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Perhaps the most unique race weekend in IndyCar racing history is coming up Friday through Sunday near Palm Springs.
At the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains is The Thermal Club, a private racing club and luxury resort.
The $1 Million Challenge event includes a two-day Open Test, group qualifying sessions, two heat races, and a 12-car “all-star” exhibition race with $1.756 million at stake – the largest purse for an IndyCar race other than the Indianapolis 500.
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The Twin Palms layout at the Thermal Club is a 3.067-mile raceway. It includes most of that South Palm circuit and adds a highly demanding trajectory on top for a total of 19 turns. The layout consists of sweepers, tight corners, long straightaways, and elevation changes — providing a tough driving and engineering challenge.
NBC is televising Sunday’s 20-lap, 61.34-mile all-star race.
The series tested at the members-only club in 2023 to gauge its readiness to host a race.
On March 10, Team Penske silenced recent criticism aimed at series leadership by dominating the IndyCar season-opening race with a Josef Newgarden win from the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
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