Palou Dominates Thermal Sprint for the Purse, Pockets $500,000 – Motorsports Tribune

By INDYCAR

THERMAL, Calif.  – In a race of varying strategies, pure speed paid off for Alex Palou with a lucrative victory Sunday in the Sprint for the Purse at The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge.

Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned $500,000 for the victory in the non-points exhibition event at The Thermal Club, a private motorsports club near Palm Springs, California. Palou led all 20 laps of the Sprint for the Purse from the pole, driving his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 5.7929-second victory over the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet of Scott McLaughlin, who earned $350,000 for his runner-up finish.

SEE: Race Results | Heat 1 Results | Heat 2 Results

“The car was amazing,” Palou said. “I was a bit surprised how the competitors did the first 10 laps, saving tires. I was like: ‘All right, that’s our game. I like it.’ Super proud of the 10 car and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing.”

Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the podium finishers in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing, earning $250,000. Rosenqvist and Palou each won heat races earlier today that trimmed the 27-car field to 12 drivers for the Sprint for the Purse on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile circuit at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Colton Herta placed fourth and earned $100,000 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global after deliberately finishing more than 90 seconds behind Palou in the first 10-lap segment of the Sprint for the Purse to save his Firestone Firehawk tires. Tire changes were not allowed during the break between 10-lap segments, and Herta and about half of the field in the 12-car feature opted for a slower, tire-saving strategy in the opening 10 laps on the abrasive circuit.

“I think our strategy worked,” Herta said. “We were talking about it on pure pace, maybe we can move up six spots at most. If we get a little lucky and cars have some problems, but if we save the tires, we might get a little more. Obviously, the tire advantage was pretty big, so we were able to pick off everybody on the way up there.”

Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, as CGR was the only team with two drivers in the top five. Armstrong earned $50,000.

Palou never was challenged in either of the two segments, jumping away from the field on the start on Lap 1 and restart on Lap 11. Tire wear didn’t appear to…