LONG POND - Brad Keselowski wasn't sure what he had in his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford prior to Friday's qualifying session at Pocono Raceway. But Keselowski found the speed he needed when it mattered the most, capturing the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday's Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400 with a lap of 181.726 mph (49.525) in the final round of qualifying.

"I felt really good when we ran the first round and I was third and I knew we had a little more speed left," Keselowski said. "Then we ran the second round and I didn't think I had anymore speed left but I was still third."I got down into Turn 1 on my last run (of the final round) and I kind of bottomed out and shot up the hill a little bit and I wasn't very confident at all. But I've learned over time that these things have a way of working themselves out when they're meant to be and I guess today was meant to be."Keselowski will start alongside Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who had the second fastest lap at 181.400 (49.614). Logano was the quickest after the first two rounds of the three-round knockout qualifying session."It was very similar to last week (at Charlotte Motor Speedway) when we won the first two rounds then came in second the last one," Logano said. "That one stings a little bit. I really wanted to get a pole. But overall, when we're mad about second it was a good day. It's a good thing when you're mad about second; it means your organization and your team is where it needs to be."Congratulations to Brad. They picked up a lot of speed through the (three) rounds and that's good for them. A Team Penske front row is special."With weather playing havoc with Friday morning's schedule, the minimal practice time ahead of qualifying only heightened the uncertainty for Keselowski, who was 12th fastest in the morning session with only one lap run."It's a really solid effort for Team Penske to get 1-2 - that's really hard to do, I can tell you that," he said. "We had great speed, obviously, today. I wasn't really sure what to expect with the rain and all the other variables that were thrown at us in practice."We thought we'd be OK. But quite honestly we tested here (in April) and we weren't very good and not really sure what to expect. We got that half-a-lap of practice in and we weren't all that good there either. But for some reason, in that session the team put things together, worked on it and found some speed. (They) dialed it in each round and we got faster in each round and that's why we're up here today."It was a team effort. I'm really proud of my group. Getting the pole today is great but we want to be up there Sunday as well so we're going to enjoy this moment then go ahead and get back to work to try to make it stay up there Sunday."Logano, who was eighth fastest in the morning practice session, seemed like a lock for the pole after posting the fastest time in the first two rounds, but was unable to sustain the momentum in the final round, which saw the return of the rain near the end of the session."It didn't concern me but I was hoping it concerned NASCAR after my lap before Brad came across the line," Logano joked of finishing his lap before Keselowski in the final round. "It wasn't raining hard enough for me to call it quits. I'm usually the last one to one off the track when it's raining. I don't know if that's guts or lack of brains. Whatever, it is it doesn't bother me much."Like Keselowski, Logano also struggled with first turn in the final round, trying to get as much as he could out of the car."I just went down in there (Turn 1) and you try to get a little bit more in that last run and you're trying to pick up a little bit more - we all did," Logano said. "But unfortunately I hit the track a little bit with the splitter and it ended up bouncing me up the track and I ran a lane up all the way through that corner."I know that's every bit of a tenth (of a second). I'm sure when I go back and watch it on TV and compare laps with Brad and look at the data I'm sure that's where it all is. Turns 2 and 3 were really good so I thought I made up something and I was surprised it was as fast as it was. That just shows the speed in the car."Joe Gibbs Racing's Matt Kenseth will start third after recording a lap of 181.316 (49.637).Current Sprint Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick will roll off fourth (181.192, 49.671), while Kenseth's teammate, Carl Edwards, will start from the fifth position (180.759, 49.790).Perennial fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified eighth, turning in a lap at 179.605 (50.110).FIRST AND FASTEST. … The pole was the first for Keselowski this season and the first of his career at Pocono. Keselowski's previous best start was third (twice), most recently in August 2014. Chase Elliott (13th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.INAUGURAL RUNNING. … Saturday will mark the first time that NASCAR's XFINITY Series will run at Pocono. Qualifying is set for 9:15 a.m. with the Pocono Green 250 (100 laps, 250 miles) set for 1 p.m. Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch is set to compete in the race, along with other Logano, Kyle Larson and other Cup Series regulars.WINNER WINNER. … In addition to Spring Cup Series qualifying Friday, the ARCA Racing Series also got its General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 in without issue. Grant Enfinger picked up the win.