Penske's Ryan Briscoe made his fastest lap at the end of the qualifying session to beat Justin Wilson who had set the fastest time up to that point and claimed his first IRL IndyCar Series pole position at Watkins Glen.
The Australian beat Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Justin Wilson to the top spot by a narrow margin of 0.03 seconds.
Another superb run for Ryan Hunter-Reay who qualified third, edging championship leader Scott Dixon.
Dixon's teammate Helio Castroneves will have to start at the back as he was unable to set a time due to mechanical problems.
Qualifying Results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1:29.3456
2. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:29.3804
3. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 1:29.6355
4. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1:29.6776
5. Oriol Servia KV 1:29.7068
6. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 1:29.9938
7. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1:29.9668
8. Darren Manning Foyt 1:30.0474
9. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 1:30.0567
10. Vitor Meira Panther 1:30.1172
11. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:30.6213
12. Will Power KV 1:32.8542
13. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 1:30.3049
14. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1:30.5647
15. EJ Viso HVM 1:30.6885
16. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest 1:31.0196
17. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 1:31.0470
18. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:31.2402
19. Mario Dominguez Pacific Coast 1:31.3614
20. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1:31.4704
21. Ed Carpenter Vision 1:32.2381
22. AJ Foyt IV Vision 1:32.8496
23. Jaime Camara Conquest 1:34.5517
24. Jay Howard Roth 1:35.0154
25. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 1:36.0330
26. Helio Castroneves Penske No Time
The Australian beat Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Justin Wilson to the top spot by a narrow margin of 0.03 seconds.
Another superb run for Ryan Hunter-Reay who qualified third, edging championship leader Scott Dixon.
Dixon's teammate Helio Castroneves will have to start at the back as he was unable to set a time due to mechanical problems.
Qualifying Results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1:29.3456
2. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:29.3804
3. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 1:29.6355
4. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1:29.6776
5. Oriol Servia KV 1:29.7068
6. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 1:29.9938
7. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1:29.9668
8. Darren Manning Foyt 1:30.0474
9. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 1:30.0567
10. Vitor Meira Panther 1:30.1172
11. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:30.6213
12. Will Power KV 1:32.8542
13. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 1:30.3049
14. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1:30.5647
15. EJ Viso HVM 1:30.6885
16. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest 1:31.0196
17. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 1:31.0470
18. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:31.2402
19. Mario Dominguez Pacific Coast 1:31.3614
20. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1:31.4704
21. Ed Carpenter Vision 1:32.2381
22. AJ Foyt IV Vision 1:32.8496
23. Jaime Camara Conquest 1:34.5517
24. Jay Howard Roth 1:35.0154
25. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 1:36.0330
26. Helio Castroneves Penske No Time