LOS ANGELES - France's Simon Pagenaud put his Penske on pole position for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama on Saturday aiming to stretch his lead in the series standings.
Simon Pagenaud is the winner of the 42nd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17, 2016 in Long Beach, California
Pagenaud, who won last weekend's Grand Prix of Long Beach and leads New Zealand's Scott Dixon atop the standings by 14 points, clocked the fastest qualifying lap at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham of 1min 6.7262 to notch the third pole of his IndyCar career and his first since last year at Fontana.
Pagenaud snuck his pole-winning lap in on his final circuit around the 2.3-mile (3.7-kilometer) permanent road course to outdo teammate Will Power of Australia -- a three-time Barber pole winner.
"It was awesome –- the PPG car was just incredible," Pagenaud said.
"I really had a good time just driving it. We put the least amount of fuel in and tried to save the tires by only going one lap in each segment (of qualifying). That last lap I just dug deep and that was one of the best feelings that I have ever had driving."
Pagenaud is joined on the front row by Power, who clocked a lap of 1:06.9421.
Josef Newgarden, who captured his first career IndyCar victory in Alabama last year, will start in third after a top lap of 1:07.0283.
Reigning series champion Dixon was fourth quickest, and Four-time IndyCar champion Sebastien Bourdais of France rounded out the top five.
Pagenaud will be aiming to continue his strong start to the 16-race season. He finished second in the season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and was runner-up in Phoenix before his dramatic victory in Long Beach.