‘I sent it’: Power beats McLaughlin to end IndyCar pole drought

The Australian, who has the most IndyCar pole positions of all-time, broke his drought dating back to July, 2023 at Iowa Speedway.

Power clocked a 180.577mph two-lap average to edge out McLaughlin who set a 180.391mph average.

It’s the 71st pole position for Power and the 700th for Team Penske across all series.

“I sent it — a lot,” said Power.

“I knew you would have to. I tried to be flat through [Turn] 3 and 4, which I wasn’t quite flat but very, very close.

“It’s cool man. Cool. It’s been a while since I’ve had a pole. Really excited for the Verizon #12 car. Chevy did a great job with power and hopefully we can execute in the race.

“It would be awesome to get a win here.”

It’s the fifth pole for Power at Gateway. However, for all the one-lap pace he’s had, Power has only won once at the oval in 2018 when he started from fourth.

Teammate McLaughlin was pleased with his effort.

The Kiwi has never finished outside the top five at Gateway with finishes of fourth, third, fifth, and second since his debut in 2021.

“Great run from Will, great run from the team,” said McLaughlin after his run.

“Obviously, you want to be on pole yourself, but when you have two cars smoking at 180mph top speed average is pretty awesome.

“Proud of the team, and we’ll start up the front, regardless.”

IndyCar Series leader Alex Palou was only ninth for Chip Ganassi Racing in a session dominated by Chevrolet.

The top five positions were occupied by the bowtie brand with Marcus Armstrong the top Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in sixth ahead of his teammate Felix Rosenqvist in seventh.

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 gets underway at 10am AEST on Monday, June 16 with coverage live and exclusively on Stan Sport.

Results: IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500, Qualifying