Power on pole at Mid-Ohio, Castroneves and Dixon on third row

Autosport

Penske driver Will Power secured his fifth pole position of the 2017 IndyCar season, leading a 1-2 for the team in Mid-Ohio qualifying.

The Australian driver has yet to win at the Mid-Ohio circuit but will line up from the front of the field on Sunday, after setting the pace in the Fast Six.

Power put in a 1m04.1720s to take the 49th pole position of his career, and is now tied for fourth all-time with Bobby Unser.

His Penske team-mate Josef Newgarden, winner last time out in Toronto, was his nearest challenger, missing out on pole by just 0.1347s but landing his first front row start of the season.

Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato was the sole Andretti driver through to the final qualifying session and he finished third, ahead of Graham Rahal – who suffered a big slide on his final run.

Helio Castroneves will start fifth on the grid, with five-time Mid-Ohio winner and championship leader Scott Dixon in sixth – the only Ganassi car to make it out of the first session.

Last year’s IndyCar champion and Mid-Ohio winner Simon Pagenaud just lost out on a spot in the Fast Six by 0.0488s, and had to settle for seventh.

Toronto podium finishes James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi will start eighth and ninth, just ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was an early pacesetter in the second session.

Conor Daly and ex-F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez will start Sunday’s race from the sixth row of the grid. Charlie Kimball qualified 13th, with Marco Andretti, Ed Jones and Spencer Pigot next up.

Ganassi’s Tony Kanaan originally made it through to the second session, fifth in his group, but he lost his fastest time after causing a yellow flag with a spin at the Turn 2 hairpin.

He will therefore start 17th, just ahead of team-mate Max Chilton, JR Hildebrand, Carlos Munoz and IndyCar returnee Mikhail Aleshin.

STARTING GRID

POSDRIVERTEAMCARGAP
1Will PowerTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet1m04.1720s
2Josef NewgardenTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet0.1347s
3Takuma SatoAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda0.5072s
4Graham RahalRahal Letterman LaniganDallara/Honda0.6239s
5Helio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet0.6765s
6Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Honda1.0207s
7Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet0.1288s
8James HinchcliffeSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda0.2064s
9Alexander RossiAndretti HertaDallara/Honda0.3186s
10Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda0.3208s
11Conor DalyAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Chevrolet0.7025s
12Esteban GutierrezDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda0.8648s
13Charlie KimballChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Honda0.8210s
14Marco AndrettiAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda0.4209s
15Ed JonesDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda0.8617s
16Spencer PigotEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet0.4466s
17Tony KanaanChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Honda1.1480s
18Max ChiltonChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Honda0.6883s
19J.R. HildebrandEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet1.1662s
20Carlos MunozAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Chevrolet0.7720s
21Mikhail AleshinSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda1.0721s

Power on pole at Mid-Ohio, Castroneves and Dixon on third row

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