Power to start from front row at Indy 500

Will Power has boosted his bid to become the first Australian to win the Indianapolis 500 by qualifying on the front row of the grid.

He was third fastest to be one of three Team Penske drivers in the top four, behind local Ed Carpenter who earned his third career pole position at The Brickyard.

"I'm kind of happy with my run. I'm on the front row," Power said.

Frenchman Simon Pagenaud will line up between Carpenter and Power for next Sunday's race, with American Josef Newgarden fourth.

Power will be joined in the race by countryman James Davison, who will start from row seven after he improved from 33rd to 19th in Sunday qualifying.

Best-known for his ability around road circuits, Power has won three of the past four races held on super speedway race tracks.

And the The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the one that the 2015 runner-up really wants to win.

"Indy is one super speedway that I need to check off of my list," the 37-year-old said.

"It's obviously the most important."

Indianapolis driver Carpenter earned the No.1 starting spot on his home track with a four-lap average speed of 369.5km/h. He was the only driver to top 370km/h on any lap.

"That first lap blew my mind," Carpenter, a team owner/driver, said.

Power conceded he didn't have the speed to match Carpenter.

"We weren't going to beat a 230 (mph) lap," he said.

"There's no way I could do that in my car. It was just impossible."

However, Toowoomba native Power is confident he can claim a maiden win at "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing", on the most famous oval track in motorsport.

"I have become more experienced on ovals. I would actually race ovals every week if I could," he said.

"I feel good. I've had a very positive month, so we'll see what we can do."

Davison meanwhile was thrilled just to make the field, and will start from 19th after having started last on two previous occasions.

"Honestly, it's just another reward for this team," Davison said.

"After making the show (Saturday), to have some increase in performance (on Sunday) that we weren't particularly expecting - those days are always fantastic in motor sports."