Keselowski wins pole in Loudon, Johnson disallowed

Brad Keselowski

Defending series champion Brad Keselowski rolled to the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday afternoon qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Keselowski, who also paced the opening practice on the 1.058-mile track, turned a lap at 135.922 mph in the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford, making him the fastest of nine drivers to break the track record of 135.232 mph established by Ryan Newman two years ago. His first Sprint Cup pole of the season was the third of his career, his first since winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2011.

Jimmie Johnson, the series points leader, initially qualified second at 135.902 mph but his speed was disallowed because his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was ruled too low in the front end on both sides. Johnson's car was late in making a qualifying pass after his crew frantically worked to get the car through inspection — NASCAR officials ruled that a side skirt was too low and that the car had a weight imbalance of one pound, Johnson said.

The dismissal of his qualifying time means that Johnson will start at the rear of the 43-car field. It also means that Kurt Busch qualified second at 135.835, moving him up to the front row in the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnson’s Hendrick teammate, qualified third. Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was fourth-best in the fastest Toyota on the qualifying board, and Jeff Gordon completed the top five in another Hendrick car.

Morgan Shepherd qualified 41nd at 128.290 mph in the No. 52 Bob Keselowski-owned Toyota, meaning he will become the oldest starter in the history of NASCAR’s premier series at age 71 in Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 301 (1 p.m. ET, TNT).

David Stremme slapped the turn 2 retaining wall on his warm-up lap before his qualifying run. He continued on with a damaged car, clocking one lap at 36.949 mph — easily the slowest in the field.

Lineup