Brad Keselowski has scored the pole position at the Southern 500 at historical Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
With two races left before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Keselowski set the fastest lap in what could be a momentum builder.
It was Keselowski’s first pole of the season, first at Darlington and the ninth of his career.
“For my team, we haven’t had, to date I would say, as strong of a year as what we had last year, and I think that kind of wears on everybody a little bit, including myself,” said Keselowski.
“But I feel like we have positive momentum, and you always want to see results that showcase that, and this is one of those results that I feel like we can carry for the next 12 weeks.
“I’m just really pleased with today’s qualifying effort and the momentum we’re carrying.”
With tyre degradation a big issue at Darlington, Busch set the fast speed of the time trials in the first round, running 288.88km/h to edge Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by .017 seconds. Through each subsequent round, the top speeds declined as tyre wear came into play. Keselowski leading both the second and final sessions, the latter of which determines the pole winner.
Kevin Harvick, last year’s winner from the pole, qualified third followed by Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon.
Trying to squeeze enough speed out of her Chevrolet, Danica Patrick tagged the outside wall during her final run in the first round, forcing the team to roll out a backup car. Accordingly, Patrick will start from the rear of the field on Sunday.
Fast in Friday’s practice, Greg Biffle also sustained damage to his 16 Ford after contact with the wall in the second round. Biffle was credited with a 24th-place qualifying effort, and his team opted to try to repair the car, rather than resorting to a backup.
Josh Wise, Timmy Hill and Travis Kvapil failed to make the 43-car field.
VIDEO: Keselowski talks about his pole
QUALIFYING: Bojangles’Southern 500 – Darlington Raceway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | MPH | TIME | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |  |
Miller High Life | 178.874 | 27.492 | Leader |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch |  |
Haas Automation | 177.588 | 27.691 | –0.199 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | |
Budweiser / Jimmy John’s | 177.415 | 27.718 | –0.226 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | |
Shell Pennzoil | 177.319 | 27.733 | –0.241 |
| 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | |
3M | 177.192 | 27.753 | –0.261 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |  |
Sport Clips | 176.905 | 27.798 | –0.306 |
| 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | |
Furniture Row/Visser Precision | 176.848 | 27.807 | –0.315 |
| 8 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | |
Cargill Ford Fusion | 176.670 | 27.835 | –0.343 |
| 9 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | |
Snap-On Tools | 176.195 | 27.910 | –0.418 |
| 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | |
M&M’s Crispy | 176.075 | 27.929 | –0.437 |
| 11 | 43 | Aric Almirola | |
STP | 175.962 | 27.947 | –0.455 |
| 12 | 27 | Paul Menard | |
Moen / Menards | 175.297 | 28.053 | –0.561 |
| 13 | 19 | Carl Edwards | |
Arris | 177.511 | 27.703 | –0.211 |
| 14 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | |
Dollar General | 177.217 | 27.749 | –0.257 |
| 15 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | |
HendrickRideAlong.com | 177.204 | 27.751 | –0.259 |
| 16 | 42 | Kyle Larson | |
Mello Yello | 177.134 | 27.762 | –0.270 |
| 17 | 14 | Tony Stewart | |
Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 | 177.045 | 27.776 | –0.284 |
| 18 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | |
Advocare Ford Fusion | 177.013 | 27.781 | –0.289 |
| 19 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | |
Lowe’s | 176.860 | 27.805 | –0.313 |
| 20 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | |
McDonald’s/Cessna | 176.568 | 27.851 | –0.359 |
| 21 | 55 | David Ragan | |
Ol’ Aaron’s Dream Machine | 176.264 | 27.899 | –0.407 |
| 22 | 25 | Chase Elliott | |
NAPA Auto Parts | 176.119 | 27.922 | –0.430 |
| 23 | 31 | Ryan Newman | |
Caterpillar | 175.943 | 27.950 | –0.458 |
| 24 | 16 | Greg Biffle | |
Ortho Ford Fusion | 153.498 | 32.037 | –4.545 |
| 25 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | |
Cosmo Motors | 177.339 | 27.730 | –0.238 |
| 26 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
Valvoline | 177.000 | 27.783 | –0.291 |
| 27 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | |
Brandt | 177.000 | 27.783 | –0.291 |
| 28 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | |
Buddy Baker Tribute Toyota Camry | 176.714 | 27.828 | –0.336 |
| 29 | 3 | Austin Dillon | |
American Ethanol | 176.682 | 27.833 | –0.341 |
| 30 | 10 | Danica Patrick | |
GoDaddy | 176.613 | 27.844 | –0.352 |
| 31 | 40 | Landon Cassill | |
#Snap Honor | 176.594 | 27.847 | –0.355 |
| 32 | 13 | Casey Mears | |
No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS | 176.511 | 27.860 | –0.368 |
| 33 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | |
Winn Dixie | 176.372 | 27.882 | –0.390 |
| 34 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | |
Kroger/House-Autry | 176.144 | 27.918 | –0.426 |
| 35 | 7 | Alex Bowman | |
Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet | 176.025 | 27.937 | –0.445 |
| 36 | 26 | J.J. Yeley | |
Beds For Kids | 175.981 | 27.944 | –0.452 |
| 37 | 35 | Cole Whitt | |
Speed Stick | 175.159 | 28.075 | –0.583 |
| 38 | 38 | David Gilliland | |
Love’s Travel Stops | 174.680 | 28.152 | –0.660 |
| 39 | 46 | Michael Annett | |
Pilot Flying J | 174.624 | 28.161 | –0.669 |
| 40 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | |
Dockside | 174.117 | 28.243 | –0.751 |
| 41 | 23 | Jeb Burton | |
Estes | 173.970 | 28.267 | –0.775 |
| 42 | 33 | Mike Bliss | |
Little Joe’s Auto Chevrolet SS | 172.954 | 28.433 | –0.941 |
| 43 | 98 | T.J. Bell | |
Premium Motorsports | 172.167 | 28.563 | –1.071 |
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