Times wires
Thursday, May 26, 2011
CONCORD, N.C. — Moments after Brad Keselowski drove the fastest car at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday, he couldn't resist poking fun at the driver caught going too fast two days earlier.
Keselowski's lap of 192.089 mph gave him the pole for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. He was asked what has been the difference in the past two Sprint Cup points races — finishes of third and 13th — after a miserable start to the season.
"My crew chief, Paul Wolfe, he lives off of Perth Road," Keselowski said. "So maybe he found some secrets there. There's a lot of speed on that road, I hear."
Perth Road, in nearby Troutman, was where a police officer said he clocked Kyle Busch driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone Tuesday.
AJ Allmendinger (191.693 mph) joins Keselowski on the front row for NASCAR's longest race. Carl Edwards, who won last week's All-Star race, qualified third. Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top six.
Zephyrhills' David Reutimann qualified seventh. Paul Menard, on crutches with 20 stitches in his right foot because of an accident while working on the dock at his home, qualified 16th. Elliott Sadler is on standby for him.
Indy 500: The controversial restarts instituted for this year's race likely will begin about 900 feet from the first turn so drivers can go fast enough to eliminate congestion, yet slow enough that they won't crash on the tiny rubber bits known as marbles in the corners, said Brian Barnhart, IndyCar's president of competition and racing operations.