Will Power rockets to Mid-Ohio IndyCar Pole

Will Power outdid his rivals with a blitzing qualifying performance in qualifications for tomorrow’s Honda 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The Aussie was one of Team Penske’s three Chevrolet-powered bullets in the Firestone Fast Six along with Simon Pagenaud and points leader Josef Newgarden. Championship rival Alexander Rossi led the charge for Honda with Felix Rosenqvist and Sebastien Bourdais making it in as well.

Rossi, who won at Mid-Ohio a year ago, set the early pace with a set of fresh red tyres at his disposal. He cleared the field by nearly three tenths with a lap of 1 minute 5.5317 seconds while Power opted for scrubbed reds.

Power capitalized by using broken in reds as the track gripped up and displaced the Andretti Autosport driver by .3748s with a lap of 1:05.5317s.

The pole is the 57th of Power’s career and puts him just 10 behind all-time pole leader Mario Andretti and his first since he claimed the first two poles of the year at St. Petersburg and COTA.

The driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet felt overjoyed to stand tall amidst a rough season where he has yet to score a win.

“Man it's been such a bad year, so disappointing,” he said.. “I have such a fire burning in me when I do a lap like that and within mind everyone has had such a great year.” “Just sticking it to them, man. I don't care. It just beats you down in the year where you just keep having these bad runs.”

Power’s performance dropped Rossi to second ahead of the rest of the Penske brigade of Josef Newgarden in third and Simon Pagenaud in fourth. Bourdais’ ended up fifth after making his first Fast Six since Barber in April while Rosenqvist rounded out the top six.

Colton Herta looked to contend for the pole after leading two of the practice sessions heading into qualifying. The Harding Steinbrenner Racing driver missed the Firestone Fast Six by .0034s and will line up seventh on the grid.

Five-time Mid-Ohio winner Scott Dixon struggled to find grip on his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and ended up eighth. Behind him is the Meyer-Shank Racing driver Jack Harvey in ninth in his first start since Road America nearly a month ago while Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay completed the top ten.