Will Power Wins Milestone Pole, Penske Locks Front Row at WWTR
INDYCAR
Will Power wrote another chapter in the storied history of Team Penske on Saturday during NTT P1 Award qualifying for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline, earning the team's 700th pole across all racing series while leading a front-row lockout by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES powerhouse.
Power drove to his first pole since July 2023 at Iowa Speedway and the series record-extending 71st of his career with a two-lap average speed of 180.329 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway. Scott McLaughlin qualified second at 179.783 in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet.
SEE: Qualifying Results
It was the fifth pole on the 1.25-mile WWTR oval for Power, who won this race in 2018.
'I sent it a lot,' Power said. 'I knew you would have to. You'd have to drive it flat in (Turns) 3 and 4. I wasn't quite flat, but I was very, very close.
'Cool, man. It's been awhile since I've had a pole, so really, really excited. Hopefully we can execute in the race. Man, it would be awesome to get a win here.'
The 260-lap race – the second oval event of the season – starts at 8 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
A victory by Power, McLaughlin or teammate Josef Newgarden would provide a boost for Team Penske. The winningest team in INDYCAR SERIES history hasn't visited victory lane this season, with single third-place finishes by McLaughlin, Newgarden and Power the best results.
Pato O'Ward qualified third at 179.190 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Nearly all the drivers toward the end of the 27-car qualifying line benefited from improved conditions, as the arrival of light cloud cover helped drop the track temperature by nearly 10 degrees from the start of the session.
Team Penske DNA strands were woven through most of the top five qualifiers, as David Malukas qualified fourth at 179.079 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, a team that has a technical alliance with Team Penske. Josef Newgarden, who has won this race a record five times, rounded out the top five at 178.910 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.
Marcus Armstrong will join Newgarden in Row 3 after qualifying sixth at 178.754 in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian. Armstrong was the fastest Honda-powered driver, as Chevy engines propelled the top five qualifiers.
Championship leader Alex Palou, who has won five of seven races this season, qualified ninth at 178.381 in the No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
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