Clauson on maiden Nationwide pole

The 19-year-old will lead the field on tonight's event after setting the session's benchmark early on with a lap of 49.831 seconds at an average speed of 180.610 mph, driving the No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Charger.

"We feel like we can win with this car," said Clauson, who finished sixth on his Nationwide Series debut at Daytona in February. "We took it back to the body shop and made some improvements that will help us come race time. And hopefully we earned some friends and get some help getting to the front."

JR Motorsports' Brad Keselowski came closest to Clauson's lap, running nearly a tenth of a second slower. He will partner the Ganassi drive on the front row, followed by Roush Fenway rookie Colin Braun and Brad Coleman.

Clauson's pole may not come as good news for Dario Franchitti, who is relaying on taking over the No. 40 car drive for the rest of the Nationwide series season to keep his stock car career alive following the closure of his Sprint Cup team earlier this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr will take part in the race driving his own team's No. 5 car and he will start the race in fifth place.