Power's late qualifying run puts him on pole for Indy GP

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Will Power never imagined he'd be closing in on Mario Andretti's IndyCar career record for poles.

Now he's just three short of tying the IndyCar icon.

The Australian used his final qualifying lap Friday to move past five drivers and claim the top starting spot for the IndyCar Grand Prix.

His fast lap of 1 minute, 9.7664 seconds on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course knocked defending series champ and points leader Alex Palou to second. The Spaniard went 1:09.8090.

“I feel so privileged to get so close to him. I never thought I'd get there," Power said, referring to Andretti. “We'll just keep chipping away at it, we know that it's there. Honestly, I feel pretty blessed to get this close."

First, though, the Team Penske driver has bigger goals for Saturday — like winning his first race of the season. Power has won on this course four of the previous five times he started from the top qualifying spot, and he's trying to extend Chevrolet's dominance this season.

All four race winners have been powered by Chevy-powered cars and six of the first seven cars on the 27-car grid use Chevrolet engines. The lone exception is Palou, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I wanted to get pole but I knew we always lack a little bit on used reds, perhaps because I don’t have a lot of experience," the 25-year-old said. "But I’m not surprised that it’s Will on the pole.”

Power is the fifth different pole-winner in five races and there was nothing simple or easy about claiming this one on another unseasonably warm, sunny day. Tires wore down quickly in the heat, and Power believes they will again Saturday — if it doesn't rain.

And it wasn't just Palou he had to hold off, either.

Josef Newgarden,