Australian driver Will Power will start from pole at the  Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Round one of the 2011 Indycar Championship.

Power, driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, posted a quick lap of 1 minute, 01.9624 seconds (the quickest of the weekend) with 2:15 left in the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six shootout for his 11th IZOD IndyCar Series pole. He set a series record last season with eight.

Four teams are represented on the first three rows for the 100-lap race on the tight 1.8-mile, 14-turn circuit with the scenic Tampa Bay in the background.

Reigning series champion Dario Franchitti, who hasn’t won at St. Pete in the seven years of the event, will start second in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car (1:02.2953), while teammate Scott Dixon will share Row 2 with Andretti Autosport’s Mike Conway in the No, 27 Team GoDaddy car.

Sydney’s Ryan Briscoe, who won the race in 2009, and Justin Wilson, who has finished second and third the past two years, are on Row 3.

Source: IZOD Indycar Media