Power speeds to pole position at Iowa Corn 300

By Mark Robinson | Published: Jul 7, 2018

Will Power

NEWTON, Iowa – Reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power earned his second straight Verizon P1 Award at Iowa Speedway and third career pole position at the track in qualifying Saturday for the Iowa Corn 300.

The Team Penske driver also moved within one pole position of tying legendary A.J. Foyt for second on the all-time Indy car list. Power turned two laps around the 0.894-mile oval at an average speed of 182.391 mph to collect the 52nd pole position of his stellar career.

“I love this place,” said Power, who has qualified in the top three in 10 of the 11 Verizon IndyCar Series races this season and has qualified in the top 10 in 21 straight races dating to last season. “It’s a real tough little bullring oval and, man, I’ve been trying to win this (race) for so long. So, obviously, starting the race in a good spot.”

IOWA CORN 300: Qualifying results

Simon PagenaudIt was also the third pole for Power at Iowa, the most for anyone in the track’s 12-year history. It was the fourth straight Iowa pole and seventh overall for Team Penske, which has garnered 261 poles in 50-plus years of Indy car competition. No driver has won from the pole at Iowa in the previous 11 races.

Power, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, will lead an all-Team Penske front row to the green flag in Sunday’s race (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN and Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network). Josef Newgarden, the 2016 Iowa winner, qualified second in the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet at 181.160 mph.

Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay, a three-time race winner at Iowa, prevented Team Penske from sweeping the top three spots in qualifying. Hunter-Reay qualified an Iowa-best third in the No. 28 DHL Honda at 180.681 mph, with Simon Pagenaud fourth in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet at 180.313 mph.

Scott Dixon, the championship leader after 10 races with a 45-point lead over Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi, qualified sixth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (179.526 mph).

A final 60-minute practice is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET and will stream live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com, youtube.com/indycar and the INDYCAR Mobile app.