Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski won his first pole since 2011 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. REUTERS

Defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski won his first pole of the season just in time.

There are eight races left until the Chase for the Cup and Keselowski needs a bit of a boost in the standings if he hopes to retain his title.

He posted a record breaking 135.922 mph lap for Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was the first pole victory in nearly two years for Keselowski, who is trailing Kasey Kahne by two points for 13th place in the Cup standings.

The Penske Racing driver has five top five finishes this year, but is far behind his pace of five victories last season.

Kahne actualy won last year at New Hampshire, despite only leading 66 laps compared to Denny Hamlin’s 150.

Points leader Jimmie Johnson will start just behind Keselowski, and can create more distance between him and Clint Bowyer in the standings. The 37-year-old already has four wins and 12 top 10 finishes this year.

Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch round out the top five starting.

The field should have some good weather with the forecast calling for temperatures in the mid 80s throughout. However there is a chance of an isolated rain storm.

The race starts at 1 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast by TNT.

Starting Lineup

1.Brad Keselowski

2. Jimmie Johnson

3.Kurt Busch

4.Dale Earnhardt Jr.

5.Kyle Busch

6.Jeff Gordon

7.Carl Edwards

8.Denny Hamlin

9.Kasey Kahne

10.Jeff Burton

11.Juan Pablo Montoya

12.Jamie McMurray

13.Matt Kenseth

14. Brian Vickers

15.Paul Menard

16.Ryan Newman

17. Tony Stewart

18.Aric Almirola

19.Kevin Harvick

20.Martin Truex Jr.

21.Clint Bowyer

22.Marcos Ambrose

23. Greg Biffle

24.Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25.David Gilliland

26.Joey Logano

27.AJ Allmendinger

28.David Reutimann

29.Casey Mears

30.David Ragan

31.Michael McDowell

32.Travis Kvapil

33.Danica Patrick

34.Bobby Labonte

35.Mike Bliss

36.Josh Wise

37.Landon Cassill

38.Ken Schrader

39.Joe Nemechek

40.Dave Blaney

41.J.J. Yeley

42.Morgan Shepherd

43.David Stremme