Brad Keselowski had a fast Friday in Texas. The Penske Racing driver was the fastest car on the track Friday leading NASCAR Sprint Cup practice and all three knockout qualifying rounds at the 1.5 mile Texas Motor Speedway to grab his 11th career pole , and his first at Texas. Keselowski put down a lap of 27.421, 196.929 miles per hour halfway through the final five minute round and will lead the field to the green for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.
“This is a good start but our ultimate goal is to be the fastest at the end of the race on Sunday,” Keselowski said.
The top four starters are in the Chase. Kevin Harvick, who was second in Friday’s lone practice session, backed that up in qualifying and will start second, Kyle Busch will start third, Joey Logano fourth and non-Chase driver Kyle Larson fifth.
“Pretty much ran the same speed in all three rounds there,” Harvick said. “Didn’t quite have the raw speed in the first round, but this is a racetrack where you want the car to keep going as long as you can. Felt like we had a good start to our race trim practice today and going to have a good spot to start on Sunday.”
Unlike his last pole in Kansas, Keselowski will be able to keep his pit stall selection. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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