LOUDON, N.H. — Brad Keselowski topped qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday for his first NASCAR Cup pole since 2017.
Keselowski turned a fast lap of 136.384 mph in his Ford to edge Kyle Busch, who briefly held the top speed.
“We’re happy with that effort. It certainly bodes well for our shot to get those stage wins and of course the overall race win come Sunday. But we still have to go earn it,” Keselowski said. “So you’re happy for it. You take a breath and you celebrate it, and you get your head back down and go to work.”
Busch was second at 136.311 mph, just ahead of his older brother, Kurt. Kurt Busch is coming off his first victory of the season after edging Kyle last weekend at Kentucky Motor Speedway.
Keselowski, who has three victories this season, won at New Hampshire in 2014.
When fans slammed crew chief Matt McCall for costing Kurt Busch a win at Daytona, he was a good sport and made a video for social media of him reading the criticism – even a critical tweet that came from his wife.
The feedback has been quite different this week.
Busch raced to his first victory with Chip Ganassi Racing last week at Kentucky – in part because of a call McCall made before overtime – and McCall has been able to focus on what’s ahead rather than answering for any mistakes.
“It feels great, but I’m terrible about celebrating. Literally, when I get home, I’m already thinking about the next week,” McCall said Friday. “That’s the way I’ve always been and I’ve always raced.”
That hadn’t happened until last Saturday, when Busch edged his brother, Kyle, in a two-lap overtime shootout at Kentucky Speedway. It was the first time Kurt beat his little brother in a head-to-head NASCAR finish, but more importantly, it was a victory for the elder Busch, McCall and Ganassi, who had been in position to win the week before at Daytona before lightning struck –literally.
Busch was in front after making it through a massive accident unscathed. NASCAR said the race was one lap away from resuming, but McCall called Busch in for a quick pit stop, which turned out to be the end of the line.
Lightning quickly followed and the race was eventually called, leaving McCall with a backlog of angry messages from fans questioning his
logic, among other things.
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