IndyCar Gateway: Power takes 67th pole, matches Andretti’s record

Power set the only 182mph opening lap with a 182.366 and his second lap was a 183.089 – an average of 182.727mph - which landed the Penske driver his fourth pole position of the season, and the 67th of his career.

Rookie Devlin DeFrancesco clocked a 179.531mph average for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport to sit top after the first seven cars had run, continuing his fine work from the practice session and last week’s rookie test.

Takuma Sato of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR was next to top the times, turning a 180.476mph lap followed by a 179.623mph to give him the first average to crack the 180mph barrier, although he admitted he’d had to work hard to contain his car’s handling traits.

David Malukas, in the Coyne with HMD car, was unable to match Sato's time, nor beat fellow rookie DeFrancesco, but he delivered a solid run to claim third at the time.

Romain Grosjean, like Sato, ran a 180mph opening lap and high 179 second lap, to slot into second, although the Frenchman will have to take a nine-place grid drop due to an early fifth engine change.

While he was able to shade teammate DeFrancesco, Colton Herta could not after having a wiggle out of Turn 3 and having to breathe the throttle.

Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

His issues were mild compared with Felix Rosenqvist who looped his car into a spin exiting Turn 2, but he remarkably kept the Arrow McLaren SP off the outside SAFER barrier, and only gently rolled backward into the inside tyre wall. Rosenqvist, a potential polesitter, will thus start the race from the back of the 26-car grid.

Alexander Rossi slotted into the Andretti Autosport cluster, behind Grosjean and DeFrancesco but ahead of Herta.

Then the second AMSP