Charlie Kimball has qualified on pole for the first time in IndyCar at the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 in Texas.
Kimball was one of 19 drivers to break Will Power’s two-lap qualifying record on the newly resurfaced and reprofiled Texas Motor Speedway.
The #83 Chip Ganassi Honda driver also set a one-lap track record, breaking Gil de Ferran’s 14-year-old benchmark, as he edged team-mate Scott Dixon to pole.
“I knew we were going to have a good car; I just had to go out and get the most out of it,” said Kimball after Dixon had tested on the circuit in April.
“I think it showed because I had to make some adjustments for the balance of the car, and I had the confidence to do that and take a fairly big swing at the car for that second lap.
“I think the first lap wasn’t fast enough to beat Scott, but the second lap was.”
Tony Kanaan and Max Chilton joined their Ganassi team-mates at the pointy end of the field in qualifying fourth and sixth, respectively.
Honda dominated proceedings, taking the first eight starting positions with Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport) third-fastest and Tristan Vautier impressing in fifth in his first start since the 2015 season finale.
Power was the fastest Chevrolet driver in ninth in the #12 Team Penske entry, with team-mate Helio Castroneves rounding out the top 10.
The 248-lap race starts on Sunday at 1045 AEST.
Qualifying: Texas 600
| Pos | Driver | C/A/E/T | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Total time |
| 1 | Charlie Kimball | D/H/H/F | 23.3131 | 23.2730 | 00:46.5861 |
| 2 | Scott Dixon | D/H/H/F | 23.3090 | 23.2854 | 00:46.5944 |
| 3 | Alexander Rossi | D/H/H/F | 23.3129 | 23.2969 | 00:46.6098 |
| 4 | Tony Kanaan | D/H/H/F | 23.3444 | 23.3569 | 00:46.7013 |
| 5 | Tristan Vautier | D/H/H/F | 23.3724 | 23.3721 | 00:46.7445 |
| 6 | Max Chilton | D/H/H/F | 23.4391 | 23.3365 | 00:46.7756 |
| 7 | Mikhail Aleshin | D/H/H/F | 23.4168 | 23.3937 | 00:46.8105 |
| 8 | Takuma Sato | D/H/H/F | 23.4254 | 23.3917 | 00:46.8171 |
| 9 | Will Power | D/C/C/F | 23.4551 | 23.4002 | 00:46.8553 |
| 10 | Helio Castroneves | D/C/C/F | 23.4549 | 23.4167 | 00:46.8716 |
| 11 | Graham Rahal | D/H/H/F | 23.4656 | 23.4581 | 00:46.9237 |
| 12 | Simon Pagenaud | D/C/C/F | 23.4861 | 23.4609 | 00:46.9470 |
| 13 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | D/H/H/F | 23.4881 | 23.4883 | 00:46.9764 |
| 14 | Ed Carpenter | D/C/C/F | 23.5503 | 23.4728 | 00:47.0231 |
| 15 | Marco Andretti | D/H/H/F | 23.6220 | 23.4373 | 00:47.0593 |
| 16 | James Hinchcliffe | D/H/H/F | 23.5912 | 23.5352 | 00:47.1264 |
| 17 | Josef Newgarden | D/C/C/F | 23.5776 | 23.5611 | 00:47.1387 |
| 18 | JR Hildebrand | D/C/C/F | 23.7018 | 23.6494 | 00:47.3512 |
| 19 | Ed Jones | D/H/H/F | 23.8529 | 23.8566 | 00:47.7095 |
| 20 | Gabby Chaves | D/C/C/F | 24.0515 | 24.0461 | 00:48.0976 |
| 21 | Conor Daly | D/C/C/F | 24.0886 | 24.0180 | 00:48.1066 |
| 22 | Carlos Muñoz | D/C/C/F | – | – | No time |
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (A)erokit: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)yre: F=Firestone
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