Chevrolet Dual in Detroit qualifying results

DETROIT -- Will Power set the qualifying lap track record on the way to earning the Verizon P1 Award for the pole position for Race 1 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicker Loans.

Power, who also set the track record in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg with the new Chevrolet road/street aerodynamic bodywork package, recorded a lap of 1 minute, 16.0941 seconds on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn street circuit in the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six session.

Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves (1:16.1200) and recently-crowned Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya (1:16.4428) qualified second and third, respectively, in the three-round knockout qualifications for the 70-lap race May 30 (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC).

Takuma Sato, who qualified a season-high fourth (1:16.5363), had set the standard of 1:16.1371 last year in the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda. Simon Pagenaud, the fourth Team Penske entry in the Firestone Fast Six, qualified fifth (1:16.6656) and Sebastien Bourdais of KVSH Racing reached the final round for the second time this season and qualified sixth (1:17.0406) for the second time.

It was the 39th career Indy car pole for Power, one behind Team Penske consultant Rick Mears for fifth on the all-time list. His previous best qualifying position at Belle Isle was second in 2012.

"I had new tires and was pushing hard (on his final lap) because they said Helio and Juan were pretty close," said Power, who will mark his 100th Indy car start with Team Penske in Race 2 on May 31 (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC). "It’s the pole but it’s a long race around here. Once again, it’s about battling the teammates around here as we have all year.  It’s been a great weekend and a really good start. We will try and keep ourselves out of trouble and see what magic we can do tomorrow."

Power won Race 1 and was runner-up to Castroneves in Race 2 last year on Belle Isle, which provided a significant points boost to his championship aspirations.

Castroneves, who has won three times at Belle Isle, and Pagenaud have competed in the Firestone Fast Six in all five road/street course races (the starting grid Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana in mid-April was set by entrant points because of heavy rain in the knockout qualifications).

“The most important thing is the race. It was a good battle between me, Will and the rest of Team Penske," Castroneves said. "Let’s go for tomorrow and see what happens."

Scott Dixon (1:16.9768) in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet qualified seventh, and Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Stefano Coletti (1:17.3638) qualified a season-high eighth in the No. 4 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet.

"I have never been on a track like this; it's very bumpy and pretty difficult to drive when it gets hot like this, but everyone is dealing with the same issues," Coletti said. "The team has done a great job setting up my car for this weekend and I’m looking forward to trying to pick up a few more positions in the race.” 

Tony Kanaan, who turned the quickest lap of 1:16.2931 in the 75-minute morning practice session in the No. 10 Taylor Swift Big Machine Records Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chevrolet, did not advance out of Segment 1 and qualified 15th.