Kasey Kahne won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 62nd Annual SHOWTIME Southern 500 with a lap of 27.131 seconds, 181.254 mph a new track record. The previous record was held by Jamie McMurray 180.37 mph (05/08/2010). This is his 21st pole in 262 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his first pole and fifth top-10 start in 2011. This is his fourth pole in nine races at Darlington Raceway. Ryan Newman (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2011 and his 10th in 13 races at Darlington Raceway. Denny Hamlin (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his third in ten races this season. Andy Lally (45th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(5-6-2011)
