Was the IndyCar Thermal Grand Prix a One-Hit Wonder?
In March 2024, Álex Palou won the $1 Million Challenge, a 20-lap, made-for-TV race at The Thermal Club. The winner was not exactly a surprise, but his postrace comments were. He dedicated the jackpot to buying diapers for his baby, Lucia. Palou then blasted through the season and won the NTT IndyCar Series for the third time in four years.
The Thermal Club is taking the expression “build it and they will come” to new lengths — or, considering its elevation of 115 feet below sea level, depths. Last February, the private club welcomed the NTT IndyCar Series for an exhibition race, dubbed The Million...
You can call 5K runs demanding and worthy feats. But the race director of the Palm Springs Aerial Tram Road Challenge says nothing compares to his October event, when hundreds of people walk and run 3.7 miles on a course with an 1,840-foot elevation gain to reach the...
At sunrise on a Sunday morning in late March, as the San Jacinto Mountains tinged with a purple glow, the eastern end of the Coachella Valley sat shrouded in a shimmering haze. Dust. The fallout of a windy weekend with temperatures that fell almost 15 degrees...
Morgan Parrill remembers “visible twisters, like tornadoes on the water” during the Salton Sea’s only sailboat regatta, held April 18–19, 1964. “It was blowing 40 to 50 knots, and a lot of boats were capsizing,” Parrill recalls of the first day. At 10 years old, he...
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the weirdest of times at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open this month (March 3–17). A new attendance record was set at nearly half a million. Rain disrupted play on several days, and people donned puffer jackets more...
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Indian Wells Tennis Garden director of tennis Jai Nettimi instructs two budding players.PHOTOS BY BRIDGET MILLER PHOTOGRAPHYOne need not appear in the BNP Paribas Open (March 6–19) to sling rackets on the courts often referred to by the world’s top...
Desirae Krawczyk returns to the Coachella Valley a champion.COURTESY WTA.As members of a minority that represents only 10 percent of the human population, left-handers seldom get a break. The dumb jokes. The backward spiral notebooks. The upside-down...
Last March, en route to an astonishing 37 consecutive match wins and six consecutive tournament titles, Polish tennis player Iga Świątek claimed the women’s title at the BNP Paribas Open tournament. American Taylor Fritz won the men’s, beating three-time champion...
Modernism WeekThrough Feb. 26 / Modernism is around us all year, but this design festival celebrating the Coachella Valley's defining architectural styles allows guests to venture into some of the desert's most historic homes. Tours, talks, and other...
Joe Durant had a rude awakening early in the 1993 pro golf season. He was 28, in his first year as a regular on the PGA Tour after struggling on the minor league tours for much of six years. Confidence was an issue, as it is for almost all new touring...
Coachella Valley Firebirds coach Dan Bylsma's pro hockey playing and coaching career covers 30 years.PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHELDON SABBATINIthe valleySPORTSundefinedIt’s mid-September, and Coachella Valley Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma is packing his bags,...
Eddie “El Gato" Elguera skates the Desert Combi bowl at X Park in La Quinta.PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRANDON HARMANBasketball has Magic Johnson. Baseball has Jackie Robinson. Golf has Arnold Palmer. In every sport, there are pioneers and those who follow. These...
Simple rules make it easy for new players to pick up the sport. Competition among friends makes it addictive.PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGESWhat do you get when you cross professional tennis with badminton and ping-pong? Unless you’ve been living under a...
The $4.64 million skatepark is located across from La Quinta High School and will feature a concrete pump track that wraps around a pair of water retention basins that will not be high enough to serve as obstacles or hazards.ILLUSTRATION BY SPOHN...
The free, all-day rodeo at Morongo includes team roping, barrel racing, and breakaway roping, among others.PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANSAmateur and professional ropers and riders will compete for cash prizes at the ninth annual...
Longtime Indian Wells resident Tom Flores' selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame will become official on Feb. 7.PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUNE KIMAs he approaches the moment that he has long coveted, Tom Flores uses a nice, tidy phrase that captures both his...
There was a time when the Davis Cup of tennis was a huge deal, big enough to create headlines, stars, and controversy. One such time was the 1978 final, which, to the chagrin of the international tennis world and the elitist East Coast tennis press, was...
The H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, a private foundation that supports educational and other charitable projects, and Oak View Group (OVG), the global venue development, advisory, and investment company for the sports and live entertainment...
Editor’s Note: Check the websites prior to traveling to any of these outdoor destinations to learn their protocols in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.Tee TimeDesert Willow Golf ResortDesigned by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Dry (along with Southern...
