March 14, 2021: #2: Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, Ford Mustang Wurthat Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix AZ. (HHP/Harold Hinson)
Brad Keselowski. (HHP/Harold Hinson photo)

Keselowski Named Polesitter For Darlington Cup Race

DARLINGTON, S.C. – For the second week in a row, Brad Keselowski will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag, as he earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway during NASCAR Throwback Weekend.

Keselowski, the driver of the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, received the Busch Pole Award for the Goodyear 400 courtesy of the highest metric score among the 37 cars entered to compete.

Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.

Keselowski earned the pole with a metric score of 3.75, factoring in his recent third-place finish at Kansas Speedway, the fastest lap from that event and his sixth-place seeding in the point standings after 11 of 36 races this season.

He’ll be joined on the front row by Kevin Harvick, the Kansas runner-up, with Kansas winner Kyle Busch starting third ahead of Martin Truex Jr., William Byron and Chase Elliott.

In a bit of manufacturer parity, Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet each have two representatives among the first three rows of Sunday’s starting grid.

Denny Hamlin, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick fill out the top 10 starting positions for Sunday’s race at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.

To view the full starting lineup and metric qualifying breakdown, click here.

Sunday’s Goodyear 400 is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET start, with live coverage on FS1, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.