Texas IndyCar: Will Power leads Simon Pagenaud in Penske front row

Power went out right at the start of the session and set the bar at 218.519mph.

That proved to be enough to see off the entire field, although Pagenaud's own average speed was just 0.1mph off.

Indeed, for much of the session the grid had looked primed to be a Penske 1-2-3-4, but Andretti's Carlos Munoz derailed that at the very end when he bumped Colombian compatriot Juan Pablo Montoya from the outside of the second row with his 217.831mph effort.

Despite the final outcome, both Power and Penske's domination had looked under threat numerous times: Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves were quicker than Power on their first timed lap but dropped away on the second.

Similarly, James Jakes and Scott Dixon were quick enough on their first lap to earn a provisional spot on the first two rows, but they too fell away on lap two.

The cars are scheduled to return to the track once more later in Friday for the evening practice session.

STARTING GRID:

Grid set by average speed across a two-lap run