Brad Keselowski takes pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C.

A strong practice session translated into an excellent qualifying run for Brad Keselowski, as the driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge won the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Keselowski sped around the 1.5-mile track in 28.112 seconds (192.089 mph) Thursday to win the second pole of his career, the first coming last September at New Hampshire. Keselowski edged AJ Allmendinger (191.693 mph), who will start his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup points race from the outside of the front row.

Series points leader Carl Edwards, winner of Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, will start third (191.686 mph). Denny Hamlin (191.367 mph) will line up next to Edwards on the outside of the second row.

After struggling early in the 2011 season, Keselowski’s performance has improved over the last few weeks, the high-water mark being a third-place finish May 7 at Darlington.

Asked about the origin of his newfound speed, Keselowski joked, “Well, my crew chief Paul Wolfe, he lives off of Perth Road, so maybe he found some secrets there,” a reference to the public road in Iredell County where Kyle Busch was stopped on Tuesday for doing 128 mph in a 45 mph zone. “Other than that, he’s making small gains every week. Sometimes they don’t show up. Sometimes you make gains, and you can feel ‘em, but you all (the media) don’t see ’em.”