Casey Mears handed Bristol pole as qualifying rained off

The Germain Racing driver had been fastest in the day's first practice session and, according to NASCAR rules, the field is set by the order of each driver's fastest lap during the opening session whenever qualifying is cancelled.

Mears, who will lead a Cup field for only the fourth time in his career, was last on pole position at Chicagoland in 2007 while in his first season driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

Penske's Brad Keselowski, winner of the last two events held at Bristol, will start from the front row beside Mears, while points leader Greg Biffle and Joe Gibbs Racing's Joey Logano, fastest in the second practice, will start from the second row of the grid.

Richard Petty's Aric Almirola was fifth fastest in practice and will line up on the third row of the grid beside Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton, who completed a mammoth 121 laps during the first session, more than any other driver.

Among those who will see the green flag wave from deep in the field will be Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson, who was only 41st fastest in the opening session. He will start from 37th on the grid.

Danica Patrick meanwhile endured a tough day at Bristol.

She was slowest in both practice sessions and then spun during her first qualifying lap in the Nationwide series, and will also start from the back of the grid in what will be her Cup Bristol debut for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Pos  Driver                Team/Car
 1.  Casey Mears           Germain Ford               
 2.  Brad Keselowski       Penske Dodge               
 3.  Greg Biffle           Roush Fenway Ford          
 4.  Joey Logano           Joe Gibbs Toyota           
 5.  Aric Almirola         Petty Ford                 
 6.  Jeff Burton           Childress Chevrolet        
 7.  Paul Menard           Childress Chevrolet        
 8.  Denny Hamlin          Joe Gibbs Toyota           
 9.  Marcos Ambrose        Petty Ford                 
10.  Kyle Busch            Joe Gibbs Toyota           
11.  Jeff Gordon           Hendrick Chevrolet         
12.  Kasey Kahne           Hendrick Chevrolet         
13.  Kevin Harvick         Childress Chevrolet        
14.  Regan Smith           Furniture Row Chevrolet    
15.  Martin Truex Jr       Waltrip Toyota             
16.  Dale Earnhardt Jr     Hendrick Chevrolet         
17.  Matt Kenseth          Roush Fenway Ford          
18.  David Gilliland       Front Row Ford             
19.  Ryan Newman           Stewart-Haas Chevrolet     
20.  Kurt Busch            Phoenix Chevrolet          
21.  Tony Stewart          Stewart-Haas Chevrolet     
22.  Brian Vickers         Waltrip Toyota             
23.  Clint Bowyer          Waltrip Toyota             
24.  David Ragan           Front Row Ford             
25.  Dave Blaney           Baldwin Chevrolet          
26.  Jamie McMurray        Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet
27.  Carl Edwards          Roush Fenway Ford          
28.  Juan Pablo Montoya    Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet
29.  Sam Hornish Jr        Penske Dodge               
30.  Michael McDowell      Parsons Ford               
31.  David Stremme         Inception Toyota           
32.  Josh Wise             Front Row Ford             
33.  Landon Cassill        BK Toyota                  
34.  Mike Bliss            Humphrey Smith Toyota      
35.  Scott Riggs           R3 Chevrolet   
36.  Bobby Labonte         JTG Daugherty Toyota       
37.  Jimmie Johnson        Hendrick Chevrolet         
38.  Stephen Leicht        Circle Sport Chevrolet     
39.  Jason Leffler         Robinson-Blakeney Toyota   
40.  Joe Nemechek          NEMCO Toyota               
41.  Travis Kvapil         BK Toyota
42.  Ken Schrader          FAS Lane Ford              
43.  Danica Patrick        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet

* Times not applicable due to rain