By alley - Jul 5, 2014, 4:03 PM ET

IndyCar: Qualifying for Pocono's IndyCar 500, as it happened

Welcome to our live coverage of qualifying on Pocono Raceway, the only tri-oval on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule, and therefore quite a challenge for the 22 expected starters. Each of the three turns is different. IndyCar's handy notes from Arni Sribhen inform us that Turn 1 has, 14-degree banking, 675-foot radius; Turn 2, 8 degree-banking, 750-foot radius; Turn 3, 6-degree banking, 800-foot radius. Track width varies between 60 and 100 feet.

Unfortunately, in today's second practice session, Jack Hawksworth tried to make the track wider yet down at Turn 1, and the Bryan Herta Autosport Dallara-Honda

hit the wall hard enough

to break the tub. He will not be making a qualifying run, but the team should be able to start the race tomorrow after some late, late work for the BHA boys.

As a point of reference, Marco Andretti, local hero, took pole for this race last year with a 221.273mph average over his two laps. However, 11 cars eclipsed that mark (over one lap) this afternoon. Since last year, the Andretti Autosport has switched to twin-turbo Honda power, and AA remain very much at the forefront of today's battle for fastest time.

5.00 GREEN.

Defending Pocono racewinner Scott Dixon rolls off pit road to start his qualifying run. The Target Chip Ganassi Racing No. 9 clocks a 220.669mph on his first lap and a 220.540 on his second, for an average of 220.604mph. That's fast, of course, but is unlikely to put the reigning champ on the front row.

Next up is Sebastien Bourdais in the KVSH Racing No. 11, in its lovely maroon #Shattered livery. He completes his two laps at an average of 219.741mph.

Ed Carpenter, your Indy pole-winner and Texas Motor Speedway race winner completes a warm-up lap that's faster than Dixon's flying laps. His Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka entry goes on to set a new benchmark of 221.019mph.

The seemingly irrepressible rookie Mikhail Aleshin is first of the HPD brigade to hit the track, and sends the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports entry to the top of the time sheets with a neat average of 221.221mph.

Andretti Autosport's 2012 IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay is the first to hit the 222 mark on a single lap, and sets an average of 221.950mph in his Dallara-Honda No. 28.

First of the three Team Penske drivers to take on the "Tricky Triangle" in this session is the effervescent Helio Castroneves, who took a pole position at Detroit and at Houston. And he delivers a beautifully consistent run 222.521/222.514mph to go top.

Justin Wilson has a slow warm-up lap – some 7mph off the quickest – but slots his Dale Coyne Racing entry into P6 with a 220.439mph average.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's Josef Newgarden brings out a yellow flag with a spin and stop. He'll be starting with Jack Hawksworth down on the back row.

5:32 GREEN

And now it's time for Indy GP and Houston 2 winner Simon Pagenaud to make his run. He did a very tidy job here at Pocono last year, starting eighth and finishing sixth. For now, his 221.547mph average puts the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports car in third.

Ryan Briscoe started showing some pace at the end of the afternoon practice session. Remember, he missed practice for Panther last year as he was busy winning an American Le Mans Series race. RB puts his Chip Ganassi Racing No. 8 into P3 with a 221.565mph.

And last year's polesitter Marco Andretti rolls out, packing some heat. A 220mph warm-up lap, a 222.677mph Lap 1 and a 222.754 Lap 2 is enough to put the PA native on top.

The shocking Houston 1 winner Carlos Huertas – which according to our own Marshall Pruett is the Colombian translation of Grumpy Cat – sets a steady but safe 216.261mph average. Dale Coyne would rather have that than a motley collection of components and a repair bill.

Last year's Pocono runner-up Charlie Kimball grabs P8 in his green Chip Ganassi Racing machine with a 220.377mph average.

Andretti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe, who qualified third here last year, grabs P2 alongside teammate Andretti. His run is a 222.544mph. He could cheer up Canada tomorrow after the nation saw its rising tennis star Eugenie Bouchard fall hard in the Wimbledon final today.

Honestly, we didn't put his picture in this live blog for anything other than artistic reasons, but Takuma Sato has just gone quickest for AJ Foyt Racing. The new time for everyone to aim at is 222.798mph. #JobDone

Graham Rahal has a bit of a bobble on his first lap – it's slower than his warm-up lap – yet still manages a 220.747mph average for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Definite potential there.

Team Penske's Will Power was quickest this afternoon and he's just catapulted to the front of the field with a 223.725mph average. His fastest lap (which was his second) was 223.800mph. With Montoya, Munoz and Kanaan waiting for their runs, this ain't over though…

Sebastian Saavedra is P17 with a 218.502mph average. Some work to be done down KV way, methinks. The two Sebs are quicker than only one car currently. Well, theoretically three but two of those didn't make a quali run.

Tony Kanaan, who showed great #PoconoPotential last year, clocks sixth in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry with a 221.970mph average. That's a slight letdown, but you can be sure he's going to be up in the mix from the drop of the green flag tomorrow. In fact, knowing him, he could be leading at the end of Lap 1.

Top of the Andretti Autosport quartet is their least experienced member, Carlos Munoz with a scorching 223.083mph average…

But it's Juan Montoya who grabs pole for Team Penske and Chevrolet with the final run of the day! With a first lap of 223.920mph, a second lap of 223.822mph, his average is a startling 223.871mph! That's his 15th pole position in an Indy car.