NASCAR Daytona: David Gilliland tops rain-shortened qualifying
David Gilliland claimed a surprise pole for Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona following a chaotic and rain-affected qualifying session
It started raining shortly after the opening session and the downpour forced the remainder of qualifying to be cancelled, handing Front Row Ford driver Gilliland the third pole of his career and his first of the season.
The shortened session means the front two rows have a surprise look to them, with Reed Sorenson's Baldwin Chevrolet, which has started no higher than 22nd this year, joining Gilliland - whose last pole came at Daytona in 2007 - on the front row.
Landon Cassill, whose previous best qualifying result was sixth, and 50-year-old Bobby Labonte will start third and fourth, while reigning champion Jimmie Johnson will line-up fifth in his Hendrick Chevrolet.
His team-mate, and current points leader, Jeff Gordon will start from ninth.
The session was chaotic as 44 cars battled it out for space on the track. Several big-name drivers were left with lowly grid slots, such as the Penske Fords of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, which will start 26th and 28th respectively.
Also towards the back is the pole winner for this event last year Kyle Busch, whose Joe Gibbs Toyota starts way down in 39th, while Joe Nemechek is the only driver who has failed to qualify.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 45.153s 2. Reed Sorenson Baldwin Chevrolet 45.176s +0.023s 3. Landon Cassill Hillman Chevrolet 45.182s +0.029s 4. Bobby Labonte Circle Sport Chevrolet 45.233s +0.080s 5. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 45.274s +0.121s 6. Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Toyota 45.277s +0.124s 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 45.295s +0.142s 8. David Ragan Front Row Ford 45.298s +0.145s 9. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 45.303s +0.150s 10. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 45.323s +0.170s 11. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 45.333s +0.180s 12. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 45.346s +0.193s 13. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 45.347s +0.194s 14. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet 45.369s +0.216s 15. Aric Almirola Petty Ford 45.401s +0.248s 16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Fenway Ford 45.402s +0.249s 17. Cole Whitt BK Toyota 45.428s +0.275s 18. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 45.431s +0.278s 19. Martin Truex Jr Furniture Row Chevrolet 45.439s +0.286s 20. Ryan Newman Childress Chevrolet 45.441s +0.288s 21. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 45.442s +0.289s 22. Casey Mears Germain Chevrolet 45.445s +0.292s 23. Austin Dillon Childress Chevrolet 45.447s +0.294s 24. AJ Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Chevrolet 45.451s +0.298s 25. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 45.456s +0.303s 26. Brad Keselowski Penske Ford 45.489s +0.336s 27. Michael McDowell Leavine Ford 45.496s +0.343s 28. Joey Logano Penske Ford 45.514s +0.361s 29. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 45.518s +0.365s 30. Brian Vickers Waltrip Toyota 45.601s +0.448s 31. Justin Allgaier HScott Chevrolet 45.622s +0.469s 32. Michael Annett Baldwin Chevrolet 45.635s +0.482s 33. Josh Wise Parsons Ford 45.650s +0.497s 34. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota 45.691s +0.538s 35. Kyle Larson Ganassi Chevrolet 45.757s +0.604s 36. Jamie McMurray Ganassi Chevrolet 45.764s +0.611s 37. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota 45.902s +0.749s 38. Terry Labonte FAS Lane Ford 45.923s +0.770s 39. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota 45.925s +0.772s 40. Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 45.971s +0.818s 41. Michael Waltrip Waltrip Toyota 46.066s +0.913s 42. Ryan Truex BK Toyota 46.588s +1.435s 43. Alex Bowman BK Toyota 46.636s +1.483s 44. Joe Nemechek RAB Toyota 45.974s +0.821s
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