NEWTON, Iowa -- Will Power dominated qualifying at Iowa Speedway, earning the pole position in the starting lineup for both NTT IndyCar Series races.
With the sweep, Power now has qualified first three times this season and has 66 career pole positions -- one from tying the legendary Mario Andretti for the all-time IndyCar record.
“This qualifying session, all season, I was like, ‘This is where I can really make some damage, I can really, really put myself in a position to get there,’ ” Power said.
QUALIFYING RESULTS: Race 1 l Race 2
STARTING LINEUPS: Race 1 l Race 2
“I was wheeling it as much as you could. I was leaving nothing on the table.”
Power nipped teammate Josef Newgarden for the top starting spot in both races. The duo of Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolets, which are ranked in the top five of the championship standings (Power second, Newgarden fourth), will own the front row for Saturday and Sunday.
Meanwhile, points leader Marcus Ericsson will start 12th Saturday and 15th Sunday.
INDYCAR AT IOWA: How to watch Sunday’s race on NBC, schedules, entry list
'@12WillPower is now just one pole away from tying @MarioAndretti for the most of all time in @INDYCAR.
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 23, 2022
With back-to-back flying laps, Power now has 66 to his name. The @Team_Penske driver will lead the field to green at @IowaSpeedway today at 4P ET on @NBC and @PeacockTV. pic.twitter.com/1eOAPPfS6V
“I felt like you had to start in the top 10 to have a good race,” Power said. “It seemed a little difficult to pass. Although cars can fall off a lot. You can make some positions up, you can make some positions up with strategy.
“I’m hoping that this is a good weekend for us to catch Marcus because he’s very tough. He’s not the best qualifier, but he’s probably the best racer in the series. Just over the years watching him race, he’s one of the toughest guys. Like he’s very, very good at starting back there and making his way all the way to the front.”
Before Sunday’s race, IndyCar announced a nine-position grid penalty for Colton Herta, moving him from third to 12th.
Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Saturday’s HyVeeDeals.com 250:
ROW 1
1. Power, Will D/C/F
2. Newgarden, Josef D/C/F
ROW 2
3 20 Daly, Conor D/C/F
4 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F
ROW 3
5 3 McLaughlin, Scott D/C/F
6 18 Malukas, David (R) D/H/F
ROW 4
7 45 Harvey, Jack D/H/F
8 21 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F
ROW 5
9 51 Sato, Takuma D/H/F
10 28 Grosjean, Romain D/H/F
ROW 6
11 7 Rosenqvist, Felix D/C/F
12 8 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F
ROW 7
13 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F
14 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F
ROW 8
15 48 Johnson, Jimmie D/H/F
16 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F
ROW 9
17 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F
18 29 DeFrancesco, Devlin (R) D/H/F
ROW 10
19 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F
20 30 Lundgaard, Christian (R) D/H/F
ROW 11
21 60 Pagenaud, Simon D/H/F
22 77 Ilott, Callum (R) D/C/F
ROW 12
23 33 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F
24 14 Kirkwood, Kyle (R) D/C/F
ROW 13
25 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F
26 4 Kellett, Dalton D/C/F
Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s HyVee Salute to Farmers 300 (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time, speed):
ROW 1
1 12 Power, Will D/C/F
2 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F
ROW 2
3 20 Daly, Conor D/C/F
4 51 Sato, Takuma D/H/F
ROW 3
5 3 McLaughlin, Scott D/C/F
6 45 Harvey, Jack D/H/F
ROW 4
7 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F
8 21 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F
ROW 5
9 7 Rosenqvist, Felix D/C/F
10 28 Grosjean, Romain D/H/F
ROW 6
11 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F
12 26 Herta, Colton D/H/F
ROW 7
13 48 Johnson, Jimmie D/H/F
14 18 Malukas, David (R) D/H/F
ROW 8
15 8 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F
16 60 Pagenaud, Simon D/H/F
ROW 9
17 30 Lundgaard, Christian (R) D/H/F
18 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F
ROW 10
19 33 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F
20 14 Kirkwood, Kyle (R) D/C/F
ROW 11
21 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F
22 77 Ilott, Callum (R) D/C/F
ROW 12
23 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F
24 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F
ROW 13
25 29 DeFrancesco, Devlin (R) D/H/F
26 4 Kellett, Dalton D/C/F