Brad Keselowski Continues His Wave of Momentum at the Start of the Chase By Taking the Pole at New Hampshire

        With a time of 27.090 seconds (140.598 mph), Brad Keselowski was able to set the track record at New Hampshire and take the pole for the second Chase race of 2014. Keselowski, who has been riding a wave of momentum in recent weeks, has been very impressive recently. He won the regular season finale at Richmond two weeks while leading all but seventeen laps in the event while also starting on the pole. Last week, he went to Chicagoland for the first race of the 2014 Chase and took the win to guarantee himself a spot in the next round of the Chase. He comes to New Hampshire this weekend and takes the pole while sitting at the top of the leaderboard in two of the practice sessions. It is safe to say Keselowski will be a factor again this weekend as he looks to sweep at New Hampshire on the season, but he will have a lot of competition from his fellow Chase drivers and the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field. Jamie McMurray, who is not in the Chase this year, will look to win and prove that he deserves to be in the Chase himself with a second place starting spot. Kevin Harvick continues to run fast every single week with a third place starting spot as he looks to win his first Cup championship. Denny Hamlin made his way into the Chase thanks to a win at Talladega and he looks to win again with a fourth place starting spot. Kyle Busch has finished second in the last three races at New Hampshire and he will look for a win with a fifth place starting spot. The rest of the Sprint Cup regulars and Chase contenders follow behind this stacked top five. The second knockout qualifying session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire was rather calm, but the qualifying session could change a lot of things as we head down the stretch towards the battle for the championship.

        Marcos Ambrose was the first driver on track to start the thirty minute first round. Ambrose ran a decent lap as he looked to make the second and final round. Early on, Jimmie Johnson, who had struggled so far in practice on Friday, jumped to the top of the board with a track record speed. About six minutes into the round, Denny Hamlin jumped ahead of Johnson with a track record speed of his own. These two laps would not matter as Brad Keselowski, who had been fastest in practice on Friday, jumped to the top of the board two minutes later. Keselowski looked to hold station at the top while the rest of the drivers ran laps. The minutes were clicking away in the round as Chase drivers moved in and out of the top twelve that would head to the final round of qualifying. With about five minutes left in the final round, the session started to head up after a calm twenty five minutes. Drivers like Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, and others were looking to take the twelfth and final transfer spot. The spots around twelfth began to shuffle quickly as the final minutes clicked away in the round. As the red and black flag waved to end the first round, the shuffle was complete with Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking the final transfer spot and Brad Keselowski remaining the fastest driver. Carl Edwards, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman moved on while Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, and others missed the final round. After the long thirty minute first round, the drivers would only have a quick ten minutes to take the pole at New Hampshire.

        Denny Hamlin was the first driver on track to start the ten minute final round. Hamlin ran a good lap on his second time around to jump to the provisional pole early on. He looked to hold onto the pole, but he had a good many more drivers to contend with. Four minutes in, Jamie McMurray dashed Hamlin's hope of a pole as he jumped to the provisional pole. Just a minute later, though, McMurray would be knocked from the top as Brad Keselowski laid down a blazing fast track record speed. Keselowski had only a few more drivers to dodge as the session reached halfway. Kyle Larson looked to lay down a quick lap and beat Keselowski, but he would have a little trouble during his run. His brakes locked up heading into turn 3 and he sailed up the track. He managed to slow his car down and barely bump the outside wall. He pulled down pit road with little damage, but he would be able to lay down a lap a little later. Still, it was all Brad Keselowski with a minute left in the round. All the drivers completed their runs late and, as the red and black flag waved, Brad Keselowski was still at the top of the leaderboard. He grabbed his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of the year as he looks to grab his sixth win of the season. Keselowski is fast once again and he is becoming the biggest threat for the Cup championship.

        Brad Keselowski is rolling in recent weeks. Two straight wins mean that Keselowski has the momentum for sure. Also, consider this. In the last two races where Keselowski has sat on the pole, he has taken his Team Penske Ford Fusion to victory lane. Plus, the last time NASCAR visited New Hampshire, Keselowski went to victory lane in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It is safe to say Keselowski is a heavy favorite, but here is another statistic to consider. In the last thirteen races at New Hampshire, thirteen different drivers have visited victory lane. Keselowski, who won just this summer, will have to end that streak to take his third straight win as we run the second race of the 2014 Chase. Behind him, Keselowski has a lot of drivers who are hoping to end Keselowski's recent streak of wins. Jamie McMurray would love to spoil the Chase party as he starts second tomorrow. Kevin Harvick, who hasn't won at New Hampshire since 2006, will look to become the fourteenth different winner in fourteen races from his third place starting spot. Denny Hamlin would like to guarantee himself a spot in the next round of the Chase with a win at New Hampshire from his fourth place starting spot. Kyle Busch, Hamlin's teammate, will look to do the same exact thing from his fifth place starting spot. The same can be said for the other Chase drivers behind these guys as Dover next week marks the first round of eliminations. The field will have to battle hard on the flat one mile track in New Hampshire and it will be a great battle for sure. Will Brad Keselowski win his third straight race, will Jamie McMurray win a Chase race as a non-Chase driver, will another non-Chase driver spoil the Chase party, or will another Chase driver seal his ticket to the next round? We only have to wait a day before we find out this information and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Top 5 Qualifiers (With Times):
1st: Brad Keselowski     27.090 (140.598 mph)
2nd: Jamie McMurray     27.121 (140.437 mph)
3rd: Kevin Harvick     27.193 (140.065 mph)
4th: Denny Hamlin     27.253 (139.757 mph)
5th: Kyle Busch     27.260 (139.721 mph)

Notables Not in Top 5 (With Times):
6th: Jimmie Johnson     27.319 (139.419 mph)
7th: Joey Logano     27.354 (139.241 mph)
8th: Carl Edwards     27.398 (139.017 mph)
11th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.     27.428 (138.865 mph)
13th: Jeff Gordon     27.412 (138.946 mph)*
15th: Kurt Busch     27.413 (138.941 mph)*
16th: Matt Kenseth     27.430 (138.855 mph)
17th: Kasey Kahne     27.436 (138.825 mph)
(*: Gordon and Kurt Busch were fast enough to be in the top twelve, but they missed the final round.)

DNQs: None




Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-qualification.Round_2.html
http://racing-reference.info/getqualify/2014-28/W
-Image:
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/244e7aa319ff908444a43ab6f505eeac6fa99b4f/c=669-0-4102-2581&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2014/09/19/1411162981000-9-19-14-early-brad-keselowski.jpg