Rain washes out Daytona Qualifying
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| Tony Stewart |
An afternoon rain shower is hardly unusual in Florida.
Tony Stewart starting on the pole because of a qualifying rainout is becoming almost as commonplace.
NASCAR canceled Friday's time trials at Daytona International Speedway after a thunderstorm drenched the track, and as a result, the Sprint Cup points leader will start from the top spot because of rain for the third time this season.
With the top 35 cars in the 43-car field for Saturday's Coke Zero 400 set according to owners' points, Stewart will start next to Jeff Gordon, the driver closest to him in the standings. Three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson rolls off third, with fourth-place Kurt Busch to his outside.
Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Juan Montoya will be credited with the fifth through 12th positions, respectively. Because Biffle was involved in a crash during practice on Thursday and went to a backup car, however, he will start from the rear.
Lineup
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME |
| 1 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Burger King | N/A | N/A |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | N/A | N/A |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | N/A | N/A |
| 4 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | N/A | N/A |
| 5 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Subway | N/A | N/A |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | N/A | N/A |
| 7 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | N/A | N/A |
| 8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | N/A | N/A |
| 9 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M Scotch-Brite | N/A | N/A |
| 10 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | R+L Global Services | N/A | N/A |
| 11 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Carquest / Kellogg's | N/A | N/A |
| 12 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | N/A | N/A |
| 13 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Budweiser | N/A | N/A |
| 14 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | N/A | N/A |
| 15 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | N/A | N/A |
| 16 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | N/A | N/A |
| 17 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | N/A | N/A |
| 18 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | Kingsford / Clorox / Bush's Beans | N/A | N/A |
| 19 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard "Serving America" / Amp Energy | N/A | N/A |
| 20 | 07 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | N/A | N/A |
| 21 | 20 | Joey Logano* | Toyota | The Home Depot | N/A | N/A |
| 22 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Irwin Marathon Saw Blades | N/A | N/A |
| 23 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Stanley Tools | N/A | N/A |
| 24 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | N/A | N/A |
| 25 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Mobil 1 | N/A | N/A |
| 26 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | U.S. Air Force | N/A | N/A |
| 27 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Pennzoil Platinum | N/A | N/A |
| 28 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Ford | Academy Sports + Outdoors | N/A | N/A |
| 29 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | N/A | N/A |
| 30 | 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Dodge | Paralyzed Veterans of America | N/A | N/A |
| 31 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS | N/A | N/A |
| 32 | 12 | David Stremme | Dodge | Penske Racing | N/A | N/A |
| 33 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | Johns Manville / Menards | N/A | N/A |
| 34 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | Mapei / Menards | N/A | N/A |
| 35 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | Taco Bell | N/A | N/A |
| 36 | 09 | Brad Keselowski | Chevrolet | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming | N/A | N/A |
| 37 | 82 | Scott Speed* | Toyota | Red Bull | N/A | N/A |
| 38 | 171 | David Gilliland | Chevrolet | TRG Motorsports | N/A | N/A |
| 39 | 187 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | N/A | N/A |
| 40 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | Prism Motorsports | N/A | N/A |
| 41 | 36 | Patrick Carpentier | Toyota | Tommy Baldwin Racing | N/A | N/A |
| 42 | 37 | Tony Raines | Dodge | Gander Mountain / Remington | N/A | N/A |
| 43 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | N/A | N/A |
| Did Not Qualify | ||||||
| 44 | 113 | Max Papis* | Toyota | GEICO | – | – |
| 45 | 64 | Mike Wallace | Toyota | Fred's Hometown Discount Store | – | – |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie