Just like the Nationwide Series qualifying earlier today there will be an unexpected name on pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race tomorrow night at Daytona International Speedway in the form of Front Row Motorsports driver David Gilliland after the weather cut short the session to just one 25 minute chunk of action.
The driver of the #38 car will also have a place in next years Sprint All Star Race at Charlottle Motor Speedway thanks to this pole award. Gilliland was the runner-up at Talladega last year after pushing team-mate David Ragan to victory in the Aaron's 499.
Reed Sorenson will start on the front row in his #36 car and six-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will be on row three, a big improvement from practice when he was 42nd after runni around on his own, alongside last years Cup Series runner-up Matt Kenseth. Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr and David Ragan make up row four.
Round 1 got off to a flying start as there was none of the waiting around at the exit of pit road like we saw in the Nationwide Series as the five Toyotas from Joe Gibbs and Michael Waltrip Racing were the first cars off pit road and setting a time, closely followed by Team Penske and Michael McDowell the driver that they practice will during the season.
Afterwards a group of 12 drivers, the Richard Childress Racing cars and their associates, were out onto the track and it resulted in their cars being near the top of the chart, but it was McDowell in the #98 car who set the early pace and was top for the ten minutes until Johnson was top at the half way mark.
With five minutes to go in the first 25 minute session David Gilliland, the eventual pole sitter for tomorrow nights race, was top of the charts along with Reed Sorenson. When that pack of cars came down pit road the TV cameras showed that Sorenson and Landon Cassill, who had been running together, had slight damage on the front and rear bumpers of their cars.
At the end of the first 25 minute session it was Joe Nemechek in the #29 car who was the one driver to miss the show as he needed to be in the top 36 drivers but was 41st as he couldn't hook up with enough drivers to build up a head of steam.
There were a number of big name drivers to miss out on the second session, although the weather stopped there ever being a second session, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano of Team Penske who have made the last round of knock-out qualifying in 14 of the 15 previous races missed out, along with Clint Bowyer, Trevor Bayne, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick.
Yesterdays top two drivers in practice, Jamie McMurray and rookie Kyle Larson, were also outside of the top 24 drivers at the end of the first session. But because of the weather front that moved in it didn't make too much of a difference, and this is Daytona so you can start in 43rd and still win the race.