Coca-Cola 600 Starting Lineup: Brad Keselowski Up Front For 2011 Edition Of NASCAR’s Longest Race

As the saying goes, “Fast cars go fast.” And Brad Keselowski apparently has a very fast car for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Keselowski recited that phrase after winning the pole for the Coke 600 on Thursday night, which marked the second pole of his Sprint Cup Series career.

The Penske Racing driver, whose team has struggled to find speed at points this season, will lead the field to the green flag to start NASCAR’s longest race. It was the second pole of Keselowski’s career.

“Fast cars go fast, and this team is really making a lot of progress,” Keselowski said. “Every week, we just keep ticking away. A little bit here, a little bit there.”

AJ Allmendinger will join Keselowski on the front row, followed by All-Star Race winner Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton.

Jimmie Johnson, 2009 Coke 600 winner David Reutimann, David Ragan, first-time starter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.

The night qualifying session had a bit of excitement. While go-or-go-home driver Andy Lally was attempting to make the race, he went into a long, smoky drift. Amazingly, he kept it off the wall – but his lap wasn’t good enough to qualify for the race.

Four other cars shared Lally’s fate. Drivers who failed to qualify included Lally, T.J. Bell, Scott Wimmer, Tony Raines and Scott Riggs.

Here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600:

Failed to qualify: Andy Lally, T.J. Bell, Scott Wimmer, Tony Raines, Scott Riggs