Will Power secured pole position for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at WWT Raceway. The Australian was the only driver to average over 180 mph across both of his qualifying laps, earning his first pole since Iowa in 2023. Teammate Scott McLaughlin qualified second, locking out the front row for Team Penske.

For the first time this year, the standard oval qualifying format was used. Drivers completed two timed laps, running in reverse order based on entrant points. That meant Jacob Abel was the first on track, and Alex Palou was the last to go.

As the second driver to hit the track, Callum Ilott immediately showed that Prema also has speed on short ovals. The Brit set the first truly competitive run with an average of 176.758 mph. His time stood atop the leaderboard for a while—until Conor Daly edged ahead by 0.05 mph. But Daly’s lead didn’t last long either, as Marcus Ericsson followed with a run 0.6 mph quicker, averaging 177.405 mph.

Ericsson’s run remained the benchmark for quite some time, until Alexander Rossi went half a mile per hour faster. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver also became the first to beat the fastest lap from practice during his second lap.

Rossi didn’t enjoy the top spot for long, though. Next up was none other than Josef Newgarden, who went a full mile per hour faster! However, Newgarden showed a significant drop-off between his first and second laps—revealing that there were still opportunities for others.

David Malukas was the next to seize that opportunity with both hands. Although the AJ Foyt Racing driver was slower on his first lap, he picked up speed in the second and jumped to the top with an average of 179.079 mph—0.1 mph ahead of Newgarden.

As track temperatures dropped, more rubber was laid down, and grip improved, the question became: could anyone go even faster?

The answer came from Scott McLaughlin—the same driver who scored the most points on ovals last year. The Team Penske driver was the first to clock a lap over 180 mph (180.391 mph), followed by a slightly slower second lap at 179.179 mph. Despite the drop-off, his combined effort put him at the top—at least temporarily.

But there was still one more Penske driver to run: Will Power. The two-time IndyCar champion took full advantage of the strong Penske package at this track and the cooler conditions to become the first driver to average over 180 mph across both laps! As a result, Penske occupied positions one through four—thanks in part to David Malukas, whose AJ Foyt Racing entry benefits from technical support from Roger Penske’s team.

Four more drivers took to the track after Power. Christian Lundgaard and Kyle Kirkwood couldn't match the top times, but Pato O’Ward showed his short oval prowess by splitting the Penske group and taking third place. Championship leader Alex Palou was the final driver out, but he couldn’t challenge the front-runners and ended up in ninth place.

That secured Will Power’s first pole position in nearly two years!

Full results of the qualifying session at Gateway