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Alexander Rossi has taken his second pole position at Long Beach, as he soared to the head of the Fast Six session on his final lap in qualifying.
The Andretti Autosport driver pipped reigning champion Scott Dixon, who abandoned his final fast lap, despite being up on his previous best time.
Rossi claimed pole at Long Beach in 2018, and went on to convert it into victory.
"That was way harder than last year," Rossi admitted after the session. "These NAPA, Andretti and Honda boys did such a good job. We had a tough Friday and the work we did overnight was awesome.
"To go and do this against the most competitive field we've ever had is a huge testament to the team. This one is big. I wasn't expecting it, to be honest."
After a disappointing round last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, Team Penske responded strongly by getting all three of its cars into the Fast Six.
Will Power won the intra-team battle to claim third, with Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud following in fourth and fifth respectively.
After obtaining a front row start last time out, Graham Rahal once again advanced to the final stage and will start from the third row on Sunday.
After looking strong all weekend, Ryan Hunter-Reay failed to advance from the Fast 12 after getting caught out by a red flag.
The red was deployed after Felix Rosenqvist hit the barrier trying to improve his lap. The Swede held P2 at the time of the crash.
Hunter-Reay will start the race alongside Takuma Sato, who won last time out at Barber. The two rookies of Patricio O'Ward and Colton Herta will line up in ninth and tenth respectively.
Firestone Fast Six
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | 1:06.4811 | - |
| 2. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:06.7479 | +0.2668 |
| 3. | Will Power | Team Penske | 1:06.8748 | +0.3937 |
| 4. | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 1:06.9096 | +0.4285 |
| 5. | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | 1:07.1877 | +0.7066 |
| 6. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:07.3052 | +0.8241 |
Q2 Dropouts
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:06.6566 | - |
| 7. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 1:07.1520 | +0.4954 |
| 8. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:07.2626 | +0.6060 |
| 9. | Patricio O'Ward | Carlin | 1:07.2764 | +0.6198 |
| 10. | Colton Herta | Harding Racing | 1:07.7721 | +1.1155 |
| 11. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | 1:08.3746 | +1.7180 |
| 12. | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:08.4410 | +1.7844 |
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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