Takuma Sato has claimed his ninth IndyCar pole position in the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing outfit ahead of the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.
Sato was the only driver in the field to record two laps over 220mph (354km/h) leading a quartet of Hondas in positions one to four.
Last year’s winner Scott Dixon claimed second, one-hundredth of a second slower in the Chip Ganassi Racing machine.
Sebastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing) and Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay locked out the second row in their respective Honda-powered cars.
Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud was the highest placed Chevrolet in fifth while championship leader Josef Newgarden finished seventh fastest in the second Penske.
Australian Will Power could only manage 15th in the third Penske, lapping an average speed of 217.899mph (350.643km/h).
Tony Kanaan was the only driver to make contact with the wall during qualifying. The veteran IndyCar driver brushed the wall at Turn 2 on his first flying lap, aborting his qualifying run.
The nine-time podium finisher at Texas will start the 600-mile race from the back of the 22-car grid.
The 248-lap race starts tomorrow at 1040 AEST.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Engine | Time | Gap | Mph |
| 1 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 47.0738 | 220.250 | |
| 2 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 47.0926 | 0.0188 | 220.162 |
| 3 | Sébastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 47.1817 | 0.1079 | 219.746 |
| 4 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 47.2266 | 0.1528 | 219.537 |
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 47.2659 | 0.1921 | 219.355 |
| 6 | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 47.3210 | 0.2472 | 219.099 |
| 7 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 47.4147 | 0.3409 | 218.666 |
| 8 | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Honda | 47.4597 | 0.3859 | 218.459 |
| 9 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 47.4619 | 0.3881 | 218.449 |
| 10 | Colton Herta | Harding Racing | Honda | 47.4712 | 0.3974 | 218.406 |
| 11 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 47.4954 | 0.4216 | 218.295 |
| 12 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 47.5435 | 0.4697 | 218.074 |
| 13 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 47.5636 | 0.4898 | 217.982 |
| 14 | Marcus Ericsson | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Honda | 47.5699 | 0.4961 | 217.953 |
| 15 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 47.5816 | 0.5078 | 217.899 |
| 16 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 47.7387 | 0.6649 | 217.182 |
| 17 | Charlie Kimball | Carlin | Chevrolet | 47.7426 | 0.6688 | 217.165 |
| 18 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 47.7649 | 0.6911 | 217.063 |
| 19 | Conor Daly | Carlin | Chevrolet | 47.9612 | 0.8874 | 216.175 |
| 20 | Matheus Leist | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 48.2024 | 1.1286 | 215.093 |
| 21 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 50.1109 | 3.0371 | 206.901 |
| 22 | Tony Kanaan | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
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