
Arrow McLAREN $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club: Race Preview
"I'm excited that we're going back this year for a really different and cool event"

Big money is on the line.
This is not a normal race event, but an exhibition race with a total purse of $1.756 million!
The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team will be on track at The Thermal Club ahead of the Saturday and Sunday's $1 Million Challenge. Testing on both Friday and Saturday, the team will prep for qualifying on Saturday evening in preparation for two respective heat races and the All Star Race on Sunday.
Pato O'Ward, Callum Ilott and Alexander Rossi will be piloting their respective Arrow McLaren Chevrolets.
See what the drivers and Team Principal Gavin Ward are saying about the chance to take home some big bucks in California.
Location | Thermal, California |
Race Date | March 24 |
Round | Exhibition |
Total Laps | 20 laps |
Total Race Distance | 61.34 miles / 98.81Â km |
Length | 3.067Â miles / 4.94Â km |
Number of Turns | 17 |

Pato O'Ward, Driver, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Season Statistics
Championship Position | 2nd | 40 points |
Average Starting Position | 3.0 | Â |
Average Finishing Position | 2.0 | Â |
Best Starting Position | 3rd | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
Best Finishing Position | 2nd | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
"I'm ready to go to The Thermal Club, where we're racing for some cash. It's going to be a cool event, I'm sure. The facility is world class and I think there are a lot of people that are excited to see the NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing here. I'm looking forward to this new event and making it a good weekend for our team."

Callum Ilott, Driver, No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Season Statistics
Championship Position | 13th | 17 points |
Average Starting Position | 16.0 | Â |
Average Finishing Position | 13.0 | Â |
Best Starting Position | 16th | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
Best Finishing Position | 13th | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
"I'm looking forward to Thermal quite a lot. It's going to be an interesting weekend that not a lot of us are used to, but it's an exciting, new challenge that we have. Obviously, we all tested there at the beginning of last year, and it's quite a fun race track. I'm not sure how it's going to be on the racing side, but by the way the heat races and final race are set up, it's more like sprint racing anyway, so qualifying is going to be quite important. It's going to be good fun, for sure. I'm looking forward to getting to work with Arrow McLaren again in the No. 6 NTT DATA Chevrolet."

Alexander Rossi, Driver, No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Season Statistics
Championship Position | 8th | 22 points |
Average Starting Position | 15.0 | Â |
Average Finishing Position | 8.0 | Â |
Best Starting Position | 15th | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
Best Finishing Position | 8th | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
"Going back to The Thermal Club is something that I think everyone has been really excited about. It's rare that you get a completely new format in motorsports, especially when there is $1 million on the line. It's going to be a cool event and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve."
Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren
"After testing at The Thermal Club last year, I'm excited that we're going back this year for a really different and cool event. I don't think anyone in the series has ever been part of something like this before, and I have to give props to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for trying something new. We'll all get the opportunity to get a lot of testing in, which I think we need if we're going to race here. Even though this race isn't for points, it's a great chance for us to build off the foundation we laid in St. Pete and bring home some cash while we're at it."
On-track Session Times
Open Test Practice 1 | Friday, 12:00-2:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Open Test Practice 2 | Friday, 5:00-8:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Open Test Practice 3 | Saturday, 12:00-2:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Open Test Practice 4 | Saturday, 4:00-6:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Qualifying | Saturday, 8:00-8:45 p.m. ET | Peacock |
Race Tune In | Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET | NBC |
Race 1 - Heat Race | Sunday, 12:36 p.m. ET | NBC |
Race 2 - Heat Race | Sunday, 1:10 p.m. ET | NBC |
All Star Race | Sunday, 2:00 p.m. ET | NBC |