Team Penske driver has another shot toward stretching his championship lead in the April 27 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Power posted a quick lap of 1 minute, 8.3120 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course to claim the Verizon P1 Award for the third time in five years, and padded his championship lead with a bonus point entering the third round of the season.

It was Power's 33rd career pole, breaking a tie for eighth all time with Michael Andretti. He previously started from the pole in 2010 and 2011, and won the race in 2011 and '12. In total, he's collected 168 points -- so far -- at Barber.

Power holds a 28-point lead over Long Beach winner Mike Conway entering the 90-lap race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN), but Conway is only competing in the 10 road/street course left on the schedule for Ed Carpenter Racing. Simon Pagenaud, who qualified 10th in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports car, is 34 points back in third in the standings.

Four different teams were represented in the final 10-minute session, and the six qualifiers were separated by .3138 of a second.

James Hinchcliffe, who watched most of last April's race from the infield following an early race incident, tied his career best of second on a road/street course (.0289 of a second behind Power) in the No. 27 United Fiber & Data car for Andretti Autosport. Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won the 2013 race from the pole, will share Row 2 with Josef Newgarden, who also tied his career-best qualifying effort (at Long Beach) in the No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car.

Scott Dixon, who has been the runner-up in all four races at Barber, qualified fifth in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, and Helio Castroneves qualified sixth in the No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske car. Castroneves won the 2010 race and has finished third the past two years. They're the only drivers to compete in the Firestone Fast Six in all five years at Barber.

DAY 2 NOTEBOOK

R.C. Enerson of New Port Richey, Fla., claimed the first of two Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda races earlier today. It was the second consecutive win for the 17-year-old, who entered the weekend with the series' point lead.

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Spencer Pigot of Orlando, Fla., claimed the first of this weekend's Pro Mazda Championship race earlier today. It was the third consecutive win for the 20-year-old, who entered the weekend with the series' point lead.

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Zach Veach of Stockdale, Ohio., claimed the Legacy Indy Lights 100 sprint race earlier today. It was the second win for three starts for Veach, who entered the weekend with the series' point lead.

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R.C. Enerson of New Port Richey, Fla., completed a sweep of today's Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda races. It was the third consecutive win for the 17-year-old, who entered the weekend with the series' point lead.

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QUALIFYING FOR THE VERIZON P1 AWARD:

Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award consists of three segments. In Segment One of qualifying, each group receives 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Segment Two, while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13-26. Group One drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions (13, 15, 17...) while Group Two drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions (14, 16, 18...) based on their fastest lap times.

During Segment Two, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six advance to the Firestone Fast Six Shootout while the remaining six cars are ranked in positions 7-12 based on their fastest laps.

During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive 10 minutes of track time, with a guarantee of five minutes of green flag time. Each car receives one additional set of Firestone Firehawk tires for use during this final segment. At the end of the session, the cars are ranked 1-6 based on their fastest laps.

Any driver who causes a red flag during any of the groups will lose their two quickest laps.

The timeline for qualifying today is between Turns 13-14

At 1:45 p.m., the ambient temperature was 80 degrees with a relative humidity of 33 percent and winds from the northeast at 3 mph. Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 127 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

Track record: Scott Dixon, 1:06.7750 (April 2013). Fastest lap this weekend: #27 James Hinchcliffe, 1:07.9206 (Practice 3).

2 p.m. - GREEN. Round 1. Group 1.

2:10 p.m. - CHECKERED. Advancing to Round 2 are: #77 Pagenaud #12 Power, #2 Montoya, #3 Castroneves, #34 Munoz, #11 Bourdais.

2:15 p.m. - GREEN. Round 1. Group 2.

2:25 p.m. - CHECKERED. Advancing to Round 2 are: #27 Hinchcliffe, #7 Aleshin, #67 Newgarden, #25 Andretti, #28 Hunter-Reay, #9 Dixon.

2:35 p.m. - GREEN. Round 2.

2:45 p.m. - CHECKERED. Advancing to Firestone Fast Six are: #12 Power, #67 Newgarden, #3 Castroneves, #27 Hinchcliffe, #9 Dixon, #28 Hunter-Reay.

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Following the checkered flag for Round 2, Verizon IndyCar Series officials penalized #11 Bourdais for qualifying interference. Bourdais will lose his two fastest laps of the session per rule 8.3.7.1. If the violation occurs during Segment One or Segment Two, the Car's best two (2) timed laps during that segment shall be disallowed, and the Car shall not advance to the next segment.

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2:55 p.m. - GREEN. Firestone Fast Six.

