An ecstatic Will Power has claimed his first pole position at the home of American motorsport, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Australian moved into the box seat for this weekend's Grand Prix of Indianapolis thanks to a lap of one minute and 9.4886 seconds on the 14-turn road course at the venerated precinct.
Power's time was a track record for the 2.439 mile circuit, which is at the same location as the famous Speedway where this month's iconic Indianapolis 500 will be held.
It's Power's second pole of the season and 38th overall in his IndyCar career but first in nine races at Indianapolis, including seven starts in the Indy 500.
"It's a great feeling," Power said.
"There are four sessions we want to be P1 in this month, and this is the first one."
Power dominated Friday's (Saturday AM AEST) qualifying, topping the timesheets in each of the three 10-minute sessions.
Surprisingly, Power's pole-setting lap came on older tyres, a decision which the defending IndyCar champion admitted had been a gamble.
"Tim (Cindric, Team Penske president) said 'why don't we take the chance'," Power said.
"This is Indianapolis. We've got to go for it.
"As a team, our decision was to take the risk. Worst-case, we are sixth or seventh.
"In the end, it didn't matter. We won the pole on old tyres."
Power will start this weekend's race alongside New Zealand's Scott Dixon in the front-row of the 25-car field.
His three Penske teammates are all in the top five, with Helio Castroneves third, Juan Pablo Montoya fourth and Simon Pagenaud fifth.
"It's four guys right together. It's why we're right in the front," Power said.
"We're pushing each other hard, learning from each other, this is the result."
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