NASCAR at New Hampshire 2014 Results: Race Order, Final Times, Twitter Reaction

Everything keeps coming up Brad Keselowski. The No. 2 car is on a two-race winning streak and sits first in the Chase for the Sprint Cup grid. Now he can add another pole to his run of good form.

With a top speed of 140.598 miles per hour and a time of 27.090 seconds, Keselowski secured the top spot for Sunday's Sylvania 300, setting a New Hampshire Motor Speedway track record in the process, per NASCAR Stats:

With one event out of the way in the 10-race Chase, Keselowski is seven points ahead of Jeff Gordon. Rather than celebrating his good luck, Keselowski's not looking too far in the future, per NASCAR on ESPN:

"

Brad says he's a long way from feeling overly confident and won't call himself the Chase favorite.

— NASCAR on ESPN (@ESPNNASCAR) September 19, 2014"

It would certainly be way too premature to start popping champagne bottles. The Chase grid is still so compact that one bad race can take a driver from the penthouse to the outhouse. For Keselowski to hold onto the lead from here would be impressive. He'll have to run the gauntlet to ward off the competition.

He certainly knows what it takes to win a Sprint Cup Championship, bringing it home in 2012. The 30-year-old admitted that the feeling this time around would be altogether different, though, per the New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

Winning the pole has been a sign of good tidings for Keselowski so far in 2014. According to Dustin Long of the Motor Racing Network, he's finished on average 1.8 in the four previous races from which he's started out in first:

Going back-to-back-to-back won't be easy for Keselowski, but he's set himself up as well as he possibly could on Friday evening.

You can view the entire qualifying list on NASCAR.com.

Pos.	Driver	Best Speed	Time	Behind
1	Brad Keselowski	140.598	27.090	---
2	Jamie McMurray	140.437	27.121	-0.031
3	Kevin Harvick	140.065	27.193	-0.103
4	Denny Hamlin	139.757	27.253	-0.163
5	Kyle Busch	139.721	27.260	-0.170
6	Jimmie Johnson	139.419	27.319	-0.229
7	Joey Logano	139.241	27.354	-0.264
8	Carl Edwards	139.017	27.398	-0.308
9	Ryan Newman	138.946	27.412	-0.322
10	Kyle Larson	138.881	27.425	-0.335
11	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	138.865	27.428	-0.338
12	Brian Vickers	138.759	27.449	-0.359

Here's a look at the Chase standings heading into Sunday's race.

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Brad Keselowski	2059	5
2	Jeff Gordon	2052	3
3	Joey Logano	2049	3
4	Kevin Harvick	2047	2
5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2042	3
6	Jimmie Johnson	2041	3
7	Kyle Busch	2041	1
8	Denny Hamlin	2041	1
9	Kurt Busch	2039	1
10	Kasey Kahne	2034	1
11	Matt Kenseth	2034	0
12	Carl Edwards	2030	2
13	Ryan Newman	2029	0
14	AJ Allmendinger	2025	1
15	Greg Biffle	2021	0
16	Aric Almirola	2007	1

Those at the bottom of the totem pole that is the Chase grid have a little bit of time left to get their affairs in order and move up. After three Chase races, the field will narrow from 16 drivers to 12.

Right now, Ryan Newman, AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola are caught in the crosshairs.

Of the four, Newman looks like the best bet to escape. He's only one point back from 12th-place Carl Edwards in the Chase, and he'll start Sunday's race in ninth.

According to DriverAverages.com, Newman has won three times at New Hampshire, but his recent results have since been slightly less encouraging. Since his last victory in 2011, he's finished with an average position of 17.5. His best finish is fifth at the Camping World RV Sales 301 in July.

Still, for the moment, Newman shouldn't begin to panic.

The same can't be said for Biffle, Allmendinger and Almirola, all of whom will start the race 21st or worst, per Nate Ryan of USA Today:

Although Almirola is starting the highest among the trio, he's also the most precariously placed. He sits right on the edge of the Chase, 14 points back off Biffle.

The No. 43 car finished 23rd at the MyAFibStory.com 400 last week, but Almirola led two laps, casting a somewhat positive light on the result. He believes that that race proved he can hold his own against the best of the best, per ESPN's Marty Smith:

Almirola only has one win and two top-five finishes to his name on the Sprint Cup circuit in 2014, so he's unlikely to be a factor in the final result, but hovering near the top 10 could do wonders for his Chase position.

With a lot of races still left in the Chase, the Sylvania 300 won't have a large say on the top of the standings.

However, you can count on an enthralling fight at the bottom.