Scott McLaughlin wins first career IndyCar pole, topping Will Power in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Scott McLaughlin outdueled teammate and qualifying ace Will Power to win his first NTT IndyCar Series career pole Saturday in Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying.

The second-year driver from New Zealand nipped Power by a tenth of a second as Team Penske’s Dallara-Chevrolets earned a front-row lockout for Sunday’s season opener (noon ET, NBC).

“I love qualifying, you have to put it all on the line,” McLaughlin told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “Super proud of everyone. I feel confident. I’m a competitive bloke, so I hate starting in the back, but it’s a new thing for me.

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“I’ll be starting from the front leading a group to the first corner. I’m used to braking with people in front of me, so I’ll have to make sure I don’t overshoot it like an idiot, but we’ll have fun. Appreciate all the fans coming out and can’t wait for tomorrow. Show’s going to be big.”

McLaughlin said Sunday would be the first time he led a rolling start to the green flag in more than 12 years.

In his first 17 IndyCar races, the three-time champion of Australia’s Supercars series (which uses standing starts) had a previous best start of fifth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. That was the only time he made the Fast Six final round in qualifying last season as a rookie and his only top-10 start on qualifying speed.

Power, who has 63 career pole positions ranking second all-time behind Mario Andretti’s 67), said he just got beat by his teammate on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street course in downtown St. Petersburg.

From @supercars to @IndyCar, @smclaughlin93 is FAST.

The three-time