INDY RACING LEAGUE

• Power leads Penske sweep in Edmonton qualifying

  
  

  Edmonton, Canada (Sports Network) - Will Power recorded the quickest lap in the "Fast Six" qualifying session, while his teammates, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves, were second and third fastest to give Team Penske the top-three starting positions for Sunday's Rexall Edmonton Indy.

  Power lapped the 1.973-mile, 14-turn Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit in one minute, 1.0133 seconds (116.414 m.p.h.) to knock Briscoe off the pole position in the closing seconds.

  The Aussie grabbed his second career IndyCar Series pole. His first one came in April at Long Beach, CA.

  "I never put so much into a (qualifying) lap, so I was really happy to get the pole," Power said. "I thought, 'If I don't get the pole after that, I would be disappointed.'" Power joined Penske in January as a test driver and fill-in for Castroneves while he was on trial for federal income tax evasion charges. When Castroneves was acquitted and returned to racing at Long Beach, Power moved from the No.3 car to a third Penske entry (No.12).

  Last week, Power started second and finished third on the streets of Toronto - his first start since placing fifth in the May 24 Indianapolis 500.

  Briscoe will start alongside Power after turning a lap at 1:01.1232 in the No.6 Penske car. Briscoe has secured a front starting row position in the past three street/road course events.

  "I didn't get everything out of the new tire, and I went back out to try and defend the time, but I didn't want to make a mistake," Briscoe said.

  Castroneves and Scott Dixon, the defending race winner, will share the second row, while Graham Rahal and Dario Franchitti, the current points leader, will make up row three.

  Mario Moraes qualified seventh, followed by Raphael Matos, Canadian Paul Tracy and Robert Doornbos.

  Danica Patrick will start 20th after being knocked out of the first qualifying round.

  Sunday's race is scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m. (et).

  07/25 20:22:04 ET