Will Power won his third straight Indy 300 pole position Saturday, overtaking Scott Dixon with seconds left in qualifying.
The Team Australia driver had a time of one minute, 34.9451 on his final lap on the 2.8-mile, 14-turn circuit. Dixon, the Indy 500 winner, had his fastest time on the previous lap, but Power was 0.82 seconds quicker to take the pole for Sunday’s race.
Only three pole-sitters have won the Australian race - Nigel Mansell in 1993, Jimmy Vasser in 1996 and Dario Franchitti in 1999.
“We’ve been really fast all week,” said Power, who led both practice sessions Friday. “I just hope we can hold it all together tomorrow.”
Australian Ryan Briscoe was third, followed by Franchitti, who is making his return to open-wheel racing from an aborted stint in NASCAR.
“It was pretty messy out there,” said Briscoe, who just sneaked into the second round of qualifying by finishing sixth in the first group.
But the only female driver in this year’s race, Danica Patrick, will start from the back of the grid on Sunday after a nightmare qualifying session.
American Patrick twice hit the wall in her session and failed to complete a full lap or post a time.
She will start from 23rd spot in the 24-car field.
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