Felix Rosenqvist and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou secured pole positions in Saturday’s qualifying sessions for the two heat races that will set the field for The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge on Sunday.

Rosenqvist continued his strong start to the 2024 season by taking the pole for the first 10-lap heat race with a best lap of 1 minute, 38.5831 seconds in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda. The Swede will be joined on the front row by Scott McLaughlin, who qualified second at 1:38.6068 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.

Palou seized the pole for the second heat race with the overall fastest qualifying lap of 1:38.5675 in his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. His teammate Marcus Armstrong will start alongside him on the front row after qualifying second at 1:38.7575.

The heat race winners will earn the right to start from the front row for the Sprint for the Purse, a 20-lap feature race divided into two segments that awards a staggering $500,000 to the winner.

Qualifying was split into two groups, with both facing tricky changing wind conditions that blew dust and sand across the 17-turn, 3.067-mile desert circuit near Palm Springs, California. Marcus Ericsson spun and hit the barriers in the second group session, bringing out a red flag that froze the clock with just over a minute remaining.

Christian Lundgaard was the fourth-fastest in the opening group at 1:38.6394 after being quickest overall in the two practice sessions on Friday. Rinus VeeKay and Graham Rahal rounded out the top three starters for the respective heat races.

Live coverage of the unique $1 Million Challenge format featuring the two heat races and the Sprint for the Purse begins Sunday at 12:30 pm ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.