Defending IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon edged out Helio Castroneves for pole in qualifying for the Honda Indy Toronto on Saturday.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Dixon entered qualifying having not scored a pole position since Mid-Ohio last year, but eased into the Fast Six shoot-out for pole.
Dixon was joined in the final stage of qualifying by the Penske trio of Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud, plus final practice leader Sebastien Bourdais and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' James Hinchcliffe.
Castroneves had led for much of qualifying, being the first driver to dip into the 59s bracket, and had provisional pole before Dixon's final lap.
The New Zealander produced a lap of 59.9073s to edge out Castroneves by four-hundredths of a second and end Penske's streak of poles stretching back to the Indianapolis 500 in May.
"Well, I think it started with the first few laps. I was all down and out," Dixon said. "I'm like, 'Oh that doesn't look so good.' I couldn't get my splits to go negative and the last lap and then we just crossed the line to get another lap.
"They are like, 'Keep going, keep going'. Just gave it our all and the car just kept actually getting quicker. I think the Firestone tires finally came in. I was probably not as hard on them as I needed to be right out of the gate.
"So stoked for Team Target. It's great to be back on the pole. We haven't had a pole this year, but huge credit to the team they did a hell of a job this weekend.
"We struggled a little bit with speed. You've got to leave it to qualifying, that's when it makes the most. But tomorrow is race day and hopefully we will put on a great show for all the fans here."
Castroneves was left to settle for second ahead of points leader Pagenaud, with Power qualifying fourth. Bourdais and Hinchcliffe rounded out the Fast Six.
Conor Daly enjoyed his best qualifying yet in IndyCar, finishing seventh after completing two stints on the red alternate tyre in Q2. Iowa winner Josef Newgarden finished eighth ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, who bounced back from engine issues in practice to reach the second stage of qualifying.
Mikhail Aleshin rounded out the top 10, edging out 2015 Toronto podium finisher Luca Filippi, while Tony Kanaan struggled to P12.
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