NASCAR: Gilliland nets surprise Daytona pole

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 canceled, 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 teammate, 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 traditional fast qualifiers at Penske; Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano 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, albeit only two spots behind teammate Denny Hamlin, and one place ahead of his brother Kurt's Stewart Haas Chevrolet.

Joe Nemechek is the only driver who has failed to qualify.