3 p.m. - With five minutes gone, fastest of the session is #12 Power at 1:08.3120

3:05 p.m. - CHECKERED. #12 Will Power wins the Verizon P1 Award for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES POST-PRACTICE NOTES:

Will Power claimed his first pole position of 2014 and his third pole in five starts at Barber Motorsports Park. It is the 33rd pole of his Indy car career, which breaks a tie with Michael Andretti for eighth all time.James Hinchcliffe qualified second, matching his season-best start of the season (Long Beach) and his best Barber start (2012).Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified third, his second consecutive top-five start at Barber. He won the pole here last yearJosef Newgarden qualified fourth, matching his career best qualifying performance (Long Beach 2014).Scott Dixon qualified fifth and Helio Castroneves qualified sixth, They are the only two drivers to qualify Firestone Fast Six for every race here at Barber.

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): "We made good progress since yesterday because the car felt more competitive. We found some grip but not enough for qualifying. We tried hard but it was a difficult one."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing): "Well that definitely was not what I expected. I'm very disappointed. The problem was we developed some understeer. We will just have to get that resolved tonight and give it our best tomorrow." (About the qualifying interference penalty): "I didn't see him and no one told me he was coming. Suddenly I looked into my mirrors and there he was. My bad."

MIKE CONWAY (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "We had a huge lockup with the front tire entering turn five on my first flying lap. That flat spotted the left front tire and the car wasn't balanced then. It's tough for the crew but I know they will fight hard to come back in the race. We have come from behind before and I believe we can do it again. We'll concentrate to have a good race car now."

CARLOS HUERTAS (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "[Qualifying] was good, I think. Some people in my group used two sets of red tires and I only used one set. One of my laps I made a mistake so it could have been faster but, overall, I am happy. I hope that saving that set of red tires will help me tomorrow in the race."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Racing Honda): "Our qualifying result was not what we expected today. The No. 77 car was very fast in practice and the first round of qualifying, and then we lost grip in the second round. You can only drive to the limit of what you have and we just didn't have the lap time today. When you start within the top-10 at Barber it's always possible to win though. It will make the strategy a little bit difficult but we have a good race car. We'll move forward tomorrow and try our hardest to keep scoring big points."

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Honda): "After qualifying today I'm happy to say that we're improving. I'm certainly feeling more comfortable on the Firestone red tires. One of my biggest challenges has been learning how these tires respond because you really only get to practice on them during the qualifying sessions. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has worked hard and I think you could really see our progress today. We're moving in the right direction and I'm very encouraged. For the race tomorrow, I'll get my second chance at a rolling start. I wasn't ready for it in St. Pete so my focus will be not losing positions during the start. I'll need to be aggressive during the race to make sure we maximize our result tomorrow."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 8 NTT DATA Chevrolet): "Qualifying definitely did not go how we had hoped that it would. The No. 8 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet struggled to find much grip throughout all three practice sessions and then even into qualifying. We ran fairly consistently in the top ten throughout practice, so it's just disappointing that we didn't get past the first round of qualifying. We have some work to do tonight and we'll be ready to go tomorrow."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet): "It was a disappointing qualifying here at Barber Motorsports Park for the #83 NovoLog FlexPen Chevrolet. We definitely expect more out of ourselves here at Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, but we'll figure it out tonight and be ready to go racing tomorrow. We're going to get some great information from the No. 9 car with it getting into the Firestone Fast 6, which is great for the team. We'll just see what direction they're going to go with the car and then work on making sure we can keep the same pace we had with the Firestone primary tires during the race tomorrow."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chevrolet): "Two of our four second-place finishes here we lost out on pit strategy so I hope we're due for a win. Heat was a big factor for us today and we were able to make the right changes with dampers for qualifying. In third round of qualifying we could have done another lap looking back, but we need to work on finding more speed for the Target car."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 GE Reveal Chevrolet): "We've been struggling all weekend with the car. We tried something different for this session and obviously it just didn't work. It's just really too bad for the Target boys. It's just not a place you want to start, but I've been here before. I want to make sure that everyone keeps their spirits up because there's still a long race to go and anything can happen. My teammate made it into the Firestone Fast 6, so we're going to look at his setup and probably go to that tomorrow and see what we can do."

