IndyCar starting lineup: Will Power won the pole position Friday for the GMR Grand Prix, his 64th career pole position and sixth on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
The Team Penske driver turned a 1-minute, 9.7664-second lap on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile layout to earn the top starting spot for Saturday’s race (3 p.m. ET, NBC) in his No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet, bumping defending series champion Alex Palou (1:09.8090) from the top spot late in the final round.
Palou was the only Honda driver to reach the Fast Six final round of qualifying. Josef Newgarden, who can earn a $1 million bonus with a victory Saturday, qualified third, followed by Conor Daly (in a season-best qualifying result), Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist.
TIRE DESIGNATIONS: Primary or alternate choices for today’s race
QUALIFYING RESULTS: Overall speeds for the GMR Grand Prix l Round 1, Group 1 l Round 1, Group 2 l Round 2 l Fast Six
GMR GRAND PRIX: Details for watching Saturday’s race
Power, who also has five wins on the IMS road course, is the fifth pole-sitter through five races this season in the NTT IndyCar Series.
He is three poles away from tying Mario Andretti’s all-time mark of 67 pole positions.
“That is the fun of this series,” Power said. “It’s so tight. When you get a pole these days, you know you’ve done a really good job. The team has done a great job. I’m super stoked. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a pole on a road course. Yeah man, I worked hard for that one.
Most @INDYCAR poles of all time:
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 13, 2022
1. @MarioAndretti - 67
2. @12WillPower - 64
3. A.J. Foyt - 53
Power will lead the field to green in Saturday's GMR Grand Prix of @IMS at 3P ET on @NBC and @peacockTV. pic.twitter.com/bRHl2RYOgg
“I feel so privileged to get so close to (Andretti). I never thought I’d get there. He’s an absolute legend of the sport.
“It would be such an honor to match or surpass him. To be up there with names like Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt is something I wouldn’t have imagined when I started my career.”
Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s GMR Grand Prix on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, speed):
ROW 1
1. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:09.7664 (125.854 mph)
2. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:09.8090 (125.777)
ROW 2
3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:09.8343 (125.732)
4. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:09.9063 (125.602)
ROW 3
5. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:10.0546 (125.337)
6. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:10.0605 (125.326)
ROW 4
7. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:09.6530 (126.059)
8. (30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:09.6594 (126.048)
ROW 5
9. (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:09.6899 (125.992)
10. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:09.7100 (125.956)
ROW 6
11. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:09.7847 (125.821)
12. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:10.2950 (124.908)
ROW 7
13. (51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:09.8239 (125.751)
14. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:09.8527 (125.699)
ROW 8
15. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:09.9550 (125.515)
16. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:09.9178 (125.582)
ROW 9
17. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:10.1306 (125.201)
18. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:09.9294 (125.561)
ROW 10
19. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:10.1417 (125.181)
20. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 01:09.9717 (125.485)
ROW 11
21. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:10.1694 (125.131)
22. (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 01:10.1954 (125.085)
ROW 12
23. (6) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 01:10.7610 (124.085)
24. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:10.4755 (124.588)
ROW 13
25. (11) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 01:11.0020 (123.664)
26. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:10.7187 (124.160)
ROW 14
27. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:11.4599 (122.872)