Will Power Secures 700th Pole for Team Penske at WWTR

Madison, Illinois

Will Power made history on Saturday during NTT P1 Award qualifying for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 by earning Team Penske‘s 700th pole position across all racing series. Power finished with an impressive two-lap average speed of 180.329 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway.

This was Power’s first pole since July 2023 at Iowa Speedway and the series record-extending 71st of his career. Teammate Scott McLaughlin secured the second spot at an average speed of 179.783 mph in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet. “I sent it a lot,” Power said after the qualifying run. “I knew you would have to. You’d have to drive it flat in (Turns) 3 and 4. I wasn’t quite flat, but I was very, very close. It’s been a while since I’ve had a pole, so really excited. Hopefully, we can execute in the race. Man, it would be awesome to get a win here.”

The 260-lap race will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, with coverage on FOX, FOX Sports app, and INDYCAR Radio Network. A victory for Power, McLaughlin, or teammate Josef Newgarden would be significant for Team Penske, which has not yet secured a win this season.

Pato O’Ward qualified third at 179.190 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Most competitors at the end of the 27-car qualifying line benefitted from improved conditions as light cloud cover lowered track temperatures by nearly 10 degrees.

David Malukas, in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises—a team aligned with Penske—qualified fourth at 179.079 mph. The top five was rounded out by Newgarden, who registered a speed of 178.910 mph in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Marcus Armstrong qualified sixth at 178.754 mph in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda.

The championship leader, Alex Palou, secured the ninth spot with a qualifying speed of 178.381 mph driving the No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.