Casey Mears will start Saturday night's Bristol Cup race from pole position after qualifying was rained off on Friday afternoon.
The Germain Racing driver had been fastest in the day's first practice session and, according to NASCAR rules, the field is set by the order of each driver's fastest lap during the opening session whenever qualifying is canceled.
Mears, who will lead a Cup field for only the fourth time in his career, was last on pole position at Chicagoland in 2007 while in his first season driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
Penske's Brad Keselowski, winner of the last two events held at Bristol, will start from the front row beside Mears, while points' leader Greg Biffle and Joe Gibbs Racing's Joey Logano, fastest in the second practice, will start from the second row of the grid.
Richard Petty's Aric Almirola was fifth fastest in practice and will line up on the third row of the grid beside Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton, who completed a mammoth 121 laps during the first session, more than any other driver.
Among those who will see the green flag wave from deep in the field will be Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson, who was only 41st fastest in the opening session. He will start from 37th on the grid.
Danica Patrick meanwhile endured a tough day at Bristol. She was slowest in both practice sessions and then spun during her first qualifying lap in the Nationwide series, and will also start from the back of the grid in what will be her Cup debut at Bristol for Stewart Haas Racing.
Pos Driver Team/Car
1. Casey Mears Germain Ford
2. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
3. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford
4. Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Toyota
5. Aric Almirola Petty Ford
6. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet
7. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet
8. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota
9. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford
10. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota
11. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet
12. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet
13. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet
14. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet
15. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet
17. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford
18. David Gilliland Front Row Ford
19. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet
20. Kurt Busch Phoenix Chevrolet
21. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet
22. Brian Vickers Waltrip Toyota
23. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota
24. David Ragan Front Row Ford
25. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet
26. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet
27. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford
28. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet
29. Sam Hornish Jr Penske Dodge
30. Michael McDowell Parsons Ford
31. David Stremme Inception Toyota
32. Josh Wise Front Row Ford
33. Landon Cassill BK Toyota
34. Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Toyota
35. Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet
36. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota
37. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet
38. Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Chevrolet
39. Jason Leffler Robinson-Blakeney Toyota
40. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota
41. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota
42. Ken Schrader FAS Lane Ford
43. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet
* Times not applicable due to rain