Josef Newgarden has edged Team Penske team-mate Will Power to pole at Road America by less than 0.05s.
Alexander Rossi threw down the challenge to the two Penske drivers in the Fast 6 when he went two tenths faster than the field on his first flyer.
With the chequered flag out, Power clocked a 1:43.2508s to go from fourth position back to the top in the #12 Chevrolet.
Newgarden (#1 Chevrolet) went marginally quicker with a committed 1:43.2026s moments later.
Honda-powered cars filled out the rest of the Fast 6, including an all-Andretti Autosport second row.
The order on that row was reversed after the chequered flag, however, with Car #28 of Ryan Hunter-Reay also jumping Rossi and Car #27.
Robert Wickens (#6 Schmidt Peterson Honda) qualified fifth and Sebastien Bourdais (#18 DCR w/ Vasser-Sullivan) sixth.
Power only just made the final phase of qualifying having been sixth and only 0.0363s faster than next-best, namely Takuma Sato (#30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda), at the end of the preceding segment.
Series leader Scott Dixon (#9 Chip Ganassi Honda) missed out and will start alongside Sato, while Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda) and Spencer Pigot (#21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet) round out the top 10.
Simon Pagenaud (#22 Team Penske Chevrolet) could only manage 14th, with James Hinchcliffe (#5 Schmidt Peterson Honda) starting directly behind on the next row.
The Kohler Grand Prix (55 laps) starts tomorrow at 0305 AEST.
Highlights: Qualifying
Starting grid: Road America
Pos | Num | Driver | C/E/T | Time | Session |
1 | 1 | Josef Newgarden | D/C/F | 1:43.2026 | Fast Six |
2 | 12 | Will Power | D/C/F | 1:43.2508 | Fast Six |
3 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | D/H/F | 1:43.3811 | Fast Six |
4 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | D/H/F | 1:43.4361 | Fast Six |
5 | 6 | Robert Wickens (R) | D/H/F | 1:43.7121 | Fast Six |
6 | 18 | Sebastien Bourdais | D/H/F | 1:43.7332 | Fast Six |
7 | 30 | Takuma Sato | D/H/F | 1:43.1108 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
8 | 9 | Scott Dixon | D/H/F | 1:43.1769 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
9 | 15 | Graham Rahal | D/H/F | 1:43.1874 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
10 | 21 | Spencer Pigot | D/C/F | 1:43.1995 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
11 | 26 | Zach Veach (R) | D/H/F | 1:43.2265 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
12 | 10 | Ed Jones | D/H/F | 1:43.3544 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
13 | 20 | Jordan King (R) | D/C/F | 1:43.7356 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
14 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | D/C/F | 1:43.4153 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
15 | 98 | Marco Andretti | D/H/F | 1:43.9843 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
16 | 5 | James Hinchcliffe | D/H/F | 1:43.8591 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
17 | 19 | Zachary Claman DeMelo (R) | D/H/F | 1:44.0189 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
18 | 14 | Tony Kanaan | D/C/F | 1:44.1165 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
19 | 23 | Charlie Kimball | D/C/F | 1:45.1161 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
20 | 4 | Matheus Leist (R) | D/C/F | 1:44.3438 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
21 | 32 | Alfonso Celis Jnr (R) | D/C/F | 1:45.5584 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
22 | 59 | Max Chilton | D/C/F | 1:44.3442 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
23 | 88 | Gabby Chaves | D/C/F | 1:44.6258 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)yre: F=Firestone