SONOMA, California — Australia's Will Power has won pole position in Sonoma for the third straight year, putting the IndyCar points leader in prime position for a third consecutive victory at the track. Power was timed in 1 minute, 17.2709 seconds around the 3.72-kilometer, 12-turn layout Saturday. Power's Penske Racing teammate and fellow Australian, Ryan Briscoe, was second in 1:17.4347, and Sebastien Bourdais of France was third in 1:17.7497. Brazil's Helio Castroneves, who completed Penske's podium sweep last year in Sonoma alongside Power and Briscoe, will start fourth. Only 28 points separate the top four drivers in the points standings with only three races left in the IndyCar season. Ryan Hunter-Reay trails Power by just five points, but will start in seventh Sunday. Power won the last two races in Sonoma from the pole, barely trailing at any point. The back-to-back wins were a remarkable comeback from 2009, when he broke his back on a blind corner of this road course in a crash with Nelson Philippe. With Power in front of the field, IndyCar is coming back from a three-week break for a sprint to the finish down the California coast in Fontana next month. Each of the past six title chases on the circuit have gone down to the final weekend, and this one should be another nail-biter: Anybody who can stay within 107 points of the lead in Sonoma will still be in the chase heading to Baltimore next week. Hunter-Reay, who will start seventh in Sonoma, is followed by Castroneves and Scott Dixon within 29 points. James Hinchcliffe, Simon Pagenaud and Tony Kanaan are all close enough to entertain legitimate championship dreams, while three-time champ Dario Franchitti is probably a bit too far back in eighth. “This is definitely one of the most competitive IndyCar seasons I've seen in a long time, either one that I've been a part of or not,” Hunter-Reay said. — AP
