Brad Keselowski wins Southern 500 pole
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Brad Keselowski won five pole positions last year and looked like he was an ace when it came to mastering NASCAR’s knockout qualifying format.
This year? Not so much.
Keselowski hadn’t won a pole position all season entering Darlington Raceway and his average starting position had fallen by more than four spots.
But then came Saturday, when Keselowski – driving a throwback paint scheme inspired by Bobby Allison – put his No. 2 car on the pole for the Bojangles’ Southern 500.
“This is probably the biggest pole I’ve ever had as far as what the track means,” Keselowski said, adding he considered Darlington to be one of NASCAR’s most legendary venues. “Any success you have on those tracks is ‘Whoa,’ you know? It’s huge. It’s a great accomplishment to me personally, and it means a lot.”
Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10.
There were quite a few big-name drivers who didn’t even make the top 12.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth were the first two to miss the cut, followed by Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson and Tony Stewart.
VIDEO: Danica Patrick upset with qualifying effort
Another driver with a disappointing qualifying spot: Three-time Darlington winner Jimmie Johnson, who will start 19th.
Greg Biffle, who had been fastest in Friday’s first practice and was second-quickest in the final practice, hit the wall during the second round of qualifying and will start 24th.
Notables failing to advance past the first round included Dale Earnhardt Jr. (26th), Clint Bowyer (28th) and Danica Patrick (30th).
Patrick went out on a second attempt late in the session and hit the wall, then had an animated conversation with crew chief Daniel Knost before she walked briskly off pit road. Her team then pulled out a backup car for Sunday’s race, which means she’ll have to start in the back of the field.
Travis Kvapil, Josh Wise and Timmy Hill failed to qualify for the race.
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
PHOTOS: Darlington throwback paint schemes
SUNDAY'S LINEUP
At Darlington Raceway
Lap length: 1.366 miles
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 178.874.
2. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 177.588.
3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 177.415.
4. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 177.319.
5. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 177.192.
6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 176.905.
7. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 176.848.
8. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 176.67.
9. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 176.195.
10. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 176.075.
11. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 175.962.
12. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 175.297.
13. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 177.511.
14. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 177.217.
15. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 177.204.
16. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 177.134.
17. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 177.045.
18. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 177.013.
19. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 176.86.
20. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 176.568.
21. (55) David Ragan, Toyota, 176.264.
22. (25) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 176.119.
23. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 175.943.
24. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 153.498.
25. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 177.339.
26. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 177.
27. (51) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 177.
28. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 176.714.
29. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 176.682.
30. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 176.613.
31. (40) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 176.594.
32. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 176.511.
33. (9) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 176.372.
34. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 176.144.
35. (7) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 176.025.
36. (26) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 175.981.
37. (35) Cole Whitt, Ford, Owner Points.
38. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, Owner Points.
39. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, Owner Points.
40. (34) Brett Moffitt, Ford, Owner Points.
41. (23) Jeb Burton, Toyota, Owner Points.
42. (33) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, Owner Points.
43. (98) T.J. Bell, Ford, Owner Points.
Failed to qualify
44. (32) Josh Wise, Ford, 174.979.
45. (62) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 174.389.
46. (30) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 174.303.