NASCAR Daytona: David Gilliland tops rain-shortened qualifying

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