INDY RACING LEAGUE

• Power nips Dixon for IndyCar pole at Iowa

  Newton, IA (Sports Network) - Will Power from Team Penske won the pole for Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250 IZOD IndyCar Series after beating Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon by the slimmest of margins in qualifying at Iowa Speedway.

  Power, currently second in points, recorded a four-lap average of 181.338 m.p.h.

  around the .875-mile track for his fourth pole of the season, but his first on an oval. He also gave Penske its seventh straight pole.

  "It's fantastic," said Power, who claimed his sixth career IndyCar pole. "It's the best place to start the race tomorrow. It's going to be a long day. It's a tight track around here, and there's always a lot of traffic. I just want to have a good result on an oval, and I'm looking for it here." The Aussie held a sizeable points lead after finishing no worse than fourth, including two victories, in the first four road course races this season. He has finished no better than eighth in the last three oval races -- Kansas, Indianapolis and Texas.

  Power was only 0.002 seconds quicker than Dixon, who will start on the outside pole.

  "In qualifying, we did very well sitting in P2, and the four-lap average was so close to Will Power," Dixon said.

  "We barely missed it. We will try to improve even more and hopefully get some points for the championship, but I am very happy with [qualifying]." Marco Andretti qualified third, followed by Helio Castroneves and current points leader Dario Franchitti, who won this race in 2007 and '09. He missed Iowa in 2008 when he was competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

  Franchitti, the defending series champion, enters the race with just a two- point advantage over Power.

  Alex Tagliani, Takuma Sato, Ryan Briscoe, who won two weeks ago at Texas, Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon, the 2008 race winner at Iowa, will start sixth through 10th, respectively.

  Milka Duno spun and crashed hard into the turn two wall during her qualifying attempt.

  Duno was not injured and was cleared by medical officials to compete in Sunday's 250-lap race, which is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. (et).

  06/19 19:46:07 ET