Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start on pole position for tonight's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, the traditional non-championship curtain-raiser for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
The Hendrick driver is a double winner of the event, and starts first ahead of Stewart Haas' Tony Stewart, Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin on the grid, which is decided by a random draw.
Kevin Harvick, winner of the last two Shootouts, drew 18th place, while reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson is 23rd in the 24-car field.
This year all the 2010 Chase contenders, past champions, past Shootout winners, winners of any Cup race at Daytona and the last 10 Cup Rookie of the Year title winners were eligible for the Shootout.
Earnhardt was fastest in the opening practice session for the event, with Gibbs driver Joey Logano – who starts 22nd – quickest in practice two.
Both sessions ran without drama bar a brief pause when a section of the track's lighting system stopped working.
Pos Driver Car
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
2. Tony Stewart Chevrolet
3. Carl Edwards Ford
4. Denny Hamlin Toyota
5. Kasey Kahne Toyota
6. Bobby Labonte Toyota
7. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet
8. Ryan Newman Chevrolet
9. Derrike Cope Toyota
10. Michael Waltrip Toyota
11. Greg Biffle Ford
12. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
13. Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet
14. Jamie McMurray Chevrolet
15. Jeff Burton Chevrolet
16. Kevin Conway Toyota
17. Kurt Busch Dodge
18. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
19. Matt Kenseth Ford
20. Mark Martin Chevrolet
21. Kyle Busch Toyota
22. Joey Logano Toyota
23. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
24. Regan Smith Chevrolet