Power leads Penske 1-2-3 on grid

The Australian snatched first place away from his team-mate and compatriot Ryan Briscoe late in the final Fast Six qualifying segment, with Helio Castroneves following them to complete an all-Penske top three.

The team had already been fastest in all three practice sessions, and looks to be in great shape to close back in on the Ganassi drivers in the championship - and to make up for last year's late defeat by Scott Dixon at Edmonton, when the eventual champion jumped the otherwise dominant Castroneves and Briscoe at the final stop.s

Dixon briefly got among the Penske trio before being edged back to fourth, while his Ganassi team-mate Dario Franchitti made gains after a low-key time in practice and ended up sixth, behind Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Grahama Rahal.

Having been fast in practice and quickest of all in his round one qualifying group, Paul Tracy looked like he might pull off a shock top three result. But a spin early in round two and an error on his final lap of the segment left him ninth on the grid - still his best starting position in the series. His KV Racing team-mate Mario Moraes took seventh, ahead of top rookie Raphael Matos (Luczo Dragon).

Twelfth placed Hideki Mutoh was the only one of the struggling Andretti Green quartet who made it through to round two of qualifying. The currently drive-less Oriol Servia has joined the team in a coaching capacity this weekend, but had to watch Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick take 13th, 18th and 20th places.

Watkins Glen winner Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing) was a surprise early elimination and will start 15th. There was disappointment for Alex Tagliani too, as the Conquest driver remained unhappy with his set-up and could only manage 17th in the car that carries the Edmonton event's colours.

After his big crash in second practice, Panther's Dan Wheldon will start back in 22nd, behind the equally disappointed Ryan Hunter-Reay (Foyt), but there was encouragement for Richard Antinucci as he claimed 19th on the grid for what is currently his last confirmed appeareance for 3G.

Pos  Driver             Team                  Time
 1.  Will Power         Penske                1m01.0133s
 2.  Ryan Briscoe       Penske                1m01.1232s
 3.  Helio Castroneves  Penske                1m01.2033s
 4.  Scott Dixon        Ganassi               1m01.2046s
 5.  Graham Rahal       Newman/Haas/Lanigan   1m01.6952s
 6.  Dario Franchitti   Ganassi               1m01.8344s
 7.  Mario Moraes       KV                    1m01.5337s
 8.  Raphael Matos      Luczo Dragon          1m01.5685s
 9.  Paul Tracy         KV                    1m01.6768s
10.  Robert Doornbos    Newman/Haas/Lanigan   1m01.6844s
11.  Mike Conway        Dreyer & Reinbold     1m01.9064s
12.  Hideki Mutoh       Andretti Green        1m02.1678s
13.  Tony Kanaan        Andretti Green        1m02.2723s
14.  EJ Viso            HVM                   1m02.4240s
15.  Justin Wilson      Coyne                 1m02.4009s
16.  Tomas Scheckter    Dreyer & Reinbold     1m02.4280s
17.  Alex Tagliani      Conquest              1m02.6459s
18.  Marco Andretti     Andretti Green        1m02.5059s
19.  Richard Antinucci  3G                    1m02.8364s
20.  Danica Patrick     Andretti Green        1m02.5184s
21.  Ryan Hunter-Reay   Foyt                  1m02.9996s
22.  Dan Wheldon        Panther               1m02.8369s
23.  Ed Carpenter       Vision                1m03.4342s