Simon Pagenaud has affirmed his advantage by leaping to pole at the final round of the IndyCar Series at Sonoma.
In a last gasp scramble, Pagenaud pounced with a 1:16.25s effort to edge Helio Castroneves (1:16.41s).
Team Penske has taken a stranglehold in the final qualifying of the year by taking the first two rows of the grid with Juan Montoya third ahead of Power.
Pagenaud earns a bonus point for topping the Fast 6, squeezing his lead to 44 in the double points round ahead of Power as the pair are set for an enthralling fight in the 85-lap race at the 4km circuit.
The French flyer was fourth in the dying seconds of the session before pulling out his pole winning lap in a gripping finish.
“It’s very gratifying. But we’ve been working on making the car as good as it could be on reds,” Pagenaud said.
“Every time we put them on, it’s a dream.”
The equation will see Pagenaud seal his first series crown if he finishes fifth or higher no matter where Power, the 2014 champion, finishes.
The only two Honda runners to make the Fast 6, Graham Rahal (Rahal/Lanigan/Letterman) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andrett Autosport) will start fifth and sixth respectively.
See below for full qualifying results
|
1 |
22 |
Simon Pagenaud |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.2565 |
112.594 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
2 |
3 |
Helio Castroneves |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.4134 |
112.362 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
3 |
2 |
Juan Montoya |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.5400 |
112.177 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
4 |
12 |
Will Power |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.6659 |
111.992 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
5 |
15 |
Graham Rahal |
D/H/H/F |
01:16.7149 |
111.921 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
6 |
28 |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
D/H/H/F |
01:16.9132 |
111.632 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
7 |
9 |
Scott Dixon |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.5700 |
112.133 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
8 |
98 |
Alexander Rossi (r) |
D/H/H/F |
01:16.5840 |
112.112 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
9 |
11 |
Sebastien Bourdais |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.6115 |
112.072 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
10 |
21 |
Josef Newgarden |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.8142 |
111.776 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
11 |
7 |
Mikhail Aleshin |
D/H/H/F |
01:16.8909 |
111.665 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
12 |
83 |
Charlie Kimball |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.9627 |
111.561 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
13 |
10 |
Tony Kanaan |
D/C/C/F |
01:16.9481 |
111.582 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
14 |
27 |
Marco Andretti |
D/H/H/F |
01:16.9288 |
111.610 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
15 |
14 |
Takuma Sato |
D/H/H/F |
01:16.9661 |
111.556 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
16 |
26 |
Carlos Munoz |
D/H/H/F |
01:17.0314 |
111.461 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
17 |
41 |
Jack Hawksworth |
D/H/H/F |
01:17.0823 |
111.387 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
18 |
8 |
Max Chilton(r) |
D/C/C/F |
01:17.1310 |
111.317 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
19 |
20 |
Spencer Pigot(r) |
D/C/C/F |
01:17.3052 |
111.066 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
20 |
5 |
James Hinchcliffe |
D/H/H/F |
01:17.1926 |
111.228 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
21 |
18 |
Conor Daly(r) |
D/H/H/F |
01:17.6771 |
110.535 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
22 |
19 |
RC Enerson(r) |
D/H/H/F |
01:17.3264 |
111.036 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
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