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 17 AFS KVAFS Racing Chevrolet): "Since the beginning we had the car, but we just couldn't put a lap together. I think we went a little bit too early with tires and unfortunately I had nothing at the end and so Montoya bumped me out of sixth spot. I think we do have a great race car for tomorrow and hopefully the changing track conditions during the race won't surprise us too much. My KV AFS crew has done a great job this weekend and tomorrow should be a good day."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): It's going to be a tough race. When it goes green, these temperatures are going to be very physical. There will be a lot of traffic and a lot of marbles so we'll do everything we can to get the win. I love this place. It's an awesome track. Very technical. Got to be fast. Got to be great. Definitely going to be a good race.

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda): "Today went pretty well. It's a shame that, in the end, we missed the Firestone Fast Six by such a small margin - it was really close. I'm happy; I think seventh place to start the race tomorrow is good. It's a long race ahead - I think tire degradation is going to be the key, and we'll see what happens. Hopefully at the next race we'll be able to qualify in the Fast Six. My goal was to make it to the Fast Six... I had a good car to do it and we were all just really close. Anyways, I'm happy for my teammates who made it to the Firestone Fast Six."

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 98 Charter/Castrol Edge Honda): "It was a really tough day. We've just not been quick enough all weekend, but the Bryan Herta Autosport guys are working hard to improve our speed. Despite the tricky conditions, we'll keep our heads up and try to have a good day tomorrow."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet): "We're gaining on it. We decided to use two sets in the first session to get an idea because we've been getting behind by not doing it. So we decided to do it and it was the right call. The problem is you play the penalty in the second qualifying. Kind of frustrating because we're right there. But overall, I'm happy. We're gaining on it. I think we have a really good race car and it's amazing because, you know, every practice is better. Every qualifying is better. Yesterday we struggled a lot, but this morning we felt like we were better. It's just a matter of getting the hang out it. Everyone has used the same amount of tires as I have right now. It is what it is, but it's a better start. We're mad because we didn't make the top six, but I did my best qualifying by about half."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 National Guard Honda): "We've made a lot of progress from yesterday to today. We tried some things for qualifying and need to take a look at them and regroup for the morning. We had a really great car in the race in Long Beach after some improvements in the morning warm-up and are hoping for the same here. We're a strong group and we'll keep fighting."

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): "Our position is not what we wanted or hoped for but only so many can get in Round 2. We just didn't get it just right and as we were saying earlier, this track doesn't forgive any unbalance. There are just too many corners and long corners. We just didn't hit it right but we're going to hit it right tomorrow. I had a one lap wonder which was the first lap on red tires that I think would have just made the cut but two cars in front of me came out of the pits and I had to give up in the middle of the lap. At that point we were already two-and-one-half tenths up. That was the lap when the tires were at the peak and I couldn't do it again. But still we're not where we need to be or where we're hopefully going to be tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): "That (qualifying position) is on me, the Snapple team gave me the car - I was on a lap good enough for P3 and almost crashed in Turn 12, I don't know where it came from. I lost the back end and just saved it up to the line and we lost the time that we needed (for the Firestone Fast Six). But a credit to the team, they're looking quick."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "Starting third is two shy of where we want to be but, it's a good start. We can go to work from there and can definitely win this thing from third. It was a tight qualifying session today - we knew it was going to be. With the level of drivers and teams we have involved, it was going to be a fight to the very end. We tried it and came up short, but overall I think third is good for the No. 28 DHL Honda."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): "Very happy for the United Fiber & Data boys and everybody at Andretti Autosport - all the cars have been quick; having four cars starting in the top 10, that speaks volumes for the team. Second race in a row starting from the front so we're looking forward to tomorrow. With the heat that we are going to face tomorrow and the tires going off the way they are, we figured either having one more run on that set, or a set with one less run on it was going to play into our hands tomorrow. We watched some other guys go out and we weren't sure what to expect, a bit nervous on the timing stand there but we held our second place. And hopefully with one less heat cycle on the tires we'll be in a better position tomorrow."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet): "I want to thank the AAA Insurance Team Penske boys. They've done a hell of a job this weekend, unfortunately, I let my boys down in qualifying. At the end of the day, it's great that we're right in the top six. It's a long race. We know we have a good setup. We've run well here before. We're looking forward for tomorrow."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda): "If you're quick in all three practice sessions, it bodes better for the weekend. For us we found something that clicks better on the race car and for me. It's hard to do in a small group. We don't want to make any excuses, but we've just been getting better as a team. Everyone works together better. I've been doing a better job of helping the team find what we need. That's crucial. I feel good about it. Think we have a better package than we've had around here in the past."

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):

9:45-10:15 a.m.

Verizon IndyCar Series warmup

1 p.m.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama pre-race

2:12 p.m.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (90 laps/157.4 miles), NBCSN (Live)