the most of tomorrow."

On-track Session Times

Race Tune In	Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET	NBC
Heat Race 1	Sunday, 12:36 p.m. ET	NBC
Heat Race 2	Sunday, 1:10 p.m. ET	NBC
All Star Race	Sunday, 2:00 p.m. ET	NBC