Brad Keselowski claims pole for All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski, who has suffered through the worst start of a season in his Cup career, won the pole for Sunday night’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Keselowski, who is 33rd in the points, also earned the pole for his heat race Saturday with the qualifying effort.

There will be two heat races Saturday. The first heat race features those in the odd-number positions in the qualifying results. The second heat will feature those in the even-numbered positions in the qualifying results.

Keselowski will be on the pole for the first heat. Christopher Bell, who qualified second, will be on the pole for the second heat race. The heat races will set the starting lineup for Sunday’s All-Star Race other than the pole. Keselowski gets that regardless of how he finishes in his heat race.

MORE: All-Star qualifying results

Shane van Gisbergen, who is 35th in points, earned the pole for Sunday’s Open, the 18-car event for those seeking to advance to the All-Star Race.

Both fields were set in a qualifying format that featured three laps and a four-tire pit stop. Quickest elapsed time earned the pole.

Keselowski, who has finished 26th or worse in nine of the first 12 points races of the season, said Friday’s qualifying effort was significant for his RFK Racing team.

“Thi (success) is tangible, it’s visible outside of our team circle,” Keselowski said. “Those, they build up. They build momentum. They build positivity inside the group that manifests itself in a higher level of teamwork and craftsmanship.

“I think the team is a pretty resilient group. I don’t care who you are as a team, we all need some positive reinforcement and encouragement. There was nothing negative about today.”

MORE: All-Star Open starting lineup

Michael McDowell’s pit crew posted the fastest four-tire pit stop during his qualifying effort at 12.587 seconds to win the $100,000 bonus. The pit crew for Daniel Suarez was second at 12.600 seconds.

Shane van Gisbergen won the pole for Sunday’s All-Star Open. Carson Hocevar qualified second, Noah Gragson third, McDowell fourth and Ryan Preece fifth.

The top two finishers in the Open advance to the All-Star Race. A third driver will transfer via the fan vote.