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Pocono pole extends Brad Keselowski’s recent string of success, consistency

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Practice - Go Bowling 400

KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 06: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford, speaks with Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Ford, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 6, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

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With two wins (Las Vegas and Talladega), four top-fives and eight top-10 finishes in the first 13 races of the season, Brad Keselowski is pretty much where he wants to be halfway to the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

He’s been consistent in his last four starts, including the win at ‘Dega and no finish lower than 10th (Kansas).

And Friday, he continued that good fortune by grabbing the pole, the 12th of his Sprint Cup career, for Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway. Teammate Joey Logano will start second, making it a Team Penske front row sweep.

“We have had a good stretch the last three or four weeks of being very competitive and leading laps and being up front,” Keselowski said at Pocono Raceway. “We didn’t get the wins we wanted out of it but we did get one win and that is something.

“We are climbing up in points (fifth), not that it really matters, but it feels good and gives us a lot of confidence and belief in ourselves that we can go out and win this week.”

But as well as things have gone, Keselowski is looking to avoid any kind of slump.

“I think we have been somewhat consistent,” he said. “Every race team has its ebbs and flows. Ours always seem to have this early summer kind of blah and then we get into the late summer and run really good.

“Hopefully we can carry that through the Chase. … I think we are pretty much exactly aligned with where we have been the last probably two or three seasons and I think we will have a strong shot at running for another championship this fall.

“We haven’t been able to close it out the last two years, but I feel like we have been right there within a race or two of being able to do that. I am ready for that opportunity and kind of want to hit the fast forward button through this part of the season to get there. I am also trying to enjoy the moment.”

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