Helio Castroneves takes pole at Long Beach

For the second consecutive year at Long Beach, and for the 47th time in his career, Helio Castroneves will start a race from the pole position.

The Brazilian qualified first Saturday for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach at 105.547 mph, short of the 106.331-mph track record he set in 2015.

“Qualifying was a little bit strange, but at the end of the day, it showed that our team is very consistent,” Castroneves said. “I’m happy that finally our plan paid off. We’re showing speed.”

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The “strange” part Castroneves referenced came during the Firestone Fast Six session, when the six fastest drivers from the first two rounds of qualifying got another chance to best their previous attempts.

Will Power — one of the six — ended up in the Turn 9 runoff area, which triggered a red flag. Power was penalized by having his best two lap times invalidated, meaning he’ll begin in sixth in Sunday’s race.

“I didn’t want to take a risk and hit the wall and try to spin back around,” Australia’s Power said. “I always seem to start way back. It’s not way back this year, it’s a lot better than the previous two or three years. So at least we’re in the top six.”

Castroneves led for 31 laps at Long Beach last season, and finished second. His downfall came in the pits — as he attempted to leave his stall, he had to hit the brakes to avoid slamming into Tony Kanaan. Kanaan’s teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, Scott Dixon, won the race.

“We timed it so perfectly,” Kanaan joked Saturday.

Kanaan, who qualified fourth, was complimentary of Castroneves’ ability to start up front.

“It was always his strength,” Brazil’s Kanaan said. “Since we were like 8 years old racing go-karts … he knows how to do it, for sure.”

Since the Long Beach Grand Prix became a regular part of the IndyCar circuit in 2009, there have been three instances of the pole winner ultimately finishing the race in the top three.

Defending champion Dixon of New Zealand qualified second Saturday at 105.045 mph, and current points leader Simon Pagenaud of France was third at 104.587 mph.

“The car has been strong all weekend,” Pagenaud said. “I think we actually have a better race car than qualifying car.”

Kanaan (104.503 mph), Juan Pablo Montoya (104.333 mph), and Power rounded out the top six. All of the top qualifiers drive Chevrolets, and all six are members of either Team Penske or Team Ganassi.

In other events:

• For the second straight year, Alfonso Ribeiro was victorious at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Ribeiro, best known for his role as Carlton Banks on “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” won by 4.872 seconds over runner-up Max Papis. Saturday marked the 40th and final iteration of the Pro/Celebrity Race, which is being discontinued at Long Beach.

• Jordan Taylor won the SportsCar Grand Prix at Long Beach. His team, Wayne Taylor Racing, also took the title at Long Beach in 2015.

• Alvaro Parente grabbed the pole position for the Pirelli World Challenge with a lap of 89.741 mph. The World Challenge race is at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Follow Alex Shultz on Twitter @AlexShultz